Posted By RP
You should contact your solicitor and seek advice on this. If you are unemployed you may be entitled to a free 30min consultation, speak to your benefits office.

Posted By DaveW
Gareth,

If you have been off work for more than three days as a result of an injury sustained at work then your boss has a legal obligation to report the injury to the Health and Safety Executive at Caerphilly using the form F2508.

He will obviously not be able to do this effectively unless he has consulted you properly regarding the incident.

Failure to report appropriately on the part of employers can result in prosecution.

However; you say that you have been diagnosed with sciatica. This is a condition that often results from a chronic condition of the spine, more often than not; prolapsed disk.

Whilst sciatica can result as an immediate and direct consequence of a specific incident and the associated immediate nerve damage caused by prolapsed disc resulting from a specific incident; prolapsed disc itself often results from repeated longer term (chronic) damage (personal painful experience), though obviously not always.

1) Your boss should have reported the incident appropriately to the HSE.

2) You may need to be able to demonstrate via qualified medical analysis; that your current condition can be reasonably attributed to be as a direct result of a specific injury at work and that it is not a consequence of a longer term chronic condition not related to work activities or that the longer term chronic condition is, at least in part; a direct result of your work activities.

3) Your boss needs to be able to demonstrate that that he had appropriately assessed the risks inherent to the activity that you were involved in, that he had taken appropriate steps to minimise that risk, that you had been provided with safe systems of work and that you had been provided with appropriate training allowing you to perform your work with minimised risk of injury to yourself i.e. manual handling training.

I'm not a legal expert Gareth though I have experienced similar circumstances during the course of the last few years working in OSH. I'm also no great lover of "the compensation culture" having experienced claims against company's that are not valid, not awarded or minimally awarded and sometimes subsequent to to much daytime TV and the repetetive compensation advertisements that we are bombarded with via that source.

I do firmly believe though that when an individual is injured as a genuine result of negligence on the part of an employer, then that individual should be appropriately compensated.

These incidents are sometimes not as clear cut as they might first seem.

I agree with the other respondants that you should seek qualified legal advice.

Posted By DaveW
I would personally recommend (prefer) that you discuss this with an "impartial" qualified legal advisor rather than with an advisor out to make money from your injury.

I'm sorry but I hate the "compensation claim culture".

I don't think that it's in our interests to feed it.

I've experienced "genuine" claims and I've also experienced the "we'll get you some easy cash" claims and I know where the latter belong.

If you have a genuine claim then an impartial qualified legal advisor will serve your best interests and the best interests of those employed within UK Industry.

.....in my opinion.

Posted By MetalMan
Robert

"Yeah nice one MetalMan, and the poor guy has a nice easy time when he eventually returns to work.
I read it as he was out of pocket 'co his boss was uncompromising.
The guy needs real guidance and the previuos threads identified that."

Exactly Robert, you "read it" that way,there are always 2 sides to every story, ever thought that? My post was meant to infer that no matter what the incident or where/if? it happened, if the employer does not follow all correct procedures and reporting he has not got a leg to stand on in most cases, and in my experience the employer would rather settle out of court than go through an expensive legal battle to prove his innocence. Being objective is a big part of this business, employers need protection as well! We are not qualified to deliver claim advice to people wanting "compensation", let's leave it to the solicitors.

Posted By Linda Westrupp
I have read, with interest, the responses to this thread, but no-one, so far, has mentioned the possibility of going through a union who would refer you to their solicitors. If you are a union member, I would strongly advise you to do this, the service is free and they will tell you whether a claim is valid or not. On another tack, as you have been off work for a while now, you should also be offered counselling or occupational health assistance to get back into work as soon as possible. It is recognised that the longer someone is off the less likely it is that they will return and that getting back into work is much better for mental and physical health. HSE now have information on phased return, light duties etc.
I hope you feel better soon, I know how painful sciatica can be.
Linda

Posted By John Allen
Gareth,

I’m sorry to hear of your accident.

Your first step should be to go and see a solicitor. It does not have to be one of the so-called “No win – No fee” solicitors. Any reputable solicitor will give you a free consultation and let you know what the costs are likely to be if a fee is involved. You may also be eligible for Legal Aid if you are out of work.

Now for the bad news. Even if the solicitor does reckon you have grounds for a claim it may take several years to resolve and don’t expect to be in anyway fully compensated for the pain and suffering, loss of earnings and other expenses you have incurred as a result of the accident.

Your solicitor may commission an expert report on the circumstances of your accident. In which case a suitably qualified safety professional will investigate your accident and prepare a report which will be used by the court. This may well help your case. The expert may be a Member of this Institution.

I’m afraid you have a long and hard road in front of you, a road that is not helped by the hostile attitude against claimants which unfortunately is even exhibited here.

It might be interesting and educative for us if you were to let us know how you get on.

Posted By Gareth Woodgate
I have been doing the same job for the last 3.5 years.
The job is definitely the cause of the problem.
We (2 of us) are made to lift inflatables weighing up to 300kg in to and out of the back of a van (ldv convoy) which i guess is around 80cm of the floor.
At the age of 22, I can see this ruining my back for the rest of my life.
I still have a job waiting for me when I have recovered, but I am unsure if I want to go back as my boss is the most ignorant man I have ever met.
If it wasn't for me, his business would be down the pan.
I have emailed HSE to see what they have to say.
I will try and find a solicitor and get some advice from them .
Can anyone recommend a "no win, no fee" lawyer/company?
I have been looking at Thompson solicitors, but have no clue if they are any good.
I know all these companies are just money grabbers so will approach with caution.

Posted By Linda Westrupp
Gareth
Thompsons are the ones the Trade Unions use so they are very experienced.
Linda

Posted By DaveW
Metalman,

I had a similar injury in similar circumstances. You and I (to late) now understand the "ins and outs" of assessment, provision and control. There are those however who do not have our background in OSH and who therefore do not fully understand their options in the way that we do.

The employers duty of care is the mechanism that protects such individuals. If an employer has failed to meet this duty of care by not assessing risk, not making appropriate provision including training and by not appropriately "informing" employees, then the responsibility and the "fault" may lie not with the employee but with the employer.

Genuine lack of knowledge may be a partial defence in law for the employee but ignorance will never be an adequate defence for the employer. It goes with the territory.

Posted By MetalMan
Gareth. I would say following your last post that you have a good case.

Dave. Yes you are right, but there has to be a degree of responsibility taken by employees for their own safety.I'm not saying that people have to write their own risk assessments, I'm saying that people need to speak up and take action when there is a problem. Most people are aware to some degree of the need for health and safety in the workplace, I mean, it is never out of the papers! I cannot believe that in this country in this day and age people put up with unsafe working conditions, I kmow, I know, it happens.

Posted By DaveW
Metalman,

I've known a of a few employers, even comparitively recently, that still take their duty of care to their employees remarkably lightly and that make the life of employees hell via a variety of intimidatory bullying tactics.

You're absolutely correct, employees do have a personal responsibility for their own Health and Safety Welfare, unfortunately there are still a few employers out there that have refined intimidatory bullying and misinformation to a fine art.

Posted By IOSH Moderator
The moderators have agreed that this thread should be locked.

Arran Linton - Smith