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Injured my back at work - What now?

FstStig

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Hey Guys

I was working as a Apprentice Mechanic in a small workshop in Gateshead. I had been working there for about 3 months when the Boss decided he will get me and the other bloke up his place to do jack hammering. I have had slight Scoliosis since i was born and the Boss knew about this before i started Jack hammering. Not only was I jack hammering but i was also carting up wheel barrow loads of the smashed up concrete up a rather steep hill.

I would assume this is completely illegal as this was not what my Job entitled, it was also away from the business premises.

I have since then have had rather bad back pain in my lower back and the rest of my back has been rather tight. This has been making it hard to get out of bed in the morning and to even get up out of a chair. I have since left my job due to the above reasons. What are some of my options that I have?

Any advice would be great, Advice that i will be reporting will be advice like (Harden the **** up or take that smashed concrete and use it to harden up)

Thanks

Mumbo
 

minux

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Were you paid for doing this job?
Do you have evidence you did this job?
If you were paid, was it through normal means?

I would say you best go see your GP and get referals for scans etc. Not sure your going to be able to claim workcover on this.
 

Bravotwozero

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Should have claimed Workcover before leaving as I don't believe you can once you leave.
 

Melissa

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Was an incident report made? Is your boss aware that you left the job because of this?

I guess you could give Workcover a call tomorrow and find out where you stand. From what I remember, you will have to fill out some Workcover forms, and your boss has to accept liability. But I don't know if you can because you are no longer working for them.

Get yourself checked out by a reliable doctor and make sure you tell them where and how it happened. Then get a second opinion.

Also, make sure you write EVERYTHING down and keep receipts for all medical expenses.

All the best, hope you get better soon.
 

SV6SidiUTE

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workcover won't pay you if you were doing it out of "work" i.e. cash money/favours/ etc. Also you have left without saying anything to your employer. AS a rule ALL incidents must be reported immediately.

I don't know how long your pain has been reoccuring, but as a general rule from my own experience ( I used to do weight training for a few years), give it a couple of weeks. If your muscles feel tight, or you have that pinching feeling, it is more than likely your strained muscle/pinched nerve due to the lack of warming up before heavy work. If it is in your spine, then you may have a problem such as crushed/leaking/inflamed cartlidge inbetween your discs.... in that case... good luck to you.

You can always speak up and voice your own opinion (not by being a smartass or anything, but with manners and respect) and remind your employer of conditions you may have. Employers have a lot on their mind, so they may forget occasionally some things.
 

bulldog79

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the new laws say that u only have 3 months to claim after u leave a job
 

ozz

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If you have 3 months, wait and see if it gets better, chances are you just pulled a muscle from doing work your not used to.
Maybe next time you do manual labour, practice safer lifting methods, might save the grief and thousands your about to cost your employer.
 

nathg

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Pretty sure you won't be covered..In the end, it was your choice to do the extra work. Did you only do it because you thought he would fire you if you didn't help out? In relation to scoliosis, I understand what you mean. I myself had a spinal fusion back in 2007 for what would be considered quite severe curvature of the spine, and I am an apprentice mechanic aswell. In saying that, I would not be as stupid to do something that would not cover me outside of work, especially seeing as your boss was aware of your condition.
 

Tatiana

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the Boss decided he will get me and the other bloke up his place to do jack hammering.

When you say he decided to get you up his place, did he ask if you would like to help out at his place or tell you that you had to go? Were you paid for this work?

Despite your answers (I am just curious as to how you came to be breaking up and moving concrete for your boss in your own time) I doubt you have any workcover or other work related claims here. Especially as the work performed at your bosses home isn't related to your employment. If you had been working on a car at his place, you could argue it was part of your employment.

Hope your back get better though, a dodgy back for life is not a good thing, so lets hope it's just muscular and temporary.
 

BoNeZ-01

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Maybe if you had refused to do the non in-shop related work, it 'may' have been better for you, then you 'may' have been able to put in for unfair dismissal(or whatever it's called now), if your boss had given you the flick for not doing the job *he *asked you to do?

But, having said that, you DID go in to a mechanics apprenticeship, knowing about your back condition, and as we all know, working on cars can(sometimes) be hard on your back too.

So I guess what I'm saying is, if your boss thought you physically capable of working cars, then he also may have thought you physically capable of doing that other non in-shop job too?

I used to work for my step-father as a painter/decorator, he would often give me non on-job, non-painting related work, if there was not enough left for both of us to work on.
Like in between jobs, when we have nearly finished one job, but haven't started the next one yet.

It can often be an employers prerogative to do this, as you are still working under your bosses time, in normal work hours for your wage, not in your own time or over-time.
 
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