The claimant was asked to put up shelving by his employer. He was not given any instructions or equipment. He asked for step ladders but was told to use a chair. He was 5ft 7in tall and the shelving unit was to be placed 6ft 6in above the floor.
He was putting the shelf in, standing on a chair on tiptoes and had to stretch across the frame to slot a bar into place. As he stretched his arms out and applied downward pressure to pull the bar into place, he injured his back.
The Judge found there was a failure to undertake a risk assessment for the job and a failure to provide step ladders, which was causative of injury. There was also a breach of the Manual Handling Regulations 1992. There was no contributory negligence.
Doncaster County Court, 24 March 2010..