Our client was employed as a cashier for Post Office Counters Limited.
Her work was primarily to serve the public, covering all aspects of the service provided by Post Office Counters Limited. This included dispensing cash, stamps and paying benefits. Our client required to sit on a high seat for a number of hours without any breaks during her shifts. She also used a computer which was situated in a cramped and tight area of her desk. The long hours sitting in the one position and having to work in cramped conditions led to our client suffering from excessive and constant pain in her lower back, shoulder and neck area. The combination of the cramped area, the uncomfortable high seat and using a computer in an awkward position led to chronic pain and a musculoskeletal disorder.
How we helped
When we initially took instructions from our client, we took a fully detailed statement from her which set out her day to day tasks as well as her weekly shift pattern. We thereafter intimated a claim on our client’s employers, seeking damages for her injuries. We also requested changes to our client’s workplace, particularly in relation to the position of the computer, the cramped area and her chair. We also requested a full workplace assessment be carried out to resolve the various issues our client had been suffering from.
We obtained a number of expert reports. As well as a health and safety report, we also obtained an opinion to ensure we could link our clients’ workplace conditions to her chronic pain and musculoskeletal disorder. Initially, we had some difficulty being able to link our client’s disorder with her workplace tasks but, after further consultation with our client’s expert, we were able to resolve these issues and successfully establish the connection between the two.
Outcome
We entered into extensive negotiations with our client’s employers and were able to reach agreement with them to pay damages for the injuries sustained by our client. We were also able to agree with our client’s employers that they would make a number of changes to the workplace to ensure that not only would our client be protected from further personal injury but her colleagues working in the same area would equally be protected.
