By Stephen Hudson. Last Updated 13th February 2025. 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
- Email us at info@legalexpert.co.uk
- Chat to us via our live chat, bottom right
Select A Section:
- What Is The Average Payout For A Back Injury At Work In The UK?
- Who Can Make Back Injury At Work Claims?
- What Can Cause A Back Injury At Work?
- How To Prove Back Injury At Work Claims
- Claim For Back Injuries From Work With A No Win No Fee Solicitor
- More Helpful Resources On Accident At Work Claims
What Is The Average Payout For A Back Injury At Work In The UK?
When making a personal injury claim after suffering an accident at work, you may be interested to know how much compensation for a back injury at work you could claim. Often, people search for the average payout for a back injury at work. However, as every claim is unique, knowing the average amount would not aid you in your calculations.
If your personal injury claim is successful, you will be awarded general damages for the pain and suffering inflicted by your injuries. You could also be awarded special damages. These are intended to put you into the position you would’ve been in financially had the incident not occurred. These can include things like loss of earnings and travel expenses.
To work out the general damages head of claim, those responsible for placing a value on your suffering may look to your medical records, the report from an independent medical assessment and the guidelines by the Judicial College (JCG). These guidelines contain suggestive amount brackets for different types of injuries and their severities.
In the table below, you will find illustrations from the JCG. However, please note that these are only guidelines, and no amount can ever be guaranteed. Also, the top entry is not from the JCG.
| Injury | Severity | Guideline Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Multiple Very Serious Injuries + Financial Losses | Very Serious | Up to £500,000+ |
| Back Injuries | Severe (a)(i) | £111,150 to £196,450 |
| Severe (a)(ii) | £90,510 to £107,910 | |
| Severe (a)(iii) | £47,320 to £85,100 | |
| Moderate (b)(i) | £33,880 to £47,320 | |
| Moderate (b)(ii) | £15,260 to £33,880 | |
| Minor (c)(i) | £9,630 to £15,260 | |
| Minor (c)(ii) | £5,310 to £9,630 | |
| Minor (c)(iii) | £2,990 to £5,310 | |
| Minor (c)(iv) | Up to £2,990 |
What Are Special Damages?
Another thing to consider when asking about the average payout for a back injury at work in the UK is the financial impact of the injury. In many back injury at work claims, the claimant experiences significant out-of-pocket expenses because of their injuries. A payment under the special damages head of claim can account for these outgoings. Examples of compensation for a back injury at work under the special damages head of claim include:
- Recouping lost earnings if your injuries mean you cannot work or take on jobs.
- Being paid back for medication or treatment you had to spend your own money on.
- Getting recompensated for the cost of necessary home adjustments or support equipment.
If you’d like to discuss how much compensation for a back injury at work you could claim, call our free helpline today.
Who Can Make Back Injury At Work Claims?
Employers owe their employees a duty of care to ensure reasonable safety by taking practicable steps. This is outlined in the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. Some of these steps could include:
- Provide personal protective equipment (PPE) in hazardous environments.
- Train the employees on handling equipment and on safety processes.
- Conduct risk assessments in the workplace.
Irrespective of whether the employee is full-time, part-time or contractual, they have a right to make an accident at work claim against their employer.
The conditions for eligible back injury at work claims are:
- Your employer owed you a duty of care.
- They breached this duty.
- You suffered an injury as a consequence of this breach.
Feel free to contact our advisors for a free consultation and to discuss the average payout for a back injury at work.
How Long Do I Have To Claim Compensation For A Back Injury At Work?
Generally speaking, a back injury at work claim will need to be made within 3 years of the accident occurring as per the Limitation Act 1980. However, there can be exceptions to this rule in certain circumstances, including:
- Children: minors cannot claim for themselves, so if the injured person is under 18, the time limit will be counted from their 18th birthday.
- Those lacking mental capacity: an injured person who does not have sufficient mental capacity, either due to the accident or from a prior condition, also cannot claim for themselves and will have the 3 year limit frozen altogether. The time limit can be resumed in cases where that capacity is recovered.
In these situations where the time limit is frozen, a litigation friend can be appointed by the court to act on behalf of the injured person and begin the claim sooner.
To find out about the time limits or to check if you’re eligible to claim a back injury at work payout, talk to our advisors using the contact information provided below.
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
If you are ready to start your back injury at work claim, one of the No Win No Fee solicitors on our team might be able to help.
But why claim with a solicitor? Well, when a legal professional helps with your claim, they can give you advice and guidance on:
- Proving your claim and what evidence to present.
- Communicating with the other party.
- Negotiating a back injury at work payout.
- Certain steps in the claims process, like the Pre Action Protocol.
Plus, our solicitors can help you claim for a back injury at work on a No Win No Fee basis by working under a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA). Under this kind of arrangement, you usually:
- Don’t have to pay upfront for your solicitor’s work.
- Don’t need to pay ongoing costs for their services.
- Don’t need to pay for their work if the claim fails.
If your claim succeeds, then your solicitor will take a success fee. This is a small portion of your compensation that is legally-capped.
Contact Us
Our advisors are here to help, and can answer any questions you might have about claiming for a back injury. To start your free consultation and find out if you could work with one of our expert solicitors, get in touch 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
- If you tripped over a doormat see if you could claim in this guide
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.
