CWU Member Wins £1,200 Compensation for Shoulder Injury

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A dedicated postman of 22 years was awarded £1,200 compensation after lifting an overweight post bag and injuring his shoulder.



The postie was working an extra morning shift on overtime and arrived at a busy post office. It was pension payment day and the owner of the Post Office told him to go into the post room.

On entering the post room, he attempted to test the weight of one of the mail bags. On doing so he felt a sudden pain in his right arm, elbow and shoulder. He shouted out in pain.

As a result of trying to lift the heavy bag, the mailman suffered a soft tissue shoulder injury and his right elbow also required medical treatment.

Not wanting to leave the post bags behind, our brave postie dragged the overweight bag to his van and lifted it into the back of the van. He then soldiered on and collected the remaining 2 post bags.

He returned to the Royal Mail depot with a colleague. The post bag in question weighed in at a huge 19.1 kg, which was over the maximum permitted weight.

Our client reported the accident to his Line Manager. He could not report it to the depot where the accident happened as the post mistress was too busy at the time and she was the only person on duty.

Our postie was supported by his trade union, the Communication Workers Union (CWU) in bringing his claim for compensation.

There were 2 possible companies responsible, Royal Mail and the owners of the Post Office. It was decided that the owners of the Post Office were to blame.

Despite medical evidence proving they were responsible, the Post Office owners denied liability and made no offers of settlement.

On behalf of our client, Simpson Millar took the claim to court.

After an initial low offer, a final offer of £1,200 was put forward which our client was happy to accept.