Care Worker Injury Compensation – See If You Can Claim

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If you are a care worker, healthcare assistant, or work in a supporting role with vulnerable people, you may be able to claim compensation if you are injured whilst at work. At Direct2Compensation we are seeing a growing number of enquiries from the care industry. Typical claims involve soft tissue injuries, such as back injuries, as well as more serious ones involving criminal assault. Often an employer will be liable for such injuries if they have failed to provide adequate training, sufficient risk assessments or the correct equipment.

Table of contents

Common types of care worker injury

Given the often physical and demanding nature of the job, care workers often run a higher risk of injury than average, particularly those working in mental health with challenging and potentially violent patients.

Typical injuries sustained by care workers:

Common accidents leading to injury:

Any injury sustained by an employee at work may allow a claim for compensation to be made. To find out whether or not you have a valid care worker claim, read on for more information and then contact us to discuss the specifics of your situation.

What training should a care worker expect to receive?

Employers who are instructing people to provide care and support for people who are immobile or in need of assistance, have themselves a duty of care to ensure staff are adequately trained to work safely and that the risk of injury at work is minimised.

Whether in residential homes or the community, staff should expect to receive guidance in how to identify risks to health, be provided with manual handling training and advised how to lift and move their patient safely.

Lifting

Care workers should be advised as to the maximum weight limit that they should expect to lift manually, and be provided with lifting equipment such as hoists (and trained in how to use them) for any weight that exceeds safe limits.

Risk assessments

They should also be working to a strict risk assessment for each person they provide care for. The risk assessment should be carried out by the employer and should clearly state whether the work is safe for one carer, or if two are required. The risk assessment should also list what, if any, lifting equipment or tools are needed to enable safe working.

Violent patients

Any care worker who is likely to be providing care to service users who are known to be aggressive or violent should expect the employer to have undertaken appropriate risk assessments of the nature of the person requiring care.

Staff placed at risk should have received MVA training (management of violence and aggression) in how to safely restrain patients, and policies and procedures should be in place for handling such incidents. It is also important that the employer ensures adequate staffing levels are maintained so that care workers are not exposed to the risk of an assault that could otherwise be avoided.

Do you have a valid compensation claim?

If you were injured as a result of employer negligence or the negligence of a colleague, you may seek to make a claim for work accident compensation.

This would include if your employer has ignored a risk assessment, failed to ensure that you were adequately staffed or not provided proper working or the correct lifting equipment.

Likewise, if you are injured by way of an assault whilst providing care work, you could well be eligible to claim.

If successful, you can claim compensation for the injuries sustained – the value of which will be reached on the basis of medical evidence, and also recover any loss of income caused by the injuries through the special damages element of your claim.

What a care worker should do after an injury at work

As with any injury at work, it is vital that you make a report of the cause and type of injury with the employer at the earliest opportunity.

Most workplaces will have an accident book or accident reporting system. You should use that to make a report, listing the injuries sustained and any possible areas you can identify that would show employer negligence.

If you haven’t already reported the injury, or your employer won’t let you record it in the accident book, don’t worry, we can help you to do so.

You should also seek medical attention at an Accident & Emergency department, from your GP or NHS walk-in-clinic.

If you need any advice or help with this, please call us on 01225 430285.

How Direct2Compensation can help you

At Direct2Compensation we have an expert understanding of your rights after an injury at work. Our staff will be able to identify whether your injuries whilst providing care will enable you to pursue a claim for compensation against your employer.

We work with leading specialist solicitors who have a proven track record of success with claims from those providing care services. They will ensure that your claim is afforded the maximum possibility of success and that any agreed settlement will appropriately compensate you for the level of injury sustained.

We use expert medical professionals to write detailed reports that will be used to ensure that the injury element of your claim is fully appreciated and appropriately valued. We’ll also ensure that any lost income or costs caused by the injuries sustained (including future loss of income) will be recovered for you.

Direct2Compensation offer a simple and easy to understand personal injury compensation claims process and all of our solicitors work on a fully No Win No Fee basis.

How to start your claim

With Direct2Compensation, starting your claim for compensation or finding out more about your rights after an accident at work couldn’t be easier. If you’re wondering about your situation, feel free to leave a question at the bottom of this article or call us on 01225 430285, or if you prefer, we can call you back.

We’ll only need a few minutes of your time in the first instance in order to get the initial information needed to enable our specialist solicitors to discuss your specific situation with you in more detail.

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Comments & Questions

Read on for questions and advice about claiming, plus care worker injury claim examples...

I work as a home care worker. In June myself and a colleague went to a call where the lady has trouble standing and I did report this. The lady has a sofa that was very low down. When I was talking to the lady trying to help her, she suddenly pulled back, causing my back to be hurt.

I reported this to the office to be told there were no complaints before. Sadly, my back just kept getting worse and I went to the Doctors. The GP gave me medication but even then the pain got worse. I have now been to the hospital and had an MRI scan which has shown that my L4 and L5 have started to bulge. This injury is causing so much pain in my back hip and all the way down my leg. I can only describe this pain as worse than having a baby. I can’t sleep at night through pain and I have trouble in the morning getting out of bed to stand on the leg. Also going to the toilet or getting in the bath is really problematic and painful.

After complaints the lady’s sofa has now been raised. There is a hoist in her house, but the office have said that we’re not to use it as she doesn’t like it! There is also a profile bed, but this is in a corner not even made up?

Ian Morris

The injury you have sustained is clearly serious and the pain and discomfort that you mention is typical with such injuries. As such, investigating the potential pursuit of a claim for personal injury compensation is a reasonable and sensible move.

Given your description of the cause of your injury, it would seem that there are questions to be asked of the employers in terms of whether they could have prevented the injury. Employers have a duty of care to ensure that their staff can work safely and in a job like yours, that can include them having to visit service users homes to properly risk assess the situation. In this case, the fact that you were not allowed to use the hoist and the sofa being unduly low indicates that there may be an angle upon which to pursue a claim successfully.

Please call us on 01225430285 or provide further details on our website form so that we can look further in to this matter for you with a view to pursuing a No Win No Fee claim for personal injury compensation.

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Hi. I work for someone I’m their own home who receives a 24hr a day care package from the local authority although she chooses her own carers. Recently aswell as 2 dogs that live in the room with her during the day and night she has introduced 2 small kittens into the confinement of the room in which we care for her as well as litter trays food bowls on our work desk etc. during a recent night shift I slipped in urine puddle that the kitten had left on the floor in my workspace/clients room. I was unable to see this as it was dark in the room and was on the walkway through the room. I have badly pulled the ligaments in my knee and sprained my ankle. The hospital say it will take at least 6 weeks to heal poss more and potential referral to a knee clinic. I am a single parent of 4 who now cannot work and cannot drive for at least 6 weeks. Do I have a claim

Ian Morris

Any claim in this scenario is likely to be against the person for whom you provide care services to. Unless they have insurance cover, it is likely to be unviable to pursue such a claim.

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I’m a home care worker I was at my 4th call of the day last year and slipped on a very icy road that hadn’t been gritted I very badly broke my ankle in several places spent 9 days in hospital and had it surgically repaired. I’ve since had more surgery and require more surgery moving forward.

Ian Morris

Although you were injured whilst travelling between jobs, there will be no liability against your employer as they have not been negligent. Further, there is no negligence to attach to the local authority for their failure to grit the road surface and sadly, we do not see that you can pursue a claim for personal injury compensation.

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I am a care worker who had to transport a resident to hospital via ambulance transport. As I tried to get in, I have torn a ligament in the back and front of my knee and may need surgery. Do I have grounds to make a claim?

Ian Morris

There is potential to make a claim and our Solicitors can review this for you.

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I work as a care worker in the community, I entered someone’s property that I have never been to before. I asked my client what she would like for breakfast and got on with it, I saw a cupboard with a fridge in and entered there wasn’t any lights around in the cupboard so I wasn’t aware of my surroundings I turned around to walk out and fell down the stairs at the side of me. I wasn’t told by my employer that there wasn’t a light in there or even stairs to see I have hurt my back and sprained my ankle will I be able to claim?

Ian Morris

Is it a case that there was a light that didn’t work or simply no light at all? Do you know if your employer had previously visited the residence and conducted a risk assessment? If so, they should have informed you of the issues present.

It could be the case that you can claim compensation for your injuries and any costs and I feel that we should obtain some further details from you so that our specialist Solicitors can advise you in more detail.

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My wife has Multiple Sclerosis and has carers come to our house as she is disabled and has to be hoisted in a sling.
Last November 30th, my wife fell on to the floor, falling out of the sling, with the carers at hand and broke her leg. My wife told me that she fell on to the floor, but the carers are saying she did not fall to the floor.

My wife had her leg in a cast for 2 months. Can she make a claim for compensation?

Ian Morris

Whether your wife fell to the floor or not is not really the important issue. What is important is that she sustained a broken leg whilst in the care of professional care workers. As such there is a clear justification to further pursue a claim for compensation for the pain and distress caused to her by the injury she has sustained. Our Solicitors will be able to carefully evaluate the matter and if viable, pursue a claim against the care company for negligence.

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Hi, I’m a carer working in supported living. Last week I was walking behind a lady in her flat that is prone to falls when she suddenly fell on top of me. My right arm and right side was injured. I filled in a incident report and reported it to my team leader and manager. I carried on with my job as the fall put me behind with my duties. I was back the following day and had pain in my side still but took my time doing my duties. The next two days I had off so I just rested, I still had the pain but it wasn’t that bad but by Saturday when I was due back on my way there the pain in my side started shooting across my back. I carried on to work anyway hoping it wouldn’t be too bad but by the end of my shift my legs and knees where aching, my ankles were swollen, I could barely walk. During the shift I was pushing hoists and other heavy equipment, even sliding people up the bed all while my whole body was aching and I couldn’t go home early because there wasn’t anyone to cover the shift so I had to force myself to get though the shift. I called in sick the next 3 days but now I won’t get sick pay. I also saw my gp who advised me to take time off. Would I be able to claim my wages as I was off due to the lady falling on me?

Ian Morris

To be able to recover your lost wages, you would have to demonstrate that the employer could and should have done something to prevent the accident happening. In this case, that would be if the employer had failed to carry out a proper risk assessment or if it was known that this individual fell regularly and more than one care staff member should be on duty with them at any one time.

We would be very happy to get you an opinion from our specialist Solicitors as we have done a considerable amount of successful work for care and support staff injured in the way you have been.

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I am a nurse in a community based hospital. I attended for my shift – day 5 in a row of 07:30-20:00. I suffered an acute bout of back pain causing incontinence, immobilisation, significant on-going pain and brief loss of sensation to one leg.
I had recently returned to work following an unknown infection. Upon my return I was told I would have to pick up extra shifts due to an increase in patient numbers. I have emails to back this up.
The last 18 months have been similar. Lots of extra shifts. The day previous to my injury I had to pay slide 3 patients.
I associate my injury with perhaps the patient slides, extra shifts and stress.
I am due to start a new job (promotion) but it is in the balance now due to my injury.
Do I have a claim?

Ian Morris

To be able to make a claim, you would have to be able to identify employer negligence as the cause of your injury at work. In your case, your work is clearly physical and very demanding. However, those issues alone would not enable you to establish a causal link between your injury and employer negligence. We therefore need to consider whether you have been given the appropriate training, appropriate equipment and sufficient assistance with moving of patients where relevant.

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I work in a care home and have been off work for a while now due to severe back pain/sciatica. I made my employer aware of this but was still expected to carry on pushing hoists and other equipment around on carpets etc which has made my condition worse. I was also expected to work alone. I technically still work there but have been signed off by my doctor for the time being as I can’t physically do my job in this amount of pain. Can I make a claim for compensation?

Ian Morris

If your symptoms developed within the past 3 years, you may well succeed with a claim for personal injury compensation against your employer.

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I was taking an adult with autism out I’m employed to look after him. As we got to some steps outside I was trying to make him come down the steps and he pulled back letting me go.
I lost my balance and fell forward down the steps grazing both my legs very badly and cuts to both.
I went to see my doctor and was prescribed strong pain medication aswell as antibiotics because one leg got infected.
Do I have a claim for injuries at work?
I look forward to your help.
Thank you

Ian Morris

You can only pursue a claim if you can attribute your accident and injury to employer negligence. In this case, we therefore need to consider whether you were appropriately trained to work with the individual in question and whether the employer had failed to ensure that you were aware of the risks posed to your safety when working with the individual in question.

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I was a support worker for some agencies in the last few years gave up in October 2019. I seem to be suffering from painful hands and loss of grip and some times delicate elbows. From repetitive use of arms from working. Would you consider my case?
Thank you

Ian Morris

We will gladly consider your case. Please provide further information via the ‘start your claim‘ page of our website and we can then advise you further.

The prospects of you succeeding with a claim will be strengthened considerably if you ever reported any symptoms to your employer or made complaints about the work and risk of injury. Further, if you have attended your GP and the GP has linked your symptoms to the work you were doing, that will greatly help you too.

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I fell down the stairs at work whilst carrying a tray. I am a live in Carer. I’m still waiting for attention from NHS 3 weeks later. I know I’ve damaged my knee seriously, but am having to work through it in order to get enough funds to fly to SA to get to my orthopaedic surgeon as not getting help here! Too boot they deducted £40.00 off my salary to get some help in the next morning to flannel bath my client. I only earn £770.00 as a 24 hour live in Carer!!!
Not only am I in pain, it’s affected my hip and my back very badly as I’m not a youngster myself at the age of 61.
Very disappointed to think I’m good enough to look after someone’s ailing mother, but when I’m injured, I’m not good enough to be looked after!

Ian Morris

In terms of a claim for personal injury compensation, we need to look at what caused you to fall and whether negligence can be attributed to a 3rd party (whether that be the employer or another organisation).

You mention falling down the stairs. Was this because you misplaced your footing or hadn’t seen the steps or was it due to some other reason?

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Hi I have been off work now for 6 months with a bulging disc and sciatica down one leg which as made my life change over night,I had pain in my leg first and then woke up in excruciating pain in my back and not been same since,I work in a care home and I know its the reason for my injury but I didn’t record this as I haven’t been back to work since it happened although I’ve been in care for 15 years and know what I’m doing I never had any manual handling training through this job, not sure what to do?

Ian Morris

As you’ve not been given manual handling training by your employer, the employer has been negligent towards you as a care worker where physical lifting and moving is a vital part of the workload. As long as your first episode of symptoms (or when you ought to have known that your symptoms may be more than just a minor strain and work related) is within the last 3 years, you have a right to seek to pursue a claim against your employer.

Please call us on 01225430285 or use the ‘start your claim‘ page of our website to get further help from us. Once we’ve got a little more information, we’ll have our specialist Solicitors discuss your situation with you and pursue a claim for compensation and loss on a No Win No Fee basis.

Reply

Hi am wondering what to do as I am a team leader in a care home for disabled young adults, I work nights and I have been seriously injured at work through behaviour incident that happened more then once! I have reported it in the accident book and I also emailed managers to ask for extra staff to be put on due to lack of staff, I am now awaiting surgery to my neck due to this incident! Work have been paying me a wage of sick pay since I went off in March and are now refusing to pay me my full wage and are referring me for ssp which I can not live on and shouldn’t have to as this injury is through no fault of my own!

Ian Morris

This is a matter that should be put in the hands of our specialist Solicitors for detailed consideration at the earliest opportunity as there are clear questions to be asked as to why the employer failed to act on your concerns and make an effort to do anything to reduce the risk of injury.

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Hi, we are considering an independent self-employed carer to help my mum. The carer hasn’t had manual handling training – if the carer sustains an injury as a result of caring for my mum, are we liable? Thanks

Ian Morris

If the carer is self-employed and is advertising their services, they need to take ownership of the responsibility for training. It may be sensible to have a written agreement in place that you/your Mother is not responsible for training and that the carer agrees to have responsibility for their own training.

If however, you were to force or require the carer to work in a dangerous way that does not allow them to follow the training guidance or if you provide broken or disrepaired equipment for them to use (such as a broken hoist for example), you could face liability.

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I’ve worked in the care system for 30 years, working in residential homes which we didn’t have equipment like what we have now. Was trained lifting technics Australian lift. We used to lift people visit many who were very heavy. I’m now having trouble with my back and leg. I have been referred to a spinal consultant as my MRI scan showed inflammation around the he spine. Would I be able to put a claim in?

Ian Morris

There are two potential hurdles in the way of you being able to pursue a claim for compensation against your employers successfully. Firstly, we need to consider whether you will be deemed to be outside of the 3 year claim limitation period. You must pursue a claim within 3 years of the date at which you became aware, or should have been aware that your pain and discomfort was work related. Therefore, you need to consider when you first felt the symptoms and when you first attended your GP regarding the same.

Secondly, there is the issue of causation. Establishing causation is a requirement to succeed with a claim for personal injury compensation and in this case in simple terms, it means proving a causal link between the lifting and moving of residents at work and the back injury. In your case, establishing causation will depend on whether your Doctor lists the findings of the MRI scan as age related degeneration or repetitive trauma as a result of your work.

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I work for a stroke victim in her home and her sister pays us in cash. I hurt my back lifting my patient out of her recliner to put her on the potty chair. Do I have a viable claim?

Ian Morris

If the employer has not provided the appropriate manual handling & patient movement training, you would have a valid claim for compensation. If you haven’t already done so, you should record the injury in writing with the employer.

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I am a Support Manager in a house of 6 individuals with learning disabilities. We had a service user move into the house just over a year ago. It was not told to us at the time about this service users behaviours and the extent they can get to. I only became the Acting Support Manager 5 months ago. The physical and agressive behaviour started soon after I became manager. I was not given much support from senior management even though I had been reporting numerous incidents. After dealing with an incident just before Christmas I turned to walk away from the service user as he was now calm. As I turned I heard my 5th metatarsal break in my right foot. I was in a boot for 6 weeks. Towards the end of this time I went to deal with another incident to prevent property damage and a large music keyboard was thrown and landed on my right foot. This in turn broke my bone further and caused bruising. I was PROACT SCIP trained but have not had a refresher in about 2 years. We have never been trained on how to sufficiently deal with agressive and challenging behaviours. I have been scratched, bitten and pinched by the same service user. I have pictures of these injuries. Please can you advise.

Ian Morris

We have specialist Solicitors that can advise you in such matters and potentially pursue a claim for compensation and recovery of losses caused by the injuries you have sustained at work. There are clearly questions to be asked of the employer in terms of training, support and reducing the risk of injury in the workplace. As such, we would recommend that you make further contact with us. We can then have our specialist Solicitors consider your situation and offer initial advice to you with a view to pursuing a claim should you wish to do so and if it is viable to do so.

We offer a no-obligation and No Win No Fee service so you are able to explore your options without feeling pressured or concerned about costs.

Reply

Hi
I was a community carer we get paid for client time and travel between clients I was working one day and was on a break when my manager messaged asking to go to a client house as other care staff were behind. I drove to clients house on my way to next client I had a rta and my car was flipped on its head. The insurance went against me as I couldn’t remember what happened. No bump to head just had whiplash was off work for 4 weeks ish and no dr believe I have fibromyalgia from this trauma off long term sick. So handed in my notice at work with immediate effect due to them claiming on a call if I handed in a sick note I’d be going against my probation and be sacked!

Ian Morris

Notwithstanding the distressing situation in which you find yourself, we do not foresee that you can establish a causal link between your employer asking you to cover an appointment and your accident.

A defendant insurer will simply argue that you had a medical incident or some other sort of problem that caused the accident. As you have no evidence to prove otherwise, you are somewhat stuck in the position in which you are now.

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I was involved in an incident at work which resulted in me being bitten and a trip to the hospital to be bandaged and requiring a tetanus shot. At my work there should be 3 staff to 1 service user as the service user is deemed as being quite challenging. Due to understaffing It is quite common for there to be only 2 members of staff and this was the case during the incident. Do I have grounds for compensation?

Ian Morris

Our specialist Solicitors will consider your situation in detail as there would appear to be questions to ask of the employer in terms of their failures to have the required staffing levels in place. As such, this could be seen as a failure on the employer to ensure your safety at work and a claim may succeed.

Please call us on 01225430285 so that we can help you and have this matter considered for you.

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