Lifting Injury While Pregnant At Work – Can I Claim Compensation?
This a guide to the steps you could take after suffering a lifting injury while pregnant at work. In the workplace, all employers owe their employees a duty of care. We will explore this in greater detail later throughout this guide. Should they breach their duty of care and you are physically or psychologically injured as a result, this constitutes negligence, for which you may be eligible to seek compensation.
Lifting injury while pregnant at work claims guide
You might have questions, such as:
- How do I make a personal injury claim following an accident at work?
- Is heavy lifting bad during pregnancy?
- Could I be eligible to receive compensation?
This article aims to provide guidance on the questions above, as well as explore how a lifting injury in the workplace might occur and the impact this could have. We will also discuss potential compensation amounts that could be awarded for successful accident at work claims and the steps you can take to strengthen your case. For instance, seeking expert legal advice from our team.
You can get in contact with one of our advisors, who are available to offer you free legal advice 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. They can provide a free and confidential assessment of your claim. Should they discover that you may have valid grounds to make a personal injury claim, they could connect you with one of our specialist solicitors.
To get in touch:
- Call us on 0800 073 8804
- Claim online through our website
- Use the live chat feature on this page
Select A Section
- What Is A Lifting Injury While Pregnant At Work?
- Causes Of A Lifting Injury While Pregnant At Work
- Is Heavy Lifting Bad During Pregnancy?
- Guidelines On Lifting Or Carrying Heavy Loads When Pregnant
- Settlements For A Lifting Injury While Pregnant At Work
- Talk To Us About Being Injured Whilst Pregnant At Work
What Is A Lifting Injury While Pregnant At Work?
The NHS explains that pregnancy may make you more vulnerable to suffering from back pain and back injuries. They advise that heavy lifting should be avoided during pregnancy.
Under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 (HASAWA) employers must take reasonably practicable steps to ensure their employees’ safety. If your employer does not carry out risk assessments or take any reasonably practical safety measures, and as a result, you sustain a lifting injury at work, this would constitute employer negligence. Therefore, your employer would be liable for your injuries, and you may be eligible to pursue compensation.
If you would like more information, please contact an advisor from our team for a free consultation. They will be able to offer insight into whether your employer could be liable for your injuries and your eligibility to make a compensation claim.
Causes Of A Lifting Injury While Pregnant At Work
There may be various ways in which you could sustain a lifting injury while pregnant at work. Below we have provided some examples of how an accident at work could occur due to your employer breaching their duty of care:
- After informing your employer of your pregnancy in writing, they fail to do an individual risk assessment. Subsequently, they ask you to carry out jobs that put you at risk of harm when pregnant, which leads to you sustaining injuries.
- Your employer does not provide you with manual handling training whilst working in a warehouse. Consequently, you suffer a back injury while lifting objects when pregnant.
If you would like advice on whether you could have valid grounds to make a claim, speak to our team of advisors.
Is Heavy Lifting Bad During Pregnancy?
According to the NHS’ health and fitness in pregnancy, pregnancy causes weight changes and affects the strength of your abdominal muscles, which changes your posture. Due to your abdominal muscles supporting your spine, this could place a strain on your back.
Furthermore, hormones could also impact your circulation, which leads to changes in the veins. This may give rise to symptoms, such as swelling in the hands and feet or leg cramps.
In addition, the NHS recommends that if you are to carry any objects you should divide the weight so that it can be managed equally left and right but avoid carrying anything heavy.
For more guidance on making a personal injury claim if you have suffered a lifting injury while pregnant at work, please contact an advisor from our team.
Guidelines On Lifting Or Carrying Heavy Loads When Pregnant
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) regulates workplace health and safety in Britain. They offer guidance on new and expectant mothers in the workplace. When carrying out a general risk assessment, employers should consider female employees of childbearing age as well as new and expectant mothers.
Some risks could include:
- Sitting or standing for prolonged periods of time
- Lifting or carrying heavy objects
- Exposure to diseases
- Work-related stress
- An employee’s workstation and posture
- Length of working hours
- Exposure to harmful substances and toxic materials
If you have been subject to a lifting injury while pregnant at work, for which your employer is liable, please get in touch with a member of our team. You could be eligible to pursue accident at work compensation.
Settlements For A Lifting Injury While Pregnant At Work
If a personal injury claim is successful, the settlement awarded could be comprised of up to two heads of claim. Firstly, you could receive general damages for the pain and suffering, both physically or mentally, caused by your injuries. This will take into account the impact that this has had on your quality of life.
We have created a table of potential compensation amounts using the 2022 updated Judicial College Guidelines (JCG). This can also be used by legal professionals to help them value the general damages head of personal injury claims. Each case is unique, and therefore, the amount awarded will differ.
| Injury | Severity | Compensation Bracket | Details |
|---|---|---|---|
| Back Injury | Severe (a)(i) | £91,090 to £160,980 | This bracket includes the most severe of back injuries that involve harm to the spinal cord as well as the nerve roots, causing a combination of very serious consequences not ordinarily found in back injuries. |
| Back Injury | Severe (a)(ii) | £74,160 to £88,430 | Cases of back injuries that have special features, including nerve root damage that leads to further problems such as impaired bladder and bowel function. |
| Back Injury | Severe (a)(iii) | £38,780 to £69,730 | Soft tissue injuries, disc lesions or fractures of discs or vertebral bodies that cause chronic conditions and despite being treated disabilities will remain. |
| Back Injury | Moderate (b)(i) | £27,760 to £38,780 | Within this bracket, are many various injuries, such as a compression/crush fracture of the lumbar vertebrae causing constant pain and discomfort and a substantial risk of osteoarthritis. |
| Neck Injury | Severe (a)(i) | In the region of £148,330 | A neck injury linked to incomplete paraplegia or leading to permanent spastic quadriparesis. |
| Neck Injury | Severe (a)(ii) | £65,740 to £130,930 |
An injury, such as a serious fracture or damage to discs in the cervical spine which cause disabilities of considerable severity but are less serious than those in the bracket above. |
| Neck Injury | Severe (a)(iii) | £45,470 to £55,990 | An injury that results in dislocations or fractures, or severe damage to soft tissues that cause chronic conditions as well as permanent disabilities. |
| Shoulder Injury | Severe (a) | £19,200 to £48,030 | Commonly linked to neck injuries and involve damage to the brachial plexus that results in significant disability. |
| Shoulder Injury | Serious (b) | £12,770 to £19,200 | An injury, such as dislocation of the shoulder with damage to the brachial plexus, that causes pain in the neck and shoulder, sensory symptoms and further problems. |
| Shoulder Injury | Moderate (c) | £7,890 to £12,770 | A frozen shoulder that limits movement and causes discomfort. Symptoms will continue for around 2 years. |
Furthermore, you could receive an award under special damages for any monetary losses caused by your injuries.
An example of this would be having to pay for travel costs to hospital appointments that would not have been required had you not been injured at work.
This head of claim could also reimburse for:
- Care costs
- Medical bills
- Home adaptations
- Loss of earnings
To strengthen your claim under special damages, gather evidence of these financial losses, such as travel tickets, payslips and bank records.
Our advisors can provide you with more information in terms of the evidence you could gather to support your personal injury claim for a lifting injury while pregnant at work.
Talk To Us About Being Injured Whilst Pregnant At Work
Our advisors can provide a free evaluation of your claim and further explain the personal injury claims process. If they believe you may have an eligible claim, they could connect you with one of our specialist solicitors.
Working with an accident at work solicitor could provide many benefits to you and your claim. For instance, they could offer you to enter into a No Win No Fee agreement. A Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA) is a type of No Win No Fee agreement that generally means you are not required to pay for the services your solicitor provides unless your claim is successful. This would mean no upfront or ongoing costs for a solicitor’s services.
Generally, in the event of a successful claim, a legally capped success fee will be taken from the compensation by your solicitor. This is calculated as a small percentage.
If you would like to find out whether you could be eligible to claim, please contact an advisor from our team. To get in touch:
- Call us on 0800 073 8804
- Claim online through our website
- Use the live chat feature on this page
Learn More About Pregnancy In The Workplace
Below are more of our own guides on accidents at work:
- I Had An Accident At Work, What Are My Rights?
- Tips On Making A Personal Injury Claim Against Your Employer
- How To Make A Successful Minor Personal Injury Claim
We have provided you with additional links for information and support:
- GOV.UK – Pregnant employees’ rights
- NHS – Stress
- HSE – Worker responsibilities
Thank you for reading our guide on the steps you could take after suffering a lifting injury while pregnant at work.