NHS worker seeks £200,000 compensation for shoulder injury

According to the Scarborough Evening News a NHS worker is seeking compensation of around £200,000 because of a shoulder injury she says she has sustained whilst at work.  The Scarborough Evening News reports that Julia Graham has had to have two operations on her shoulder because she is being overworked and wants compensation because she can no longer carry out her role as an ultrasonographer.  It would also appear that the hospital in which Mrs Graham works has admitted liability, but also alleges contributory negligence.

Employers owe their employees a duty of care which entails that they ensure that their employees’ health and safety needs are met.  According to Mrs Graham the NHS failed in this duty because they did not carry out the appropriate risk assessments, doubled her work load, and ignored her injury complaints.  It is alleged that this failure has meant that Mrs Graham has seen her shoulder problems worsen.  This is due to the fact that a lot of the time, Mrs. Graham is required to undergo tasks like scanning patients and various administrative duties which involved a lot of body movement.  The tasks required her to frequently lean and turn and to repetitively use her left hand.  This was also coupled by the fact that her work was high pressure and meant she had to stay several hours after her designated time to leave work.  As such, problems in her neck and shoulder began.  Mrs Graham has since had physiotherapy, acupuncture, and an operation, but says this has done little to help her situation.

The Scarborough Evening News says that the NHS, despite admitting liability, will suggest that Mrs Graham contributed to her injuries.  That is, that Mrs Graham was experienced enough to be in charge of her tasks, but failed to help herself by not taking account of the risks and carrying on with the tasks she was given.  This demonstrates the importance of seeking the advice of a professional injury lawyer.  If you have been involved in an accident at work or have sustained an injury whilst at work, what would you do if your employer said you were partly to blame for your accident?  It is one thing to deny this allegation, but you need to give reasons to support such a denial.  This is one of the reasons why you should seek the advice of a quality injury lawyer.  They can make arguments on your behalf as to why you are not in any way to blame for your injuries.  Without this advice you may be awarded less compensation than you deserve.