Slipped Disc At Work – Claim Injury Compensation For A Herniated Disc

By Ian Morris | Updated December 12th, 2022

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One of the more serious back injuries arising through an injury at work is that of a slipped disc. Also known as a herniated or prolapsed disc, such injuries can cause immense pain and may require spinal surgery. The most serious of cases result in extremely limited mobility, a requirement for very strong pain relief, and an inability to work.

Can I sue my employer for a slipped disc?
What should I do if I have suffered a slipped disc at work?
Who can claim compensation?
Slipped disc compensation amounts
How Direct2Compensation can help you maximise your claim
How do I start my claim?
Comments – your questions answered

Can I sue my employer for a slipped disc?

Any person who is injured in an accident at work that causes a slipped disc has the right to seek compensation from their employer’s insurance. In order to succeed with any claim after an injury at work, it is necessary to be able to identify areas of employer negligence.

Herniated, slipped or prolapsed discs are most commonly caused as a result of a lifting heavy items, or by a fall at work.

The vast majority of our clients looking to claim compensation for a slipped disc have not been provided with any relevant training or tools and equipment to lift items safely.

Employers must ensure that all staff are provided with training and guidance in how to lift and carry items of weight safely. Such training is known as manual handling training and by providing such assistance and support to employees, employers can minimise the risks of injury.

Employees who have not been given manual handling training are likely to use poor lifting techniques, be unable to identify items that require more than one person to lift, or have access to the necessary equipment. Therefore they are exposed to the risk of suffering a slipped disc or other back injury.

Any employee who has sustained an injury as a result of lifting items and has not been given manual handling training, provided with assistance to lift items of weight, or tools/equipment to minimise the risk of injury, is likely to be able to demonstrate employer negligence and therefore succeed with a claim for compensation.

What should I do if I have suffered a slipped disc at work?

As with any injury in the workplace, it is important that the incident is properly reported and recorded in the employer’s accident book. Any such report should include details of the work that was being undertaken at the time and how the injury was sustained. If the employer has not provided the injured worker with any manual handling training this should also be stated.

It is most likely that anyone who suffers a slipped disc injury at work will be in extreme pain and unable to move freely. As such it is likely that immediate medical treatment will be required, and an ambulance may be needed to transfer the injured worker to hospital.

Seeking medical treatment for a slipped disc is important on two counts. It will enable the injured worker to seek strong pain relief to ease their immediate symptoms, alongside providing a full diagnosis and treatment plan to aid recovery. This in turn will provide important medical evidence that can be used to support any future claim for compensation.

At Direct2Compensation, we can help you to understand your rights after an injury at work and can make sure that you are offered the advice, support and assistance needed.

Slipped disc compensation amounts

It is impossible to give a truly accurate prediction of the value of a compensation settlement at the outset of any claim. Each claim settlement value will be decided on the basis of medical evidence, the severity of injury sustained and how the injury has affected the claimants day-to-day life and physical ability. However, we can give some basic guidelines on this issue as stated below:

In cases where there is a prolapsed intervertebral disc and a requirement for surgery or nerve irritation causing restricted mobility and loss of independence, the approximate settlements for slipped or herniated disc compensation can range from £19,000 to around £28,000.
When a slipped or herniated disc injury has needed a laminectomy or develops into an ongoing condition a claimant should expect a settlement value of around £8,000 -£20,000.
In the more serious cases of slipped and herniated disc injury compensation claims where the injury to the spinal discs includes lesions or fractures, claim settlement values will understandably be higher. In such cases, we have seen successful claimants receive slipped or herniated disc injury settlements of up to almost £50,000. To obtain slipped or herniated disc injury compensation settlements values in this range, the claimant will have suffered from severe and extreme pain with limited mobility, sexual function and have had their independence greatly impaired.

Alongside obtaining a compensation settlement value for the injuries and physical trauma sustained as a result of a slipped disc, our specialist solicitors will also ensure that you recover any relevant special damages too. This would include all lost income and costs incurred as a result of the injuries sustained.

How Direct2Compensation can help you maximise your claim

At Direct2Compensation we know your rights after an injury at work and have genuine expertise in managing claims for compensation arising from slipped discs and other back injuries.

We offer a simple and easy to understand No Win No Fee personal injury claims process and have taken the hassle out of claiming compensation. You can be certain we will ensure that your claim for compensation is managed efficiently, helpfully and that any settlement value is maximised in your favour. We will ensure that you know how to recover any lost income and costs incurred in your special damages claim.

Our specialist solicitors will ensure that the appropriate medical experts are instructed to conduct any medical assessment that is needed during the claims process in order that a full and fair compensation settlement value is agreed upon. Where relevant, they may also be able to access specialist rehabilitation therapies and treatments at the cost of the defendant to aid and speed up your recovery.

How do I start my slipped disc claim?

To find out more about your compensation rights or to start your slipped disc injury claim today, call us on 01225 430285 or if you prefer, .

One of our team will take some basic details ahead of making sure that your claim enquiry is passed to the right specialist solicitor. The solicitor will then contact you to take more detailed instructions and commence the No Win No Fee claims process.

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Comments & Questions

Read on for questions and advice about claiming, plus slipped disc injury claim examples...

I writing to see if you can help with our enquiry. My husband has worked for a company now for around five and a half years, in the year 2016 my husband ended up having to go off work on sick leave (full company pay) had MRI scans to show he had a slipped disc and a rotary cuff, snapped tendons. My Husbands got full private medical insurance so this covered his operations, physio and consultant costs. After six months off my Husband was forced back in to work with no phase return and was made to use holidays for future operations, he had no meetings to ask how he was doing for him to fill out his own personnel records.

In June of this year he started to get pain in his slipped disc, he told his Managers and they still carried on putting him in the cold ie with no freezer coat other than a fleece. Around the 11th of June this year my Husband couldn’t move and I took him to see a doctor who then referred him to the top spinal surgeon in the UK and Europe.

The consultant ordered MRI to discover he had a swollen disc and a cracked disc, the consultant put him on sick and he has been on sick for the last six months as these type of injuries aren’t fixed overnight. He had two operations to his spine but he will always have this issue. He was very close to being in a wheelchair with these injuries as they are the lowest discs in the back. Now he has gone to work this morning to discuss his return to work and they basically accused him of manipulating the sick policy and his consultant and he is on the verge of losing his job because he’s been on sick leave on and off for six month periods at a time. We are very worried, as if they had looked after him in the correct way this wouldn’t have happened.

The reason I’m writing is to see where he would stand on a claim regarding his injuries. We have all the consultant letters and you can get all the documents from work regarding how bad he’s has been treated.

He now has to live with this injury for the rest of his life and he most probably lose his job down to his injuries and sick leave.

I look forward to receiving your reply, I hope you can help and advise.

Your Husband does have a potential claim against his employer – for any injuries that were caused by his work and as a result of employer negligence within the last 3 years. To this end, it would be sensible for us to speak further with your Husband and review the supporting evidence that you mention in order that we can have a specialist Solicitor consider whether or not a claim for compensation can proceed.

Hi I’ve just been diagnosed with a prolapsed disc and awaiting surgery, i work in a manufacturing environment which involves a lot of bending and lifting, I think over time this as contributed to my injury, there is nothing logged but over a long period of time we have asked for a lifting device but told it would cost to much, this as repeatedly been reported to health and safety, would it be worth putting in a valid claim?

In the work you describe, it is foreseeable that such injuries could occur if staff members are not properly trained, supervised and allowed to work in accordance with safe lifting training. Given that a lifting tool has been requested but not provided, you may well have a valid claim and we would like to pursue this for you.

I injured my back at work, on the Wednesday, then on the Thursday back at work I was in pain but it was workable but as the work hours passed I felt the pain getting more intense, I was in agony by the Friday and I had to be taken to hospital and there had various scans of my back and pain relief, it turned out a disc had moved a little and it was causing swelling in my back, pressing on my nerves in the back. Causing extreme pain and lack of mobility.
I was off work on the sick for almost 2 weeks. it still is not pain free but I am back at work on light duties. My issue is I was not paid my full pay, which I feel I should have been entitled to. as it was an injury at work. My Dr is unsure if my back will ever recover fully. Can I make a claim?.

You can make a compensation claim for the slipped disc if the injury has been caused by your work, particularly if it can be demonstrated that your employer has been negligent towards your health and safety. Employers have a responsibility to ensure that the risk of injury is minimised and if your employer has failed in their statutory duty to minimise the risk of you sustaining a back injury at work and not provided you with adequate manual handling training, the appropriate equipment to enable you to work safely or a working environment that makes it impossible to work safely, you may succeed with a claim for compensation.

We would like to speak with you further on this matter in order to find out a little more about your job, how you came to sustain the injury and ascertain whether or not you can pursue a claim for compensation.

Was hurt at work helping a plumber do his job, I ended up putting my back out, herniated disc plus trapped nerves and numbness around groin and hip.

You could have a claim for compensation, but we need to know more about your workplace and the circumstances of your injury before we can advise further.

Hi
I have a prolapsed disc and as a result have very limited mobility and I’m on the waiting list for surgery. In my job in an office I have always been expected to lift/carry/bend whilst signing in heavy deliveries. I have never received any manual training from my employer. Would I have a claim?

Your employer has a responsibility under the requirements of the Health & Safety at Work Act to take all reasonable steps to minimise the risks to health and injury in the workplace. As such, in a role that requires lifting and moving of items, the employer has a duty to ensure that staff are shown how to lift safely, given the correct equipment to move heavier items without risking health and afforded a working environment that allows them to follow the correct training and guidance.

In your case, the employer has failed to provide the required manual handling training and it is therefore likely that employer negligence will attach to them on the basis that you have sustained injuries to your back as a result of their negligence. As such, my initial view is that you have a valid claim for compensation.

I have worked for my employer for five and a half years, two and a half of which were via an agency. For over a year now I have had lower back pain so I went to the Doctors and was sent for a scan which showed that I had a slight bulged disc. This injury/damage leaves me in pain and unable to do my job which involves repetitive bending and lifting.

I have had a lot of time off work and it has cost me a lot of money. I complained to my employer as I had not had any manual handling. The employer ignored this report for a while but as I kept on about it I received a letter from work to attend a meeting. When I went in for the meeting, the employer gave me a manual handling course.

I was off sick with the pain in my back and was put through lifting exercises and watched a video. That was six months ago but the damage was already done by that time. I am back to work now, but needed the last two weeks off with back pain. The results of my scan says at L4-5 disc dehydration with broad annulardisc bulging is associated with mild degenerate hypertrophy of the posterior elements. This is resulting in mild symmetrical stenosis of the L5 lateral recesses.

Given your employers failure to provide you with manual handling training when you are employed in a role that requires repetitive bending and lifting, my initial view is that you have a valid claim against your employer on the basis of employer negligence for the back injury you have sustained as a result of your work for them. Employers have an obligation under the Health and Safety at Work Act to minimise the risk of injury or damage to health in the workplace. This means that they must provide adequate training and equipment to enable you to work safely. In this case, this has not happened and you have been exposed to a risk of injury that could have been avoided.

Have you considered making a claim against your employer? We would be very happy to assist you in the process and explain your rights to you.

I have 2 prolapsed discs in my neck. I was doing a hard labor civil construction job not sure exactly when I did the injury though. I started getting pins and needles in my right arm that has slowly increased to being very painful burning sensations down my right arm. I can not work and am on a waiting list to get a discectomy to relieve the pressure on the nerves. At work we were always having to pick up items that were really heavy and were often understaffed for the work we had to do. Do I have a claim?

The employer you were working for would appear to have been negligent towards your health and safety and as such, you have a right to seek compensation for the injuries caused to you. Do you know when your symptoms started? As long as they did within the past 3 years, you have a reasonable prospect of succeeding with a claim for compensation.

I have a slipped disc in the lumbar spine. I believe this has occurred from repetitively lifting/twisting to reach heavy items on the deli counter at work. I am having a discectomy at the end of this month. Is there any way of proving this and claiming compensation?

Depending on the nature of your work, how long you have been doing it for and what level of training, support and equipment your employer has provided, there could well be a valid claim for back injury compensation here. In such cases as the one you describe, we’d need to know more about the working environment, such as the space available for you in your work station and what you had to lift and move before our specialist Solicitors would be able to advise you properly on the prospects of any claim you wished to pursue.

Clearly, you have suffered a very serious injury to your back and as such, if you were to succeed with a claim the level of damages could be quite high.

Hello, I work in a funeral home and was bringing a deceased from their home into our care. Myself and my work partner had the deceased on a stretcher and was carrying him down the stairs when my partner dropped the foot end of the stretcher and I still had hold of the head end. I hurt my shoulders and back wrote it in the accident book and saw a dr. I was put on light duties and given painkillers. I lived on painkillers for months and went back to the doctors in May and told them it’s still really bad I can’t cope going to work and after the light duties I did change to office based job still for the same company. They sent me for an mri which has shown I have a slipped disc. Could I claim for this??

Has your employer provided relevant training to you and colleagues with safe lifting? Is the stretcher used for the work the correct one? These are an example of the questions we need to ask to be able to offer more specific advise regarding any claim against your employer. On face value and at first glance, our view is that there is a claim to pursue.

10 month’s ago at work in a warehouse, a crate tipped over and I caught the weight of it on my back unknowingly. It was probably shimmed to prevent it from tipping as it was a tall and thin crate.

I now have been dealing with two herniated discs and a lot of pain every day. I’ve been to doctors and filed a worker’s incident report with my job at the time of injury. Do I have any options?

You can pursue a claim against your employers liability insurance via the services of a specialist personal injury claims Solicitor – such as those working for Direct2Compensation claimants. We offer a No Win No Fee service to anyone injured in the UK through no fault of their own and would love to help you too.

My manager told me to enter a client’s home without my work colleague present she told me that I could make a start with the client i.e assist the client to walk to the commode which was by her bed, as we approached the client started to fall forwards it was my natural instinct to stop this elderly lady from falling to the floor in managing to do this I sustained a slipped disc is my boss liable?

Hi, thank you for sharing your workplace injury story with us. It won’t surprise you to hear that we receive a large number of enquiries from people who suffer injuries at work from the care industry sector.

Your employer may well be liable in this matter, but it will depend on what ‘care plan’ or risk assessment is in place for the particular lady that you were providing care for. If it is a two person job and the employer has assessed this as the requirement for this client, then you could well succeed with a claim if they have then told you to ‘crack on’ without waiting for the 2nd carer to arrive on site.

Your claim enquiry is something we would very much like to investigate further and get to one of our specialist Solicitors for you.

Thank you for your reply and I would certainly be interested in speaking to a specialist solicitor regarding this matter, as originally I did not want to pursue this down to loyalty for my employer, but as I am no longer an employee of this company and am still suffering with excruciating pain in my lower back and down my left leg, even after having physio. I don’t really know what to do next as there isn’t really much in regards to treatment for a slipped disc apart from an operation which I don’t really want to have, I somehow feel like my ex employer is at fault due to negligence on their part, please could you get someone to contact me via email to arrange a chat thanks.

I was working using a lorry mounted crane(hiab) and whilst lifting a pallet that was loaded with heavy blocks the pallet tilted and the blocks slipped off. This is because the blocks should have been banded together in a certain way then banded to the pallet, this would have stopped them slipping off. As I was clearing them from the bed of the lorry lifting them I suffered a slipped disc in my back which I needed surgery for and was off work for 7 months on ssp. When I started the job I wasn’t given no manual handling training or any sort of training in use of equipment or products. On returning to work on the second day I was subjected to aggressive and verbal abuse from the foreman and when I complained he made up a story I was. I was immediately suspended and told by my manager I’m a “bad apple”.I think this is because I started a claim. Now 7 month on my solicitor says I ain’t got a case because my gp didn’t make a note of how I sustained my injury. Surely that is trivial compared to how I’ve been treated. Can you advise me please, thank you.

What a distressing situation in which you find yourself. Sadly, it is often the case that the ‘bad apple’ is the bad employer who doesn’t provide basic training and shows a disregard to health and safety. To make matters worse, they then try and turn it round on to you as the injured employee and call you the bad apple.

Obviously, your Solicitor would not wish to close the case if they felt they could succeed as they will be acting on a Conditional Fee Agreement (No Win No Fee) basis and will only get paid for their work if they succeed for you. With this in mind, the fact that they seem to be closing the case is a bit of a worry.

However, all may not be lost. Have you tried speaking to your GP to discuss this situation? Asking if they would be willing to link the injury for which you have had treatment? Also, was an accident book entry completed at work at the time of the injury? Was it witnessed etc?

If your current Solicitor has not yet closed it, you should discuss these possibilities with them. If they have closed it, we could get one of our partner Solicitors to obtain your file from the previous firm and review it for you. Whether or not we were then able to take it further, I cannot say but you would have nothing to lose by allowing us to review this for you.