Repetitive Strain Injury: How To Show Your UK Employer Is Legally Responsible For Your Workplace RSI Compensation Claim
Repetitive strain injury at work claim: Find out what a RSI work accident is, how to show your employer is legally responsible for your compensation claim and the steps your employer may take to attempt to avoid responsibility for your claim.
What is a UK repetitive strain injury?
A “repetitive strain injury” is also called a “work related upper limb disorder”.
It is an injury in the muscles, nerves and tendons in the arms or upper back caused when muscles in the upper back and arms are kept tense for long periods of time due to repetitive motions and poor posture.
The seriousness of a repetitive strain injury should not be underestimated – if early symptoms are ignored a full blown repetitive strain injury can develop which may need surgery to remedy.
What are the most common types of repetitive strain injury?
There are many different types of repetitive strain injury, but each is a recognised medical condition. Some of the most common types of UK repetitive strain injury at work include:
Repetitive Strain Wrist Injury
1. Carpal tunnel syndrome – pain and weakness in the hand and forearm due to a constriction of the medial nerve in the wrist. It is caused from highly repetitive manual acts such as grasping of items by the hands … common amongst factory line workers.
2. De Quervain’s syndrome – a form of tenosynovitis causing pain and swelling over the wrist normally on the thumb side of the wrist. Caused by the repetitive motion of the thumb and a common injury for office workers using a computer.
3. Trigger finger / stenosing tenosynovitis – pain and difficulty in straightening the affected fingers or thumb. It is called trigger finger, because when the finger is able to move it pops back suddenly like a trigger on a gun. This is a type of repetitive strain caused to workers using machines that involve prolonged grip such as industrial drills.
4. Epicondylitis: Tennis Elbow / Golfer’s Elbow – an inflammation in the elbow joint.
When is your employer legally responsible for RSI?
The types of repetitive strain injury and the type of repetitive task at work that cause them are now quite well known.
Each type of work task that can cause repetitive strain will have a law in place that will specify certain precautionary steps your employer should take.
For example – if you work with a computer or “display screen”, a law known as the Health and Safety (Display Screen) Regulation 1992, requires your employer to provide: suitable training and equipment and to plan your use of the display screen to ensure that your daily work is regularly interrupted by breaks or changes of activity.
The ways of showing your employer is legally responsible are largely the same as an accident at work.
Remember – every repetitive strain injury will come from a task at work that requires some form of manual handling, so the Manual Handling Regulations will also apply.
If you are asked to do a task that is known to cause a repetitive strain injury – can your employer avoid responsibility by warning you of the risks and the symptoms to look out for?
It will assist your employer to avoid legal responsibility for your claim if he warns you of the risks of your job and the early symptoms of repetitive strain you should look out for.
It is very rare that an employer can avoid legal responsibility by attempting to say you consented to your repetitive strain injury. Before you give up on any repetitive strain compensation claim use our free online solicitor help to ask a question, have your claim assessed or arrange a free callback
Click injury at work to see why you are likely to still have a workplace claim when your employer argues you consented to the risks of your accident or contributed to your injuries.
Summary of repetitive strain & free specialist solicitor help
On this page you /have learned what RSI is and how the most common types are caused – you have also seen how to show your employer is legally responsible to pay you compensation.
You may need some legal help before deciding whether to make a repetitive strain injury claim – see our specialist solicitor online / telephone help – ask your own question, arrange for a specialist solicitor free callback.
