Lifting, pushing, pulling and carrying at work can injure your back, shoulders or neck. This page explains what your employer must do about manual handling and how a claim works.
A manual handling injury claim is a personal injury claim against your employer for an injury caused by lifting, putting down, pushing, pulling, carrying or moving a load at work. The rules are in Part 2, Chapter 4 of the General Application Regulations 2007.
The injury can come from a single lift, such as a slipped disc while lifting a heavy box, or build up over months of repetitive lifting in a warehouse, care home, shop or on a delivery round.
Regulation 69 sets out an order of steps:
A training course alone does not meet these duties if the task itself was never assessed or made safer.
Schedule 3 lists the risk factors your employer must assess. They include a load that is:
and work that involves:
The Health and Safety Authority's manual handling guidance explains how these assessments should be done.
Everything after the first item is claimed as "special damages" in addition to the injury award.
Contact us through our enquiry form, phone, or email. We’ll review your situation, answer your questions, and explain what to expect next. There’s no upfront fee to begin your claim.
Your case will be carefully reviewed by our legal team.
We assess the strength of your claim, advise on the documentation needed, and guide you through key steps such as attending an independent medical examination and preparing the information required for the Injuries Resolution Board (IRB).
Once you decide to move forward, we take care of everything. This includes gathering evidence, contacting the other party or their insurer, submitting your claim to the IRB, managing settlement discussions, and handling any court proceedings if needed.
Paul Kearney founded the practice and leads its personal injury work in Ireland. He is regulated by the Law Society of Ireland. Read Paul's profile.
We prepare your application to the Injuries Resolution Board, including the medical evidence, and advise you on any assessment before you decide whether to accept it.
You can meet us at any of our four offices, or deal with us by phone, email or video, wherever you live in Ireland.
There are no upfront fees. Before you go ahead, we set out in writing how legal costs work, as section 150 of the Legal Services Regulation Act 2015 requires. No Win No Fee explained.
Training is only one part of your employer's duty. Regulation 69 requires your employer first to avoid manual handling where possible, then to assess and reduce the risk of the task itself.
If the load was too heavy, no lifting aid was provided, or you were expected to lift alone when the job needed two people, training does not cure that.
The regulations do not set a single legal weight limit.
Instead, your employer must assess each task against the Schedule 3 risk factors, including the weight and size of the load, how far and how often it is carried, the space available and your own capabilities.
A claim is possible. Schedule 3 lists over-frequent or prolonged effort and too little rest as risk factors, so repetitive lifting is part of your employer's duty.
The evidence usually focuses on what the job involved day to day, whether the task was ever assessed, and whether you or co-workers reported pain or asked for help.
The 2-year time limit runs from your date of knowledge, so get advice once a doctor links the injury to work.
Not automatically. Regulation 69 requires your employer to take account of each employee's capabilities and to protect workers at particular risk, so a known back problem should have shaped the tasks you were given.
The medical evidence then deals with how much of your current condition is due to the work.
Report it to your supervisor and make sure it is recorded. See a doctor and say exactly what you were lifting and how. Write down the weight or size of the load, whether lifting equipment was available, and who was working with you.
Send a letter of claim to your employer within one month, as section 8 of the Civil Liability and Courts Act 2004 requires.
You can still claim. Section 13 of the 2005 Act requires employees to follow their training and take reasonable care. If a court finds you were partly at fault, compensation is reduced in proportion under section 34 of the Civil Liability Act 1961.
2 years from the date of the accident, or from the date you knew about the injury if that is later, under the Statute of Limitations (Amendment) Act 1991.
Time stops running while the Injuries Resolution Board has the claim, up to 6 months after it issues an authorisation.
Most do. You apply with the application form, a medical report from the doctor who treated you and a fee of €45 online or €90 by post. Read how the Injuries Resolution Board works.
Workplace claims are run by Paul Kearney, who founded the firm and is regulated by the Law Society of Ireland, with trainee solicitor John Deeney. We have offices in Dublin, Cork, Galway and Letterkenny.
No. There are no upfront fees. Before you go ahead, we give you clear written terms explaining how legal costs work, as section 150 of the Legal Services Regulation Act 2015 requires. Read No Win No Fee explained.
Regulated by the Law Society of Ireland
Kearney Law handles only personal injury and clinical negligence claims.
We act for clients across Ireland, including Dublin, Cork, Galway, Limerick, Waterford and Letterkenny. See all the areas we cover.
Contact us to talk to a solicitor about your claim, or request a case review.
Email: [email protected]
Opening Hours:
Monday to Thursday 8am – 8pm
Friday 9am – 5pm
