Work accident news
22/10/2007
Lifting and carrying injuries targeted
As part of the continuous drive to cut the devastating effects of work accidents, the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work are launching a brand new campaign to raise awareness of the dangers of lifting and carrying.
The week-long drive will run from the 22nd to the 26th October 2007 and will be dedicated specifically to cutting musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) caused by workplace activity. The campaign has been titled Lighten the Load' and the European Union is hoping that it can make a real difference to the huge problem of MSDs.
More than one million people in the UK are currently affected by musculoskeletal disorders and suffer problems such as back pain, neck damage, upper limb disorders and repetitive strain injury.
These injuries are responsible for causing a huge amount of time off work each year and are also the root of numerous work accident compensation claims by staff who have found their lives affected by the problem.
It is hoped that this year's European Week for Safety and Health at Work will encourage bosses to tighten up working practices, whilst also making employees more aware of the dangers of not lifting and carrying properly.
Organisations throughout the country have thrown their backing behind the project and those supporting the Lighten the Load campaign include trade unions, charities and personal injury solicitors.
The British Red Cross are one of those supporting the initiative and a spokeswoman from the charity said: "The number of Britons suffering injuries through moving and handling at work has increased virtually every year since 1999. Yet, as working in industrial environments continues to decline and office-based work increases, they should be declining."
She also added: "Those who have been trained in moving and handling skills and who put those skills into action can lift without incurring injury. Unfortunately too many staff who try to move office equipment, boxes, furniture and similar items have not been taught the correct techniques.
"There are training courses for all aspects of moving and handling. Most back injuries at work are preventable just not enough is being done to prevent them."
The British Red Cross are able to help in the fight against work accidents by offering manual handling courses to businesses and individuals. For more information, take a look at www.redcross.org.uk.
Personal injury solicitors are another group of people that see up-close the consequences of bad lifting and handling practices and many are keen to do something about the problem.
A spokesman for YouClaim, the work accident compensation experts, commented on the issue, saying: "Employers simply have to ensure that their staff are properly trained to do their job safely, whether that's operating machinery or lifting and carrying.
"We only ever get one body and we've got to make sure we protect it. That's partly up to ourselves of course, but also the responsibility of an employer to ensure that we're not at unnecessary risk.
"Lifting and carrying can easily cause personal injury if it's done incorrectly and so all staff should be trained properly in order to safeguard their health and wellbeing."
For those for whom it is too late, however, no win, no fee personal injury solicitors, like those on YouClaim's panel, are able to help. People who have suffered musculoskeletal disorders because of a work accident are perfectly entitled to make a compensation claim and so should contact a solicitor right away.
For more information about European Week for Safety and Health at work, go to www.hse.gov.uk/campaigns/euroweek.
