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Editor wins £37,500 RSI damages
A Guardian newspaper night editor who says she was refused access to the company physiotherapist after developing crippling elbow pain has been paid £37,500 in damages for repetitive strain injury (RSI). Andrea Osbourne, who had been a casual at the paper for two and a half years, worked almost exclusively using a mouse, at speed, for an average nine hours a night, and up to 45 hours a week, without a break. No risk assessment was carried out when she started the job in February 2001. By May 2002 she had developed debilitating stiffness and pain in her right elbow. Her GP diagnosed RSI and advised her to seek help from her employer. However, Ms Osbourne said a request to see the company physio was refused. She added that requests for a workplace assessment were ignored by the health and safety department, and a risk assessment, which was eventually carried out by the editor's PA, did not cover mouse usage. In March 2003, the pain had become constant and she was unable to continue working. She was told by a hospital consultant that she would never be able to do that type of work again and was advised to seek an alternative career. She said: 'The Guardian showed absolutely no sympathy. Because I was employed as a casual and didn't have a permanent contract, they refused my requests for physiotherapy and made no attempt to find a way for me to work which would have reduced the repetitive strain in my elbow. The paper has all but ended my career in website editing and production.' Marion Voss of NUJ lawyers Thompsons said: 'When so much is being talked about by HR professionals and the insurance industry about the importance of rehabilitation, that the paper refused Andrea treatment that might have enabled her to keep working is disgraceful. Instead the paper denied liability and we were forced to get an ergonomist report to support Andrea's case. Still the Guardian did not settle the case until close to the trial date.'
Briefing document (400 words) issued 26 May 2006
