Statistics, Causes and Injuries from Lifting and Manual Handling Accidents

Lifting Accidents Statistics

Accidents occur daily in warehouses, factories, construction sites, restaurants and offices. Some useful statistics are:-

• Handling, lifting or carrying is the second major cause of injuries in the UK
• Each year approximately 3,500 injuries cause people to be absent from work for more than three days involve lifting and transporting objects

• More than 30% of all injuries each year are caused by manual handling accidents
• Most injuries are caused by lifts employees have done countless times before and assume they know the risks involved.

Causes of Lifting Accident

Simple or complex causes of lifting accidents involve:-

• Heavy loads,
• Loads carried incorrectly,
• Unstable loads,
• Prolonged carrying of heavy loads,
• Incorrect lifting techniques,
• Incorrect load carrying tools,
• Lack of training for lifting methods and techniques for the employees,
• Unavailability of  load carrying vehicle or equipment,
• Poor handling of load carrying trolleys,
• Failure to provide or utilise personal protective equipment.

Injuries from Lifting Accident

Victims of lifting accident may suffer from a minor injury or long lasting debilitating injury. Some injuries caused by lifting accidents are:-

• Severe back pains,
• Repetitive stress disorder,
• Soft tissue damage (hernia),
• Shoulder injury,
• Spinal cord and nerve damage,
• Fractures,
• Muscle pull,
• Twisted ankle or wrist,
• Neck and arm injuries.

If you have suffered from any of the injuries listed above or any other injury caused by manual handling then contact is on 08000 430 430 or complete our online enquiry form to request a call back.