I suffered a muscle strain at work after heavy lifting in my office, but I did not receive medical attention until a month later. Can I still claim compensation?
Although you may be entitled to receive some compensation for your muscle strain at work, the amount you may be able to claim can be reduced if contributory negligence is a factor in your injury. Your employer has a duty of care to fulfil to you, and you should not expect to sustain a muscle strain injury at work – however this duty of care is not absolute. This means you have a responsibility to ensure that your injuries do not deteriorate further still, and your compensation for straining muscles at work can be affected if it is determined that you have been negligent towards your own health and safety. To establish your eligibility to pursue a muscle strain injury claim at work, you are advised to consult a personal injury lawyer at the earliest opportunity.
You may be entitled to make a muscle strain at work claim if you have been the victim of your employer’s negligence. This may be the situation if you sustained your muscle strain injury at work while performing a task which your employer did not properly assess, give adequate supervision for or provide suitable training. If it is established that your heavy lifting task could have been eased if adequate assistance was provided, a muscle strain injury claim at work could again be possible because of your employer’s failure to reduce the likelihood of an injury occurring. The compensation for straining muscles at work which you may be entitled to claim can then be determined by the nature of your accident and injury.
However this compensation can be reduced if your muscle strain at work became worse as a result of your careless actions causing the deterioration of your injuries. Seeking medical attention following your accident should be your immediate priority following your muscle strain injury at work, as it may be considered that had you sought medical attention your injuries could have been averted, or at least limited. Your muscle strain injury claim at work may, as a result, be affected by allegations of contributory negligence and can be much harder to pursue. While you may still be entitled to some compensation for straining muscles at work, this amount can be reduced to reflect your own negligence.
It should also be remembered that insurance companies frequently offer compensation for straining muscles at work to the victims of accidents for which their policyholder is liable. However such offers are usually made with the intention of saving money for the insurance company rather than ensuring that the victim receives a fair amount of compensation for their muscle strain injury claim at work. This often means a victim is at risk of receiving a far lower amount of muscle strain injury at work compensation than they should be entitled to claim. For this reason, you are advised to first refer this offer to a personal injury lawyer, who upon assessing the details of your accident and injury can determine the amount of compensation for muscle strain at work to which you may be entitled.