just looking for opinions on my current injury sustained doing my job.low loader driver transporting trucks.the run up ramps i was using are not hydraulic,but used handballing, and are made from steel,weighing in at over 90kilos each. this weight is heavier than i weigh!!!after voicing my concerns regarding the use of said ramps for nearly 12 months,i am currently laid up recuperating from a hernia op,with the possibility of a second hernia op in the coming weeks.my absence from work approx 2 months will probably cost me as the sick pay is limited to 40 hours. any thoughts on this? thanks.
Did your employer provide manual handling training, or did you sign anything to say you had received it even if you didn’t?.
calsdad:
Did your employer provide manual handling training, or did you sign anything to say you had received it even if you didn’t?.
no such thing.it is a place where you are just expected to get on with it.when i voiced my cocerns the boss came out lifted the ramps and just told me that “they’re not that bad” lifting these ramps 3/6 times a day bloody hard work
I had an accident at work when strapping the load ( had to get on back of trailer ) I fell the result was a fractured ankle ruptured achillies ( torn in 3 ) torn ligaments
I only received SSP £88.45 per week
Where there is blame there is a claim apparently.
Not that I am an advocate of ambulance chasers, but your employer should have a duty of care towards you and provide the necessary tools/training to ensure you can do your job safely.
Manhandling more than your body weight several times a day for your job doesn’t sound like they are fulfilling their duties fully.
When I was off work I was getting £108 a week which was just SSP. I injured myself at work but as me and my employer were at fault I didn’t even try compensation as I kept my job.
Couple of issues for me was I like where I work and if I had taken them to court knowone else around here would employ me after.
truckbreaker:
calsdad:
Did your employer provide manual handling training, or did you sign anything to say you had received it even if you didn’t?.no such thing.it is a place where you are just expected to get on with it.when i voiced my cocerns the boss came out lifted the ramps and just told me that “they’re not that bad” lifting these ramps 3/6 times a day bloody hard work
Wide open to a claim. They have to do manual handling training, health and safety and have a risk assessment. Without those in place its an automatic loss for them.
This is not a simple as just making a claim. First you have to get the H&S lot involved, and then make a claim on the back of their report. Your (ex) bos will be very unhappy that you did this so its unlikely that you will be working there any more.
Have a look here - hse.gov.uk/contact/
mrginge:
When I was off work I was getting £108 a week which was just SSP. I injured myself at work but as me and my employer were at fault I didn’t even try compensation as I kept my job.Couple of issues for me was I like where I work and if I had taken them to court knowone else around here would employ me after.
£108 is more than SSP per week
Mine was just a pure accident that happens is a hazard of the job yep H&S were informed but not a lot could be done unless everyone who does go on the back of a trailer wears a full safety harness which is totally impractical
I will not be making a claim as I am not a believer in that but if I did nobody around here would employ me ( same as you mrginge
Hope you are keeping well & are recovering are you back at work yet 
animal:
Hope you are keeping well & are recovering are you back at work yet
I think the extra was to do with the TAX or something payroll added then 
I have been back at work since around the beginning of November. Had 8 weeks off in total, 2 of them in hospital. My boss’s have been good to me and kept me on the easy work until recently i have been doing a couple of low loader jobs but the chains tire my arm out really quickly so it takes abit longer.
Im having another operation on my forearm on the 29th of this month just to neaten it up a little bit, chop out crap skin a sew it back up. Im guessing i will then be off for a week or two.
You and me both know then the minute to tried any court ■■■■■■■■ the owner would be on the phone to all his mates who run the other companies around you.
But you’re not claiming off the employer, you would be claiming off their insurance.
My boss’s have been good to me
So they paid you in full while you were off after a work related injury?
When I was off work I was getting £108 a week which was just SSP.
Didn’t think so!
My next door neighbour works for a firm I used to drive for, but in a maintenance roll. Whilst working on a piece of machinery, a college very kindly activated a release pin, trapping my neighbours finger. The companies “health and safety officer” (the owners wife) kept him sat in her office for 3 hours, telling him his finger was fine, and there was no need to worry.
Eventually he had the sense to call an ambulance himself - lost the whole finger - as a result of the 3 hour wait. He was told had he been taken straight to hospital, they could have saved it.
After several months off work (on ssp) for operations and treatment, his boss said to him - “We’ve been in business for over 20 years, and we’ve never had an employee claim off us for an accident”!
Needless to say, he has just paid off his mortgage, done some very nice home improvements, and bought a new car.
Couple of issues for me was I like where I work and if I had taken them to court knowone else around here would employ me after.
Why would you need someone else to employ you? Or are you suggesting your current employer would UNFAIRLY dismiss you for rightly requesting compensation for your pain, suffering and lose of earnings?!
steelgoon:
Where there is blame there is a claim apparently.Not that I am an advocate of ambulance chasers, but your employer should have a duty of care towards you and provide the necessary tools/training to ensure you can do your job safely.
Manhandling more than your body weight several times a day for your job doesn’t sound like they are fulfilling their duties fully.
I manhandle 200kg plus everyday at least 5 times a day. It’s the job, if you can’t do it, go somewhere else.
jprioredi: I thought about it plenty, made the pros and cons list etc but ultimately decided against it. I played my part in the accident, basically i rolled a lorry, a problem with the lorry was behind it as well as my choice of speed. The problem was a known fault for more then 2yrs but they took the decision to not to fix it - obviously i took the decision to drive it.
I wrote of the unit and trailer, spread 25 ton of metal allover the roundabout, needed 200m of new tarmac laid and closed the motorway from 9am till midnight. Probably cost the company a few quid doing that, alot more then fixing the problem.
All i have from it now is a few scares from my shoulder to my wrist on one arm and removed abit of meat. It still works. I was never a model to begin with so life goes on.
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Personally, I’d be of the opinion that if it was hands down my fault - then I’ll pay the price. There was a time when I’d have never thought of making a claim, but now I’d weigh up the factors.
I used to do fairly labour intensive work - all hand balling, full loads. Equipment had been fitted to the vehicles to make it easier, but once it broke, it was never repaired. My mind set had always been if I push myself too hard, and injure myself - thats my fault! Then one day I was out with a fellow employee and we were talking hypotheticals. We both concluded that we were happy enough doing the job without said equipment. The boss had been informed of said equipment not working, and had decided it wasn’t worth fixing. Therefor, in our opinion, if we were injured as a result of not using said equipment, it would be the responsibility of our employer to ensure we were paid in full for the duration of time it took for our recuperation. If this wasn’t the case, I know I’d have no option but to claim!
Just to show some balance - In my younger days I worked for an engineering company that covered the whole of Ireland. We were provided with company vans as it was all site work. One day I was driving myself and a work mate home when an uninsured, disqualified, drunk driver smashed into the back of us while sat in traffic. He drove off, we followed him, called the cops and he was arrested.
We rang our boss (who happened to be not far behind us) to inform him off the damage. He arrived on scene, took us both to casualty to get checked over, dropped us home, gave us a week off on full pay, and advised us to claim. We were both unhurt and thought it was a massive overreaction, so didn’t even consider claiming.
Had he just moaned and groaned about a slight dent to back of the van, and complained because we had inconvenienced him, maybe we would have thought differently - even though it wouldn’t have been his insurance taking the hit!
I unfortunately slipped between two decks on an icy car transporter (plus 11). Scarred my face for life but they make you sign so many three point of contact forms and ssw’s that they are covered from any blame. Even had to use a days holiday for the follow-up medical appointment. Good luck getting compensated.
Truckbreaker, as Conor has already said, your bosses have left themselves wide open.
If your job or any part of your job has the potential to cause injury or harm they have to provide proper training and have procedures in place which not only protect you but protect themselves as well. This would involve some form of manual handling training or specific training on how to lift/lower the ramps, risk assessments and correct h&s procedures…followed by you signing a tool box talk or something similar to say that you’d received the appropriate training. Without this they’re screwed. And it doesn’t matter if your boss can lift the ramps above his head with the end of his todger, he still has a duty of care to you and he’s obviously failed in that duty, especially as he’s ignored your concerns in the past. If you have documented proof that you’ve raised concerns before even better!
Your boss obviously doesn’t care about your well-being otherwise he would have addressed your concerns before now so it really depends on how strongly you feel about the situation you’re in.
Just a couple of points to think about though:
1). I’m presuming your boss has public liability insurance so if you do decide to put a claim in it won’t come directly out of his pocket (although his premium will go up) so don’t feel guilty.
2). He cannot then sack you for putting a claim in, you will then have a case for unfair dismissal.
Hope this helps and good luck with the recovery, I had a hernia op in December and they can be quite painful, as I’m sure you’re aware 
It’s not public liability he needs it’s employers liability.
raymundo:
It’s not public liability he needs it’s employers liability.
Sorry Raymundo, my mistake. You are, of course, quite correct. That’ll teach me to read what I’ve written before submitting the post 