Court cases highlight dangers of high-stacked boxes

Two recent court cases appearing on the website Lexology.com have acted as a reminder that stacking boxes above head height can be a dangerous practice.

The first case involved a retail store that used trolleys to transport goods from the storeroom to the shop floor where retail assistants had to stock shelves. One assistant was faced with a trolley that had boxes stacked above her height. She asked for assistance, but no one helped her. She then lifted a box off the trolley from above head height and this resulted in an injury. The court awarded her compensation on the grounds that the company’s rule to not stack trolleys above head height had been ignored.

In a similar case, a sales assistant was asked to fetch boxes weighing over 13kg from the storeroom. The boxes were stacked too high and resulted in the assistant being injured when lifting a box off the top of a stack. The court found that, although the employee had been handed written instructions about manual handling, they had never been asked about whether they were clearly understood. No risk assessment had been carried out in relation to manual lifting and no training had been given. The plaintiff was awarded damages of over £80,000.

These cases highlight that boxes, when manually handled, need to be stacked to a manageable height. Better still, handling equipment should be provided. Employers must make sure that all staff are trained in both manual handling and how to use handling equipment.