Our client was working as an Archaeologist when she suffered a back injury as she moved some heavy bags. Her employer told her to manually move the bags containing wet soil into a skip. The bags were heavy and awkward to move.
She was instructed to load a wheelbarrow with the bags then transfer them by hand into the skip. Her employer told her that she was taking too long and she should put more bags in the wheelbarrow to finish sooner. Over an hour, she did approximately 20 runs with five bags on each wheelbarrow load. As she lifted a bag from the wheelbarrow and twisted to put it into the skip, she suffered a strain to her lower back, causing a prolapsed disc.
She underwent surgery to her spine but still experienced numbness and pins and needles in her right leg, pain and regular cramping. She was advised that this was likely to be permanent. Despite appropriate treatment, she was unable to continue working as an archaeologist.
Our client approached Irwin Mitchell to discuss making a claim against her former employer. With the help of Claire Newstead, a Solicitor in the Serious Injury team in Leeds, she received a five figure sum in compensation.
If you or a loved one has suffered a back injury while at work and it wasn't your fault, our specialist accident at work claims team could help you to claim compensation. Read our Back Injury at Work Claims page for more information.
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