Pushing and pulling can always leave a person at risk of being injured through either muscular strains or damage, or being hit by objects that are being pushed or pulled. As with lifting, pushing and pulling in the workplace should always be subject to The Manual Handling Operations Regulations.
So what happens if you’re injured in the workplace when pushing and pulling objects? Can you make a claim for personal injury compensation?
Pushing and pulling itself can be a much more dangerous method of moving a load than lifting it can. There are often occasions where people may feel the need to push or pull something to refrain from actually lifting it, but this can be much more of a danger to you. The friction of the load on the ground can make it far more difficult to push or pull.
If you need to push or pull a load because it’s something like a trolley you are moving, than the same rules apply that can apply to any lifting tasks you need to perform in the workplace. For example:
- The load needs to be of a manageable weight and size to allow you to be able to safely move it
- You need to be properly trained and supervised where necessary to ensure that you are fully capable of safely moving the load.
- The task needs to be risk assessed to identify potential hazards; such as if there are any slopes or rough ground on the route that may mean it’s difficult to move the load.
- There needs to be adequate numbers of staff to assist with the task.
The regulations imply that an employer should remove the need to manually handle anything where possible, so the use of trolley or pallet trucks and other equipment is a great way of reducing the risk so long as the employee can use the equipment safely. When it comes to pushing or pulling something in general, like an office table being moved, or perhaps a cabinet, it can be inherently dangerous. As I said earlier, pushing and pulling to avoid lifting something due to the weight is often far more dangerous and should not be something an employer allows to happen.
When it comes to training, it is your responsibility as the employee to adhere to training and company policy – if you pushed or pulled something that you know you shouldn’t have, and therefore broke company procedure, you may find it hard to make a successful claim.
Defective or unsuitable equipment
What about using equipment like a trolley that is defective or unsuitable and causes an injury? Perhaps it breaks during use due to poor maintenance causing a jolt injury, or maybe it isn’t suitable enough for the weight of the load?
Well, we have additional regulations that are The Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations that put a duty on employers to ensure that work equipment is not defective or unsuitable – so we have more regulations that we can use to try and show your employer is liable to compensate you. We normally only need to prove a breach of it least one regulation to win a claim if it has resulted in injury.
For free help and advice call 0800 634 75 75 today.
