Ruddy Back

[Spoggle]

Long story but, I injured my back at work in february lifting a heavy up and over door to our unit. Ive had a back issue for years now, but this has been the longest Ive been off work with it. GP refered me to a Neurosurgeon who had looked after me about 11 years ago when I had a discitis. Well he sent me for an M.R.I. scan and I just got the result. It would appear that the L3/4 disc space (where I had discitis) has now almost completely collapsed. At levels L2/3, L4/5 and L5/S1 I have advanced degeneraive disc disease with disc degeneration, degenerate disc bulging and arthritis of the facet joints producing lateral stenosis. My employers have informed me that if I dont return to work I will be reduced to half pay on 27 July Anyone know anything about making a claim for injury? We had told our boss about the door and that we had concerns about it, i.e it should have a motor drive fitted ,and thinking about it I cant remember ever seeing a risk assessment on it. Not even sure if I will be able to return to my old job now, may have to become a desk jocky. Now I need to find someone to help me do jobs on the truck cos if I get under her Ill never get back up, so anyone in the northeast? Ill provide bacon sarnies and beer

Spoggle

[che2318]

bacon sarnies and beer...

hope you have a pig farm and brewery on site!


bad news on the back front. hope it doesnt get too bad.

desk jockey work is fun.

i do alot of site work, but its been quiet lately and i have been in the office alot. so been on the forum and buying parts!

[Growler]

Sympathise with you mate, I've been off work since Easter with similiar problems and still waiting on MRI results, so don't know what the damage is yet.

Got sent for an epidural about 2 weeks ago and have at least reduced the number of pills i was taking daily.

Fortunately my works have set me up on a work from home basis helping with the helpdesk and data side of business, instead of travelling all over the country like i used to. It's a means to an end and at least keeps my salry coming in.

I feel your annoyance at not being able to work on the truck as I am having to rely on other people to help me out also. Hoping I can get it back on the road for later in the year as I miss my weekends out.

Good luck with the treatment and keep your chin up.

[lord_flashart]

My wife's a solicitor, I'll have an ask and see what she says, even if it's only a phone number for one of her colleagues I'll help if I can.

Thanks,

Ray.

[Rustinho]

Long story but, I injured my back at work in february lifting a heavy up and over door to our unit. Ive had a back issue for years now, but this has been the longest Ive been off work with it. GP refered me to a Neurosurgeon who had looked after me about 11 years ago when I had a discitis. Well he sent me for an M.R.I. scan and I just got the result. It would appear that the L3/4 disc space (where I had discitis) has now almost completely collapsed. At levels L2/3, L4/5 and L5/S1 I have advanced degeneraive disc disease with disc degeneration, degenerate disc bulging and arthritis of the facet joints producing lateral stenosis. My employers have informed me that if I dont return to work I will be reduced to half pay on 27 July Anyone know anything about making a claim for injury? We had told our boss about the door and that we had concerns about it, i.e it should have a motor drive fitted ,and thinking about it I cant remember ever seeing a risk assessment on it. Not even sure if I will be able to return to my old job now, may have to become a desk jocky. Now I need to find someone to help me do jobs on the truck cos if I get under her Ill never get back up, so anyone in the northeast? Ill provide bacon sarnies and beer

Spoggle

Although I can't offer any direct help this sounds very much like something that happened to a very good friend of mine a few years ago.

She was doing a part time job on the checkouts at Morrisons, complained of back ache during a shift and was fobbed off by a manager at the time. Turned out that she has a degenerative condition of the spine which hadn't previously been noted and Morrisons were held liable because they had contravened the health & safety at work act (or something like that anyway).

She never told me exactly how much compo she got but she was pretty satisfied with it and it bought her a house...

[Diezel Weazel]

Sorry to hear of ya problems mate, I sympathise with ya just make sure there's no delay in finding out your Problem, Prognosis n if there's a cure ..
So ya can atleast make an informed decision early...
Delays since 1972 didn't help me "broken spine" diagnosed in 1992.
Slipped discs, prolapsed disks, Curvature of the spine n finally Scoliosis so it's no fun believe me ...
Good Luck
Jess

"Cos short cuts cost more in the long run"

[lord_flashart]

Hi,

I'm Lord Flashart (aka Ray)'s wife and as he says, I'm a solicitor. Until last year, I worked in personal injury so may be able to give you some guidance.

If your employer breached its duty to ensure that a safe system of work was in place and this caused you to suffer injury, you may have the basis for a claim in personal injury against them. It sounds like this could be the case, given that they ignored your concerns and you aren't aware of any risk assessments having been carried out. However, as others have mentioned above, the fact that you were suffering from a pre-existing condition may complicate matters. It may lead to an argument being made that the injury would have happened anyway in time irrespective of the accident and eliminate the claim entirely or may alternatively serve to reduce the level of liability attributed to your employer and thereby reduce the compensation payable.

I think you should take proper legal advice from a lawyer specialising in personal injury. Remember that there is a time limit of three years from the date of an injury in which to issue any personal injury claim and as stated above, such matters can take a long time to progress. Check whether you have an insurance policy which will cover your legal expenses or whether the firm will offer you a No-win, no-fee agreement (this will depend on your prospects of success). In personal injury claims where in excess of £1000 compensation is awarded/paid in settlement, the defendant is obligated to pay the claimant's legal costs.

You should also take advice regarding your employment position. I also work in Employment Law and have dealt with cases of employees being treated unfairly where they have suffered an injury or have a disability. Where employees are unable to carry out their duties due to injury or disability, the employer needs to treat them fairly; this includes making reasonable adjustments to accomodate their condition and considering whether a change in their system of work or duties (such as working from home) will enable them to continue working. You should establish whether your back condition fell/falls under the legal definition of a 'disability' i.e. 'a long-term physical or mental impairment which has a substantial effect upon a person's ability to carry out day-to-day activities'. If your employer was aware of it but still made you open a door which caused undue strain to your back and did not make reasonable adjustments to deal with the risk, this could constitute disability discrimination, as could reducing your pay or dismissing you in an arbitrary fashion. You should also receive advice on whether they are making unlawful deductions from your wages. There is again a time limit on Employment Tribunal claims - usually three months less one day from the act complained of.

I will stop there, as I could go on for hours!! I really hope you feel better soon and get some kind of redress for your injury. Good luck!

Lucy (Lady Flashart!) :-)

[che2318]

Hi,

I'm Lord Flashart (aka Ray)'s wife and as he says, I'm a solicitor. Until last year, I worked in personal injury so may be able to give you some guidance.

If your employer breached its duty to ensure that a safe system of work was in place and this caused you to suffer injury, you may have the basis for a claim in personal injury against them. It sounds like this could be the case, given that they ignored your concerns and you aren't aware of any risk assessments having been carried out. However, as others have mentioned above, the fact that you were suffering from a pre-existing condition may complicate matters. It may lead to an argument being made that the injury would have happened anyway in time irrespective of the accident and eliminate the claim entirely or may alternatively serve to reduce the level of liability attributed to your employer and thereby reduce the compensation payable.

I think you should take proper legal advice from a lawyer specialising in personal injury. Remember that there is a time limit of three years from the date of an injury in which to issue any personal injury claim and as stated above, such matters can take a long time to progress. Check whether you have an insurance policy which will cover your legal expenses or whether the firm will offer you a No-win, no-fee agreement (this will depend on your prospects of success). In personal injury claims where in excess of £1000 compensation is awarded/paid in settlement, the defendant is obligated to pay the claimant's legal costs.

You should also take advice regarding your employment position. I also work in Employment Law and have dealt with cases of employees being treated unfairly where they have suffered an injury or have a disability. Where employees are unable to carry out their duties due to injury or disability, the employer needs to treat them fairly; this includes making reasonable adjustments to accomodate their condition and considering whether a change in their system of work or duties (such as working from home) will enable them to continue working. You should establish whether your back condition fell/falls under the legal definition of a 'disability' i.e. 'a long-term physical or mental impairment which has a substantial effect upon a person's ability to carry out day-to-day activities'. If your employer was aware of it but still made you open a door which caused undue strain to your back and did not make reasonable adjustments to deal with the risk, this could constitute disability discrimination, as could reducing your pay or dismissing you in an arbitrary fashion. You should also receive advice on whether they are making unlawful deductions from your wages. There is again a time limit on Employment Tribunal claims - usually three months less one day from the act complained of.

I will stop there, as I could go on for hours!! I really hope you feel better soon and get some kind of redress for your injury. Good luck!

Lucy (Lady Flashart!) :-)

wow.. good reply.


maybe i should have had you as my solicitor then i may have avoided her majestys pleasure!

[Spoggle]

Thanks for all the support and advice guys. I have contacted my trade union for legal advice and am making an appeal to my chief officer against reduction in pay. Employers sent me a list of other posts available to see if I fancy a change of scene from UPW (community service), may be a post in one of the local jails. Have to go and see the neurosurgeon on 5 July, so will see what he says can be done.Also got an appointment with occupational health on 28 July and they should be able to advise me and my employers what I am able to do. As for the rest. Got a leaking fuel pump if anyone would like to come and help me sort out

Spoggle

[lord_flashart]

Hey Spoggle, let me know how it goes, being my wife I can usually get a bit of ad-hoc legal advice out of her for free!!

Che2318, dare I ask?

Thanks,

Ray.

[che2318]

Hey Spoggle, let me know how it goes, being my wife I can usually get a bit of ad-hoc legal advice out of her for free!!

Che2318, dare I ask?

Thanks,

Ray.

being a good citizen (and soldier) i attempted to prevent a fight between some drunk tw@t and a couple that were walking home one night...

i got mouthed off and punched, so i hit back, we fought,

he ended up alot worse.


i accepted a plea deal from the prosecution as i was in the army and didnt want it to go on for ages, (i was naive in thinking the justice system was not about statistics and the black and white, but about common sense), but i didnt pick up on one small detail about the plea deal....'no claim of self defense'.

first offence

in the army

stung with 2 and a half years in prison. Judge said he was making an example out of me.

I was a little ####ed off but what can you do.

im just annoyed that it cost 50k of taxpayers money to train me for the army and instead of punishment where i keep my job, they send me down. it then costs about 20-30k to keep someone in prison?!

slightly more shocking was the fact that there was someone in prison who got the same length of sentence as me but had stabbed someone twice?!

you live and learn...

[HiluxorBust]

sorry to hear about your accident....

I sympathise as I have a rough back too, had the steroid injections last week which has helped.

Have a chat with QualitySolicitors.com , they will put you in touch with the right Solicitors in your area that specialise with you situation. I helped write their CRM system, they are good trustworthy people and know what they are doing AND they'll put you in the hands of the right people.

cheers & good luck

Andy