One Person Doing A Two Person Lift – Accident And Injury Claims
By Stephen Hudson. Last Updated 17th August 2022. Have you been injured in a one person doing a two person lift accident? Were you asked by your place of employment to move something that was over the safe limit for one person? Did it result in causing you a workplace injury of some kind? This article discusses what you could do to uphold a claim for compensation if negligent practices at work caused you harm.
A guide on claiming after a one person doing a two person lift accident
Strains and soft tissue injuries in the back, upper body or pelvis can cause excruciating pain. This can have a knock-on effect such as you having to miss work and seeing your income plummet. The financial aggravation can start to be as disruptive as the physical problems.
Injured In A Manual Handling Accident? – Contact Us
If one person is doing a two person lift, an accident can occur and cause serious and long-lasting injuries. With this in mind, speak to our advisors now if your employer required you to risk your health in this way and it caused you harm:
- Ring our advisors on 0800 073 8804
- Contact us online and request a callback
- Use the live support option below
Select A Section
- Guidelines On Manual Handling At Work
- Why Is One Person Doing A Two Person Lift Dangerous?
- What Injuries Can Heavy Lifting Cause?
- Compensation Payouts For Manual Handling Injuries
- How To Claim For A One Person Doing A Two Person Lift Accident
Guidelines On Manual Handling At Work
The Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 is legislation that employers must follow in order to ensure risk and hazard is removed or reduced as much as reasonably practicable at work. It details requirements such as regular risk assessments, proper staff training and supervision and clearly visible health and safety advice. As well as this, meeting with safety representatives to address staff concerns is important.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) regulates and enforces aspects of this broad-ranging law and details how it should be implemented in specific scenarios. In particular, manual handling and lifting best practice states that to avoid injury employers should:
- Avoid asking workers to perform the activity as much as possible
- Assess the level of risk to workers from unavoidable manual handling
- Take steps to reduce the risk as much as possible
- Require employees to consider risks to other workers and avoid hazardous behaviour
Under Section 7 of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, workers should also take appropriate steps to safeguard against injury by always following health and safety advice or promptly reporting potential hazards or dangerous activities to management. Reckless behaviour at work might compromise a personal injury claim, so speak to our advisors for guidance.
What Is The Legal Limit One Person Can Lift At Work?
The Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992 does not apply an exact weight limit or safe limits for lifting but instead uses wider generalisations which could have the potential to increase the risk of injury under certain circumstances. To do this, the data looks at the difference between men and women when lifting at work.
If the task falls within the appropriate parameters of this filter, a detailed or individual risk assessment may not be required. Therefore, when an employer asks one person to lift or move an object, they should have assessed the level of risk beforehand and be satisfied that it is within the health and safety guidelines for one person to move.
Why Is One Person Doing A Two Person Lift Dangerous?
Injuries acquired in manual handling accidents (such as lifting objects that are too heavy for one person) can be dangerous for numerous reasons:
- Employee injury
- Dropped and damaged items
- Spillages, noxious substances or burns could arise
Increased risk of injuries and accidents can create a negative and demotivating workplace environment. Furthermore, dangerous practices can impact the reputation of the business and its ability to thrive.
What Injuries Can Heavy Lifting Cause?
What sort of injuries could happen in a one person doing a two person lift accident? Attempting to push, pull or carry a heavy load could cause any of the following health conditions:
- Strains and sprains
- Cut fingers and lacerations
- Bruises
- Broken hand fractures
- Soft tissue damage
- Torn ligaments
- Back injuries (crushed or slipped vertebrae)
- Twisted and torn muscles
- Chemical burns as a result of spillages and dropped items
Why Is Lifting One Of The Most Common Workplace Injuries?
In a busy workplace, it can be tempting to ‘just move it yourself’ but heavy or awkward items must be handled in a way that limits the potential for injury. Employers are in breach of their health and safety obligations when they ask one worker to move items demonstrably too heavy for one person.
Unfortunately, some employees may feel intimidated by the idea of refusing to move a heavy item. It’s understandable that you may want to just get on with the job and be a diligent worker, but this should not mean risking injury in the process.
You have a right to be safe at work which includes refusing to perform unreasonable tasks such as lone heavy lifting beyond a safe threshold. Speak to our team for more guidance on this type of injury.
Manual Handling Injury Statistics
The statistics below show the prevalence of non-fatal workplace injuries reported under The Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013 (RIDDOR) during 2020/21.
As you can see, handling, lifting and carrying injuries were the second-highest reported injury type at 18%.
Compensation Payouts For Manual Handling Injuries
In cases where one person doing a lifting job that requires two people results in manual handling injuries, it could be possible for the injured party to claim two types of damages.
General damages require an independent medical assessment that shows the level and severity of injury caused. An appointment with a GP or specialist who can produce a medico-legal report to prove this is something that a personal injury solicitor can help with.
Armed with the facts relating to how badly injured you are, those injuries can be compared with those listed in the Judicial College Guidelines (16th edition, published in April 2022) to assess an appropriate potential award amount. Solicitors use the Guidelines to help them when valuing injuries.
| Area of Bodily Injury | JC Award Bracket and Degree of Severity | Supporting Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Shoulder | £12,770 to £19,200 – b) – Serious | Dislocations and nerve damage that result in pain, sensory weakness and weakened grip. |
| Arm | £19,200 to £39,170 – (c) Less Severe | A significant level of disability but a good degree of recovery expected. |
| Elbow | £15,650 to £32,010 – (b) Injuries to the Elbow – Less Severe | Impaired function but no requirement for surgery or remaining significant disability. |
| Back | £38,780 to £69,730 – (a) Severe (iii) | Disc legions and fractures, soft tissue damage and continued severe pain and discomfort caused. |
| Back | £27,760 to £38,780 – (b) Moderate (i) | Crush and compression injuries, causing constant pain and discomfort probably requiring surgery. |
| Back | £7,890 to £12,510 – (c) Minor (i)
|
Nuisance level or full recovery without the need for surgery within 2 – 5 years. |
| Pelvis/Hip | £12,590 to £26,590 – (b) Moderate (ii) | Injuries that may go on to necessitate hip replacement surgery. |
| Hand | £55,820 to £84,570 – (b) Serious Damage to Both Hands | Injuries that cause permanent functional or cosmetic disability and loss of function. |
| Wrist | £12,590 to £24,500 – Wrist Injuries (c)
|
Permanent disability caused with ongoing pain and stiffness. |
| Wrist | In the region of £7,430 – Wrist Injuries (e)
|
A Colles’ fracture with no complications. |
In addition to general damages, it can be possible to take evidence in the form of documented proof like bills, statements, wage slips and receipts that show what financial losses you accrued due to the injuries. A one person doing a two person lift accident may mean that you:
- Suffer a loss of earnings whilst off work recovering
- Need to pay medical expenses
- Require prolonged treatments like physiotherapy
- Need to make modifications to your home or vehicle
- Suffer damage to any personal items during the accident
Compensation for financial losses associated with your injuries is called special damages.
Claims can only be made once for a single incident. Therefore, it’s vital to include all the associated expenses both now and those that you predict will arise in the future.
How To Claim For A One Person Doing A Two Person Lift Accident
If you’re thinking about making a claim for a manual handling accident that left you injured and was caused by your employer’s negligence, you may want to consider seeking out legal help.
Furthermore, this does not need to involve paying a lot of money to have high-quality legal representation. A No Win No Fee agreement can allow you to access the services of a skilled personal injury solicitor at no upfront or ongoing costs for their services.
If the claim is successful, you’d pay the solicitor for their services. however, this would come from the compensation. It’s also capped by law. Should the case fail, you don’t have to pay this fee at all. Learn more when you:
- Speak to our advisors on the phone by calling 0800 073 8804 – they can discuss work accident claims with you, including manual handling accidents.
- Contact us online
- Or use the live support option
One Person Doing A Two Person Lift Accident – Related Manual Handling Resources
We hope this guide on accident at work claims involving one person doing a two person lift has been helpful. If you would like to speak to an advisor about claiming for such incidents, then you can reach us here at Legal Expert using the contact details included within this guide.
- How to claim for a minor injury at work
- 10 things to know about accident at work claims
- What to do if injured from work activities
- Firefighter accident at work claims
- Agency worker accident at work claims
- Night shift accidents
- Emergency service worker accidents
- Part-time worker accidents
- Accidents caused by inadequate protective equipment
- Paralysis injury claims
- Work accidents caused by tools
- Office accident claims
- Injuries caused by dangerous machinery at work
- Workplace accident claims
- Can you make an injury claim against a colleague?
- Agency worker accident claims
- Forklift truck accidents
- Can I be sacked for making a workplace accident claim?
- Do I get sick pay after an accident at work?
- Steps to take when injured at work
- Manual handling claims
- How to claim for a ladder accident
- How to get compensation for a cut finger at work
- Scaffolding accident claims
- Warehouse accident claims
- Defective work equipment cases
- Industrial deafness claims
- Our accident at work claims FAQs page
Written by Waters
Edited by Victorine
