Bank worker refused compensation for heavy lifting

Posted: December 31, 2014

Posted in: Workplace Injuries 

A bank worker who claimed that heavy lifting at work condemned her to a life of constant pain has been refused compensation. 32-year-old Shilpa Pattani sued the exclusive Knightsbridge bank for £1.5million due to “unbearable pain” caused by moving heavy boxes of promotional material while working for the international private bank. In court she accused the ICICI Bank UK Plc of failing to protect her from foreseeable risk of injury by giving her too much heavily lifting to do between 2007 and 2009.

Judge Justice Phillips said that the chronic pain Miss Pattani was suffering with was genuine and believed that the bank could be to blame for her suffering. He also said he admired Miss Pattani’s strong personality that saw her fight her corner in court for compensation. However, he ruled, following a six-day hearing, that she had failed to prove that the bank was fully responsible for the heavy lifting tasks that had caused her these problems.

“Fixated on this case”

Miss Pattani was injured in a road traffic accident in 2002 and the judge said that the “stress of emotional trauma” could be responsible for her pain and suffering. He ruled that Miss Pattani had become too “fixated on this case”, where the pain could have been caused by this previous accident, or any lifting done outside the workplace.

The point was raised in court that even if there was a risk of injury in Miss Pattani’s workplace, such risk arises in everyday office work, and life.

If you have suffered an injury at work, and are looking to claim compensation, please contact us. 

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