Is There an Average Payout for Back Injury at Work Claims? - Injury At Work Claims Expert

You might like to know the average payout for a back injury at work if you’ve been injured in a workplace accident. This guide explores back injury payouts and how they are valued.

Average payout for a back injury at work guide

We provide examples of guideline compensation brackets from the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG). In addition, we explore what costs you could recover when you make a claim. We also look at what evidence you could submit in support of your case.

In order to claim compensation, you must be able to prove that you were owed a duty of care by your employer and they breached this. We explore what evidence you could provide to prove employer negligence.

Talk to our advisors about the average payout for a back injury at work. They’re available 24 hours a day, seven days a week and can provide you with free legal advice.

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What Is The Average Payout For A Back Injury At Work?
Calculating Compensation Amounts For Back Injury Claims
How Do Back Injuries Happen At Work?
Evidence For Back Injury Claims
No Win No Fee Agreements
Further Information About The Average Payout For A Back Injury At Work

What Is The Average Payout For A Back Injury At Work?

If you sustained while at work, you might ask ‘how much compensation for a back injury at work?’. Firstly, you need to be able to prove your employer neglected their duty of care under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 (HASAWA). This neglect of their duty of care must have caused your injury before you can make a back injury claim.

Each injury is different and occurs in a set of different circumstances. In addition, each person that experiences an injury at work will have different needs following their accident. That’s why it is difficult to state what the average payout for a back injury at work is. Even back injury symptoms will vary between people.

Contact our advisors to discuss your potential back injury settlement. You could be connected with a No Win No Fee solicitor from our panel.

Recent Work Injury Statistics

Non-fatal employee injury statistics are recorded by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). This includes the 51,211 total injuries reported under the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013 (RIDDOR) in 2020/21. Of the total injuries, 7,377 were reportable back injuries.

Calculating Compensation Amounts For Back Injury Claims

Your settlement for a back injury at work could be made up of two heads. These are general damages and special damages. We examine each in further detail below.

You might be invited to an independent medical assessment as part of your work injury claim. This is to learn the full extent of your injuries and what impact they may have on your life.

General Damages

The first part of your claim is called general damages. Under this head, you claim for your physical pain and suffering plus any emotional injuries experienced as a result. The Judicial College Guidelines (JCG) is a publication used by legal professionals to help them assign value to injuries. Injuries are listed alongside their potential compensation brackets.

We have used figures from these guidelines to create the table below:

Injury	Potential compensation	Notes
Paraplegia	£219,070 to £284,260	Paralysis of lower body, for example, from a spinal cord injury.
Severe back injuries (i)	£91,090 to £160,980	Very serious consequences from spinal cord and nerve root damage resulting in severe pain, disability, incomplete paralysis and bladder, bowel and sexual functioning impairments.
Severe back injuries (ii)	£74,160 to £88,430	Back injuries with special features, including nerve root damage resulting in sensation loss, mobility impairments, impaired bladder, bowel and sexual functioning and scarring.
Severe back injuries (iii)	£38,780 to £69,730	Continuing disability from lesions to discs, fractures or damage to the soft tissue.
Moderate back injuries (i)	£27,760 to £38,780	Residual disability from a back injury that are less serious than in more severe cases.
Moderate back injuries (ii)	£12,510 to £27,760	Disturbed ligaments and muscles or soft tissue injury causing a prolonged acceleration or exacerbation of a pre-existing back condition.
Minor back injuries (i)	£7,890 to £12,510	Non-surgically assisted recover within 2-5 years.
Minor back injuries (ii)	£4,350 to £7,890	1-2 years until a full recovery without surgery.
Minor back injury (iii)	£2,450 to £4,350	Non-surgical recovery within 3 months to 1 year.
Minor back injury (iv)	Up to £2,450	Full recovery within 3 months.

Special Damages

To recover costs associated with your injury, you could also claim special damages. In order to claim under this head, however, you must have proof of the costs. This could include receipts or payslips.

You could recover:

Medical expenses. This could include any expenses not covered by the NHS, such as back massage.
Orthopaedic aids. This could include a mattress for back pain.
Loss of earnings. This could cover wages you have already lost out on as well as lost future wages if you cannot return to work following your injury.

Our advisors can estimate your compensation for a back injury at work. Also, you could discuss with them what costs you could recover, along with what evidence you should supply. If they feel you have a valid claim, they could pass you to one of the solicitors from our panel.

How Do Back Injuries Happen At Work?

As already mentioned in this guide, your employer owes you and every other employee a duty of care under the HASAWA. This means that they must take reasonable steps to reduce risks in the workplace. Breaching this duty of care leads to potential injuries.

Some examples of how back injuries could occur as a result of negligence include:

Lack of training. Inadequate training could result in injuries. Lifting and handling objects in the wrong manner could result in strained muscles, for example.
Slips, trips and falls. Walkways should be kept free of clutter. Slipping, tripping and falling on items that obscure your path could result in a bruised tailbone or a back injury.
Falls from a height. Employees working at a height should be provided with adequate safety equipment to prevent falls. For example, window cleaner harnesses should be checked regularly for faults and replaced if they’re no longer suitable.

Contact our advisors to learn more about the average payout for a back injury at work if employer negligence resulted in your injuries. A member of our team could confirm the average payout for a back injury at work and let you know how much you could receive.

Evidence For Back Injury Claims

To claim accident at work compensation you must be able to prove three things:

Firstly, you were owed a duty of care.
Second, this duty of care was breached.
And lastly, that the breach in the duty of care resulted in your injuries.

There are certain steps you can take to strengthen your injury at work claim. For example:

Seek medical attention. X-rays and medical records could be submitted as evidence.
Note the details of any witnesses. This means they can be contacted to provide a statement at a later date.
Request CCTV. You are within your rights to request CCTV footage of the accident that resulted in your back injury.
Seek legal advice. Injury at work solicitors could help make the process of claiming run more smoothly than it otherwise would. Talk to a solicitor about the average payout for a back injury at work.

Our advisors are available to discuss what could be submitted as evidence for your claim for a back injury.

Back Injury Time Limits to Claim

There is a general time limit of three years to starting a personal injury claim under the Limitation Act 1980. There are exceptions, however.

If you are under the age of 18 at the time of the injury, you have three years to begin a claim after your 18th birthday. However, a litigation friend could begin a claim on your behalf before you turn 18 and the time limit for doing so is suspended.

You may lack the mental capacity to claim yourself. A litigation friend, however, could start a claim on your behalf and no time limit applies. The limit starts again in the event that you regain the capacity to claim.

No Win No Fee Agreements

If you fund legal representation in the traditional way, then this could mean that you have to pay large upfront or ongoing fees to your lawyer as they work on your claim. This means that you could pay large upfront fees but without any guarantee of compensation. Solicitors working under No Win No Fee agreements, or Conditional Fee Agreements (CFA), work slightly differently, however.

A No Win No Fee solicitor won’t charge an upfront solicitors fee. They get paid in the event of a successful claim. This is through a percentage of your compensation that they’ll deduct if your case is won. This percentage is subject to a legal cap. If it isn’t successful, then you don’t have to pay your lawyer for their services.

Discuss The Average Payout For A Back Injury At Work

Our advisors can offer free legal advice. They can discuss your injury and determine whether a breach in duty of care caused it.

They can’t tell you the average payout for a back injury at work, as there are too many factors; however, they can estimate what damages you could claim as part of your back injury compensation.

If you would like to proceed with a claim, they could put you in touch with our solicitors, if your claim seems eligible. Our solicitors can offer No Win No Fee arrangements.

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Further Information About The Average Payout For A Back Injury At Work

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Writer Danielle Belle

Editor Fern Strauss