THE MANUAL HANDLING OPERATIONS
REGULATIONS 1992

Manual handling means more than just lifting or carrying something and is used to describe a range of activities including :-

• lifting
• lowering
• pushing
• pulling
• carrying
• moving
• holding
• restraining an object, animal or person
• use of force or effort such as pulling a lever or operating power tools
• Excessive stooping, reaching upwards, pushing or pulling movements
• frequent or prolonged physical effort without sufficient rest and recovery.

Common workplace accidents due to the above actions include back injury, as well as damage to hands, arms and feet. Acute low back pain, musculoskeletal disorders (including occupational overuse syndromes), acute sprains and strains of muscles and tendons are often the result of employers negligence. Injuries in some cases may be permanent resulting in ongoing disabilities and symptoms.

Your employer has a legal duty to provide a safe and healthy workplace. The Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992 specify that so far as is reasonably practicable, each employer must avoid the need for his employees to undertake any manual handling operations at work which involve a risk of injury.

Tasks in your workplace should be identified by your employer and the risk or likelihood of injury assessed. Where there is a risk of injury, reasonable "control measures" must be introduced. In assessing the likelihood of risk of injury from breach of The Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992, your employer must look at these factors :-

• the task(s) required of the employee
• the employee who is performing the manual handling task
• the degree of effort - simply restraining an object, such as an animal, can cause sprains and other injuries
• the load(s) being moved in the manual handling operation (are they bulky, heavy, difficult to grasp, unstable, hot, sharp?)
• the equipment being used
• the nature of the work environment (space constraint preventing good posture, slippery, unstable floors, poor lighting)
• location of the object - heavy objects that have to be lifted awkwardly, such as from ground level, are more likely to cause injury than objects lifted from waist height
• handling time - the more often an object has to be handled, the greater the chance of injury

Control measures that may need to be introduced by your employer include :-

• mechanical assistance
• training and supervision of employees
• use of protective personal equipment

If your employer has failed to take reasonable measures to reduce the risk of injury in the workplace and as a result, you are injured, you may be entitled to personal injury compensation.

Here are 3 good reasons to choose our lawyers:

1. Our lawyers will provide you with legal advice on your rights and entitlements to compensation with no further obligation.
2. Our solicitors are specialist accredited expert members of the Law Society personal injury panel with extensive experience in negotiating, settling and litigating accident compensation claims.
3. If you decide to instruct any of our specialists to obtain compensation for you, they will act on a “no win no fee” basis. Compensation is paid in full and win or lose there is no charge.¹