MANCHESTER University NHS Foundation Trust has paid out more than £1.8 million to settle legal claims by staff injured at work in the last five years, a new investigation has revealed. 

Data obtained by Legal Expert shows that the trust, responsible for hospitals including Manchester Royal Infirmary, Wythenshawe Hospital and North Manchester General, had the third-highest number of staff injury claims and incidents reported to NHS Resolution, the health service’s legal body, out of all the NHS trusts in England.

Between 2019 and 2024, the trust settled 118 staff injury claims, totalling £1,824,774 in compensation. 

Legal Expert solicitor Bethany Wych-Peers said: “With an overstretched NHS which faces workforce shortages and mounting pressures, the welfare of some of the most essential front-line workers can slip to the bottom of the priority list and fall short of what they deserve.

“Behind each of these cases there may be a nurse, paramedic, healthcare assistant or porter whose ability to care for others was compromised.”

The most common causes of injury were slips and trips, assaults and other incidents, including cases of workplace violence as well as mishaps while lifting or carrying. 

Injuries commonly reported in claims included orthopaedic harm, psychiatric damage, head and facial trauma and internal injuries.

Orthopaedic injuries, such as fractures, dislocations and ligament tears, accounted for many of the cases. 

Legal claims for psychiatric injuries, which include PTSD, severe depression and anxiety, were also made when linked to a breach of duty by the employer.

Nationally, the NHS has paid out over £103m in damages in response to staff injury claims since 2019, settling 6,110 cases. 

Separate freedom of information data revealed there were at least 41,226 physical assaults on NHS hospital staff in 2023 — a 21 per cent rise since 2019. 

The Department of Health and Social Care was approached for comment.