The £34K Workplace Injury Epidemic That No One is Talking About

There are always going to be some workplace injuries that are more common than others. Slips, trips, and falls, for instance. Many of these can’t be helped, and if the proper signage isn’t in place, then they can result in enormous payouts. But sometimes, the most costly claims can actually be the ones that slowly occur over time.

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome might not be the most common workplace injury by a long shot, with 1 in 20 people in the UK expected to develop it, but it has seen a huge surge in the past couple of years alone. What’s more, a high quantity of cases are notoriously expensive to resolve because of the legal back and forth that plagues them.

Employers Underestimating CTS

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome is often an expensive workplace injury for employers, not because of the injury’s acuity, but because of the lengthy legal process that follows these claims – especially once loss of earnings is factored into the equation. If the claimant is represented by professional personal injury lawyers, like Bond Turner, for instance, then they will be best equipped to fight a lengthier process.

During these processes, risk assessments often fail to properly address the specific circumstances of the individual, as employers typically take more of a ‘one size fits all’ approach to these cases, underestimating the severity of CTS and the potential financial consequences.

In addition, the Equality Act 2010 imposes a duty on employers to make reasonable adjustments for claimants. But again, most employers severely underestimate this injury. There have been numerous examples in recent years of employers who have failed to make or even explore any adjustments they could make for the employees in question.

In these cases, the claimants have been awarded for both injury to feelings and for loss of earnings, totalling £34,000.

The Cost of a Lengthy Legal Process

While there is no single publicly available statistic that details the exact percentage of all initial employer liability claims that are denied in the UK, research suggests that the vast majority of workplace injuries result in a formal compensation claim.

When this applies to CTS, even more claims are initially denied, because the injury can come about because of a variety of different reasons, like genetics, hobbies and ageing. Because of this, the financial impact is even greater. When claimants continue to fight their cases, their recovery is delayed even further and the process as a whole goes on for even longer. That’s when the price tag of a claim can balloon even further.

Final Thoughts

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome has become an increasingly costly workplace injury for many employers, with an increase in claimants, and the continued underestimation of CTS from employers themselves, as well as a lengthy legal process on top of that.

What’s more, there is also no shortage of support for claimants these days, as they can find personal injury solicitors in Liverpool, Cornwall, and from Land’s End to John O’Groats.