A Guide To The Average Payout For A Back Injury At Work Claim

By Jo Anderson. Last Updated 11th March 2024. This guide discusses back injury at work claims and compensation payouts in detail.

Back injuries can arise in many different ways in workplaces. Muscles can be pulled or strained while lifting heavy items, or a person could slip, trip and fall, landing on their back. If the accident happened because of your employer’s negligence, you could claim compensation.

Such a course of action is justified. A back injury at work can cause significant problems in your life. You may have to take time off and it may disrupt your everyday life.

Below, we explain how you can begin a compensation claim. We cover the evidence you may need, average compensation payouts, and how to take advantage of a No Win No Fee agreement.

We also explain how a personal injury solicitor could offer to handle your case through Accident Claims UK.

If you would like to make a claim for a back injury at work, do not hesitate to contact our team. The number to call is 0800 073 8801.

A man sat at a desk holding his lower back in pain.

Select a Section

  1. Average Payout For A Back Injury At Work In The UK
  2. Can I Make A Back Injury At Work Claim?
  3. What Could Cause A Back Injury At Work?
  4. How To Prove A Back Injury At Work Claim
  5. No Win No Fee Back Injury At Work Claims
  6. Useful Links On Injury At Work Claims

Average Payout For A Back Injury At Work In The UK

Since every personal injury claim is assessed on a case-by-case basis, this means that there is no average compensation payout for a back injury at work claim. However, all successful claimants will be awarded general damages as part of their compensation settlement.

Your injuries and the physical and mental pain and suffering they have caused you will be compensated under this head of loss.

The Judicial College Guidelines (JCG) may be used by those valuing your claim for general damages. This document contains compensation guidelines for different injuries, and we have included some of these pertaining to back injuries in the table below (aside from the first entry).

Please only use this table as a guide.

InjurySeverityNotesAmount
Multiple Serious Injuries Plus Special DamagesSeriousSerious combinations of injuries leading to pain, suffering and financial losses, such as medical expenses.Up to £250,000+
Injury to the backSevere (i)Severe damage to the nerve roots and spinal cord that result in significant pain and serious consequences.£91,090 to £160,980
Injury to the backSevere (ii)Impaired mobility with a loss of sensation due to nerve root damage in the back.£74,160 to £88,430

Injury to the backSevere (iii)Disc lesions or fractures that cause severe pain, with impaired agility and sexual function despite undergoing treatment.£38,780 to £69,730
Injury to the backModerate (i)The lumbar vertebrae suffers a compression or crush fracture that causes constant discomfort.£27,760 to £38,780
Injury to the backModerate (ii)Injuries could include disturbance of the muscles and ligaments in the back that cause backache. Or, soft tissue injuries that exacerbate/accelerate an already existing condition.£12,510 to £27,760
Injury to the backMinor (i)A full recovery from a sprain, dis prolapse or soft tissue injury happens within 2-5 years.£7,890 to £12,510
Injury to the backMinor (ii)Within 1-2 years a full recovery is made from a soft tissue injury or sprain/strain.£4,350 to £7,890
Injury to the backMinor (iii)A minor back injury such as a sprain fully recovers between 3 months to a year.£2,450 to £4,350
Injury to the backMinor (iv)A full recovery is made within 3 months from a minor back injury.Up to £2,450

Certain claimants may also be awarded special damages. This secondary head of loss compensates you for the monetary costs and losses you have experienced due to your injury. This may include:

  • Travel costs to medical appointments or meetings with your solicitor, for example.
  • Care costs if you required care at home.
  • Loss of earnings if you needed to take time off work to recover.
  • Medical expenses such as prescription costs.

Evidence such as payslips and bank statements will need to be provided in order to receive special damages.

To see whether you may have an eligible back injury claim, you can continue reading this guide. Additionally, you can contact our advisors for a free valuation of your potential claim.

Can I Make A Back Injury At Work Claim?

If you’ve suffered a back injury at work, you may be wondering if you could claim compensation. Simply put, if you have suffered an injury because your employer has breached their duty of care towards you, this could potentially lead to a back injury at work compensation claim. 

Employers owe their employees a duty of care under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. They must take reasonably practicable steps to prevent you suffering harm while working.

Depending on the work you do, these steps could include:

  • Training you in manual handling safety
  • Not asking you to lift more than the maximum manual handling weight limit
  • Risk assessing the work environment and removing hazards

To be eligible to make a back injury claim after an accident at work you need to satisfy these criteria below:

  •       Your employer owed you a duty of care at the time and place of the incident.
  •       This was breached through actions or omissions.
  •       You suffered mental and/or physical injuries as a result.

 If you think you might be eligible to claim compensation for a back injury at work, why not get in touch with an advisor? They could check your claim free of charge, and may be able to connect you with a solicitor.

Back Injury At Work Claims – What Are The Time Limits?

In this guide, we have explored the difficulty in gaining a definitive estimate for the average payout for a back injury in the UK. We have also provided you information on the criteria that you must meet to make a claim for a back injury and some compensation examples that you could receive.

Part of the criteria that you must meet is ensuring that your claim is started within the correct limitation period, as set out by the Limitation Act 1980. For back injury claims, the time limit generally is 3 years from that date of the accident.

There are also exceptions to this time limit. For example, minors will have 3 years to put forward a claim once they turn 18. However, a litigation friend could start a claim on their behalf before this date while the time limit is suspended. This is someone appointed by the court.

Similar exceptions can be made to those who lack the mental capacity to start their own claim.

To learn more about the time limits, please get in touch with our team. They can also provide information on back injury compensation examples.

What Could Cause A Back Injury At Work?

There are various types of workplace accidents that could cause you to suffer an injured back at work. Some examples could include:

  • Unsafe manual handling practices – If you are not trained in how to lift, carry, or move goods safely, you could suffer a back injury at work, such as a strain or soft tissue injury.
  • Slips, trips, and falls at work – If there are hazards in the workplace that mean you suffer, a slip, trip or fall, this could lead to a back injury too. For example, if there are trailing wires in an office environment that have not been properly secured down, this could cause you to trip and fall, injuring your back.
  • Fall from heights – If you are working at height, it is essential that safety precautions are taken to avoid accidents. For example, if some scaffolding on a building site has not been properly fitted, you could fall through the railing and suffer a serious back injury.

These are just a few examples of accidents. To see whether you may be eligible to make a personal injury claim for compensation for a back injury at work, you can contact a member of our advisory team.

How To Prove A Back Injury At Work Claim

If you are eligible to make an accident at work claim, you could collect evidence to help prove that negligence occurred. Some examples of the evidence you could gather for your back injury at work claim include:

  • Medical evidence about your injuries – this could be a copy of your medical records.
  • CCTV footage of the accident.
  • A copy of the report in the accident book.
  • Photographs of the accident scene.
  • The contact details of any eyewitnesses so that they could provide a statement at a later date.
  • Evidence of any financial losses you have suffered due to your injuries. For example, if you required time off work, this could have resulted in lost earnings. Your payslips could be used as proof of these losses.

Additionally, if you decide to work with a solicitor for your claim, they could assist you with gathering this evidence as part of their services.

Contact our advisors today if you have any questions, such as, ‘What is the average payout for a back injury at work?’ They may also connect you with one of our solicitors who could represent you in your claim, provided you have a valid case.

A construction worker holding their lower back in pain.

No Win No Fee Back Injury At Work Claims

If you’re eligible to claim compensation for a back injury at work, you may wish to get help with your claim. By working with a solicitor, you can ensure your case is put together professionally. A solicitor, such as our own, could assist you in gathering evidence, and they could negotiate for an appropriate settlement for your claim. 

If you’ve injured your back at work, compensation could relieve the financial pressure caused by your injuries. If you’re worried about your financial position, in this regard, we should point out that using a solicitor doesn’t have to mean paying them upfront.

One of our solicitors could offer to take on your claim under a CFA (Conditional Fee Agreement). This is a type of No Win No Fee arrangement. Under this No Win No Fee agreement, you would not pay anything upfront to your solicitor for their work, or throughout the progression of your claim. 

Instead, your solicitor would deduct a success fee (a legally capped percentage of your payout) from the settlement. If your claim for a back injury at work did not result in a payout, you will not have to pay them for their services.

To check if one of our solicitors could help you make a No Win No Fee claim, you can contact an advisor at any time. You can reach our team by using one of the following methods:

  • Call us on 0800 073 8801 to speak with an adviser.
  • You can enquire online by clicking here and using our online form.
  • Please send us an email with the outline of your injury and how it happened to office@accidentclaims.co.uk.
  • Use our live chat to speak with an adviser in real-time. Click the icon on the right corner of the page.

Useful Links On Injury At Work Claims

Below, you can find some useful links on accident at work claims:

If you need any more advice and guidance on making a claim for a back injury at work, please call.