How Much Compensation Can I Claim For A Back Injury At Work?

By Cat Way. Last Updated 6th March 2024. This guide will discuss back injury at work claims and how compensation is calculated to address the different impacts you have experienced. If you’ve suffered a back injury at work, you may be in pain and frustrated. Back injuries can cause significant problems, and if it happened through no fault of your own, you could make an accident at work claim for compensation.

In this guide, we explain your legal rights if you’ve injured your back at work. We also look at the average payment for a back injury, and how you can work with a No Win No Fee solicitor.

If taking legal action is something you’d like to do, we can help. We specialise in workplace accidents and over the years we’ve helped thousands of people successfully recover compensation. We can help you too.

You can call out free helpline now, available 24/7, to get a free case check or to get some free advice.

• Call us on 0800 073 8804
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Select A Section:

1. What Is The Average Payout For A Back Injury At Work In The UK?
2. Can I Make Back Injury At Work Claims?
3. What Can Cause A Back Injury At Work?
4. How To Prove Back Injury At Work Claims
5. Claim For Back Injuries From Work With A No Win No Fee Solicitor
6. More Helpful Resources On Accident At Work Claims

What Is The Average Payout For A Back Injury At Work In The UK?

It can be hard to establish an average payout for a back injury claim because how much compensation you receive can depend on a number of unique factors. For example, the severity of your back injury, the length of your treatment, and the circumstances surrounding your accident can all affect the amount of compensation you receive.

However, we can provide some more information on how compensation is calculated. If your personal injury compensation claim succeeds, you can receive up to two areas of compensation. The first is general damages, which covers your injuries and the pain and suffering your back injuries have caused.

Those who value this head of your claim may refer to the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG). This is a document that contains a list of different injuries with corresponding guideline compensation brackets. Below, you can see some examples of these guidelines. Please note that the first entry in this table has not been taken from the JCG.

Guideline Compensation Amounts

What Are Special Damages?

The second area of compensation that you could receive is called special damages. This covers the financial losses you experience as a result of your back injuries. For example, if you suffered a severe back injury and this prevented you from working, you may be able to recoup any lost earnings under special damages. This head of claim could also help you recover the cost of:

• Mobility aids.
• Prescriptions.
• Travel.
• Housekeeping.
• Childcare.

These are just a few examples of losses that could be covered by special damages. To learn more about back injury compensation claims, or to find out if you could be entitled to compensation, contact our team today.

Can I Make Back Injury At Work Claims?

Employers owe their employees a duty of care under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. As per this duty, they must take reasonable and practicable steps to prevent you from sustaining an injury at work and as you carry out your work-related tasks.

If you injured your back at work, you may be able to make a claim for compensation. However, to be eligible to make an accident at work claim, you must prove:

• Your employer owed you a duty of care.
• Your employer breached this duty.
• As a result of this, you suffered an injury. A breach in the duty of care that causes an injury is known as negligence.

Contact our advisors today to receive free advice for your potential claim. Additionally, they could help answer any questions you may have, such as ‘“What is the average payout for a back injury at work?”.

How Long Do I Have To Claim Compensation For A Back Injury?

If you are eligible to make a back injury at work claim, you must start the process within the relevant time limit. Generally, this is three years from the date of the accident that caused your injuries, as set by the Limitation Act 1980. However, there are some exceptions to this limitation period, which we discuss in further detail in the next section.

There are some exceptions to the time limit for back injury claims. For example, if someone is incapable of making legal decisions due to a limited mental capacity, the time limit is suspended until they regain their mental capacity. However, should they never regain the capacity, the time limit is permanently suspended.

Additionally, someone under 18 cannot pursue a claim themselves. Should they injure themselves at work due to the negligence of an employer, they would have to wait until their 18th birthday to be able to make a claim for back injury at work compensation.

However, a litigation friend could possibly bring forward a personal injury claim on the behalf of either of these parties.

Continue reading to find out how much compensation for a back injury at work you could receive. Alternatively, contact our advisors at any time for free legal advice on claiming a back injury at work settlement.

Could Back Injury At Work Claims Be Made With A Pre-Existing Condition?

In some cases, you might have suffered an injury at work that caused the exacerbation or acceleration of a pre-existing back condition. You could still claim if you can prove your employer failed to uphold their duty of care and you suffered harm as a result.

For example, your employer may have been aware of you having a pre-existing back condition but failed to consider the risk posed before instructing you to carry out manual handling tasks. As a result, you may have had to lift items that were too heavy based on your individual circumstances leading to the exacerbation of your back condition.

Call our team for further guidance on back injury at work claims, including when you could be eligible to seek compensation and how long you have to claim.

What Can Cause A Back Injury At Work?

There are various ways you could suffer a back injury. However, as we have already mentioned, your injuries must be caused by a breach in your employer’s duty of care in order to claim for a back injury at work. Some examples of how this could occur may include:

• Inadequate training: If you have to pick up objects as part of your work duties, you should be given appropriate manual handling training. If your employer fails to provide this training, you could suffer an injured back at work.
• Lack of risk assessments: Employers are expected to undertake risk assessments to help identify and mitigate risks and hazards in the workplace. For example, they may do a risk assessment before you are asked to lift a heavy load. If they fail to do this, you could suffer a back injury as a result.
• A slip and fall accident: Spillages should be cleared up within an adequate timeframe, or they should be appropriately signposted. If they aren’t, this could result in a slip and fall that injures your back.

Contact an advisor to discuss if you are eligible to seek compensation for a back injury at work.   

How To Prove Back Injury At Work Claims

In this section, we’ll discuss how to prove a back injury at work. When making back injury claims, it’s necessary to gather as much evidence as possible.

Below are some examples of how to prove a back injury from a work accident:

• Collect the contact details of any witnesses who are willing to make a statement
• Request CCTV footage of the accident if possible
• Gather medical evidence, for example, hospital records or doctor’s notes
• Fill out a report in your workplace accident book as this may be used as evidence
• Retain any evidence of financial losses caused by your injury, such as receipts and bank statements

Get in touch to find out more about what evidence could be used for your claim, or read on to find out how a solicitor could help you with the back injury claims process.

Claim For Back Injuries From Work With A No Win No Fee Solicitor

You could seek help from a solicitor if you have valid grounds to make a back injury at work claim. If you contact our advisors, they can discuss your claim with you, and they may connect you with one of our No Win No Fee solicitors.

One of our personal injury solicitors may offer to represent your claim under a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA). Under this type of agreement, you won’t need to pay your solicitor any upfront or ongoing fees for their services. You also won’t be required to pay for their services if your claim is unsuccessful.

If your claim is successful, then the solicitor who supported your work injury claim will take a success fee. This is a legally capped percentage taken from the compensation awarded to you.

Contact our friendly advisors today if you need any more advice on making a back injury compensation claim. You can reach them by:

• Calling 0800 073 8804
• Filling in our contact form on our website
• Or you can use our 24/7 online live chat

More Helpful Resources On Accident At Work Claims

More of our guides:

• How Much Compensation For A Fall At Work?
• A Guide to Making A Claim For Injuries Sustained In A Public Park
• Our Guide to Accidents At Work
• How to claim compensation for a slip, trip or fall
• Who’s responsible for recording injuries at work?
• Spinal Injury Claims
• See if you can make a claim for injuries sustained after you tripped over a doormat.

Below, you can find some more useful resources on making a claim.

• The HSE Guide to Backpain in the Workplace
• A Government Guide To Claiming Compensation For Workplace Injuries

Thank you for reading our guide on back injury at work claims and how compensation is calculated. If you have any other questions, please contact an advisor on the number above.