Posted By James365 Back injuries are curious beasties. An injury can manifest itself with much more severe symproms some time after the incident which caused the damage, so the employee could be quite sincere in his claim that he is unfit for work due to worsening symptoms. Unfortunately, they are also one of the most common excuses used by staff on sick-leave, particularly where it is long term sick-leave. Ambulance chasing solicitors also mean it is increasingly likely that a compensation claim will be made where a back injury is alleged to have happened at work. With this in mind, there are a number of things you should do to protect the Company's position. Firstly, do an accident investigation. Get everything recorded, and take witness statements (including statements from staff in the vicinity of the incident who claim they did not see anything - these are the people who are likely to come forward as witnesses for the injured party in the event of a claim being made). Secondly, if the employee goes off on long-term sick, advise your EL insurers. Don't wait until a claim is made as many insurers now provide medical rehabilitation services intended to assist the injured party get back to work and reduce the possible size of any subsequent claim, should one be made. Next, revisit the manual handling risk assessment for the activity undertaken by the employee when he sustained his injury, and update it if required. This will not predjudice your position if a claim is made (which is a common misconception). Lastly, review your manual handling training provision, ensuring that the training provided by a competent person is commensurate with the risk to which the employees are exposed. Importantly, make sure all recipients of the training sign an acknowledgement in receipt of their having "received and understood" the training provided. Sorry if i'm teaching my granny to suck eggs a little on this one, but it's a bit of a personal campaign! Good luck!