Workers who suffer repetitive strain injuries (RSI) due to consistently performing repetitive motions as part of their job may potentially have grounds for a workplace injury compensation claim in the UK. This article from workplace accident specialists Addison & Khan Solicitors explains what constitutes an RSI when claims are valid, and how to prove employer liability.

What Is a Repetitive Strain Injury?

A repetitive strain injury is a damage to muscles, tendons, nerves, and other soft body tissues caused by frequently repeating the same physical movements, especially in an awkward position. RSIs often develop gradually over weeks or months before becoming symptomatic.

Common high-risk jobs include manufacturing, construction, cleaning, cashiering, warehousing, typing, playing sports, and more. Pain, loss of function, and disability can result. Examples of RSIs are carpal tunnel syndrome, tendonitis, bursitis, trigger finger, and tennis or golfer’s elbow.

Proving Your RSI Is Work-Related

For a successful RSI compensation claim against an employer, the injury must be primarily attributable to work activities as opposed to personal risk factors or activities outside work. Your solicitor will work to prove this direct causal link. Ways to evidence your RSI resulted from repetitive work duties include:

 Your job involves highly repetitive motions – typing, cashiering, packaging, etc. These known high-risk tasks make a work cause more plausible.

• Medical records show the affected area, like your wrist or shoulder, with no prior history of injury. This helps rule out pre-existing conditions.
• Colleague statements confirming tasks were repetitive and insufficient breaks were given. Their experiences strengthen the correlation.
• Ergonomic assessment indicating your workstation set up improperly increased strain and risk.
• You developed symptoms shortly after starting the job or duties changed to a high-repetition role. The timeline proves a strong correlation.
• Symptoms are worse at work and improve on weekends and holidays, demonstrating work correlation.

Your solicitor can engage health experts to clinically verify your injury directly resulting from repetitive occupational exertions. This causation link is key.

Proving Employer Liability

Once your RSI is confirmed as work-related, compensation depends on holding your employer liable by proving:

•         They failed to ensure your work duties had adequate variation between repetitive tasks.
•         No ergonomic risk assessments were undertaken or you were not trained on injury prevention.
•         Your workstation, tools, and environment were poorly set up putting strain on your body.
•         Concerns over health risks were ignored or dismissed.
•         Insufficient rest breaks were provided for the repetitive nature of your role.
•         Improperly managed workloads increased strain through overtime, rushed tasks, etc.
•         Early symptoms were disregarded allowing your injury to worsen untreated.

Your solicitor will seek evidence the employer breached health and safety laws by requiring you to perform hazardous repetitive motions without regard for the risks. This establishes grounds for compensating you for the harm caused.

Next Steps if You Have an RSI

If you have developed a repetitive strain injury that affects your ability to work normally, Contact Addison & Khan’s workplace injury experts today. We can analyze your duties, injury, and employer obligations to determine if valid grounds exist for a repetitive strain injury claim. Success means compensation for lost income, treatment costs, disability adaptations, and improved workplace safety.