Spinal cord injury and other back injuries – a problem for employers
The back is a complex but delicate structure of bones, ligaments, tendons, nerves, and large muscles, and it can be easily damaged through overexertion or repetitive movements. There are many ways in which it can be damaged that can cause pain and disability.
Some of the causes of back pain include nerve damage, spinal cord injury, muscle strain, disc damage. A spinal cord injury is one of the most serious types of back injury, and commonly results in paralysis. A back injury can also cause leg pain, also known as sciatica, which occurs when a disc presses on a nerve root.
How do spinal cord injuries and back injuries affect businesses?
Although there are under 500 serious spinal cord injuries a year that occur at work, those that do happen often have long lasting consequences, resulting in years off work and possible retirement for the worker involved. Compensation is often sought following a spinal cord injury caused by an accident at work, with serious financial consequences for the employer.
Research suggests that 500,000 people a year suffer a back injury at work, resulting in an estimated 4.9 million days off sick a year, an average of 19 days per worker. BackCare, a back injury charity, puts the cost of back pain to businesses in the UK at £5 billion a year.
2 out of 3 small firms state that they are affected by people who cannot work due to a back injury, and 1 in 5 small business workers report that they have suffered a bad back caused by their work.
What kind of accidents at work can cause spinal cord injuries and back injuries?
Workers who are particularly affected by back injuries include nurses, paramedics and ambulance crews, recycling workers, and administrators. Poor methods of manual handling account for many cases of disc damage and muscle strain for people in these professions. Spinal cord injuries are mainly caused by falls and slips, and construction workers are the most susceptible to these accidents at work.
There is particular prevalence of back injuries in the North East of England, where 2 in 100 workers report they have suffered back pain caused or made worse by their work, compared to the national average of just over 1 in 100 workers. Scottish workers reported the fewest back injuries in the UK .
What can an employer do to prevent spinal cord injuries and back injuries?
As the majority of all spinal cord injuries are caused by falls from heights, implementing excellent on-site safety for construction workers is extremely important. Risks should be identified, acted upon, and reviewed on a regular basis in order to keep the chance of a falling accident to the minimum.
A lifting procedure can help to reduce the number of lifting injuries that cause back injury. The following are points which can be incorporated into workplace activities to reduce the chance of a back injury:
Ensure the area is clear of so there aren’t any obstacles to fall over whilst carrying the load
Bend the knees and keep the back straight when lifting
Hold the load with two hands
If the load is too heavy, split the load into two smaller loads if possible or get someone else to help
Allow longer to do the lifting task so muscles don’t get strained
What should a worker do if they have suffered an injury at work?
Employees should take legal advice from experts in personal injury law if they believe their employers were to blame for the accident. Compensation can make a huge amount of difference to the injured person and their family, especially if they were the main breadwinner.
An injured employee can claim for the pain and suffering the injury has caused them, as well as loss of earnings, prescription costs, treatment costs, and other losses.
Article Source: http://www.article-hangout.com
Tags: back injury, ligaments tendons, muscle strain, nerve damage, paralysis, paramedics, repetitive movements, sciatica, spinal cord, spinal cord injuries, spinal cord injury |
