Can I claim for RSI from years of typing?

Yes. Repetitive strain injury, carpal tunnel and tenosynovitis are well-recognised industrial diseases. The three-year limit runs from the date a doctor first connected your symptoms to your work, not from when you started the job.

What about work-related stress and anxiety?

A claim for psychiatric injury caused by work stress is possible but harder. You must show the employer knew (or ought to have known) that you were at risk of psychiatric injury, that the injury was foreseeable, and that the employer failed to take reasonable steps. Walker v Northumberland CC [1995] is the leading authority.

I work from home — am I still covered?

Yes. The DSE Regulations and the general duty under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 apply wherever you carry out work for your employer. The employer must risk-assess your home workstation.

Office injury claims in the UK.

The Royal Courts of Justice in London — UK personal injury jurisdiction — Royal Courts of Justice, London

"It's only an office" — and other myths

Offices generate more accident claims than most people realise. They are quieter than a building site, but the legal duties are identical: the employer must keep the workplace, equipment and systems of work reasonably safe, and must specifically assess display screen equipment, repetitive tasks, and the foreseeability of psychiatric injury from workload.

The seven most-claimed office injuries

Trips on trailing cables, lifted carpet or open desk drawers.
Slips on wet floors after cleaning, leaks, or kitchenette spills with no signage.
Falls from chairs, ladders or kick-stools while reaching for files.
Falling objects from shelves, cupboards or filing cabinets — usually the upper drawer pulled open while the lower drawers are full.
Repetitive strain injury and tenosynovitis from a poor keyboard, mouse or screen height.
Eye strain and migraines from inadequate display equipment or lighting.
Work-related stress and anxiety where the employer ignored escalating workload, bullying or harassment despite warnings.

The regulations specific to office work

Health and Safety (Display Screen Equipment) Regulations 1992 — the employer must assess every workstation, provide a chair with adjustable seat back and height, ensure the screen is at eye height, fund eye-tests every two years, and allow short breaks away from the screen.
Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992 — flooring, lighting, temperature (a working minimum of 16 °C, 13 °C if the work is physical), ventilation, traffic routes.
Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992 — yes, even for moving boxes during an office move.
Equality Act 2010 — reasonable adjustments for disabled employees often interlock with DSE assessments.
Common-law duty of care for psychiatric injury (Hatton v Sutherland; Walker v Northumberland CC).

Realistic payout ranges

Injury	General-damages range
Minor wrist injury — full recovery	up to £4,310
Carpal tunnel syndrome — moderate	£8,640 – £18,930
Tenosynovitis — recovery within 2 yrs	£2,990 – £9,630
Minor back strain from a fall	£2,990 – £9,630
Wrist fracture from a trip	£3,950 – £10,420
Mild psychiatric injury — recovery within 2 yrs	£1,880 – £7,150
Moderate psychiatric injury — work-related	£7,150 – £23,270
Severe psychiatric injury	£66,920 – £141,240

Working from home — your employer's duties

Hybrid and remote workers are covered by the DSE Regulations and by the general duty of care. Your employer should provide (or fund) a suitable chair, monitor, keyboard and mouse, run a self-assessment of your home workstation and keep that assessment on file. Where it does not, and you suffer an ergonomic injury that a competent assessment would have prevented, the employer remains liable.

Evidence the court will expect

The DSE workstation assessment — or proof none was carried out.
Photographs of the hazard (cable, spill, lifted carpet) before it's tidied.
Email trail — for stress claims especially, dated complaints to HR and line managers.
GP, OH and physiotherapy notes from the early weeks.
Witness contact details (personal numbers, not corporate emails).

What to do if you've been injured at the office

Report the incident in writing the same day. Insist on the accident book.
See your GP — record the work cause in the notes.
Photograph the cause of the trip or slip before facilities tidy it.
For stress claims: write down the dates of your complaints and any HR responses.
Don't accept "we'll look into it" as a substitute for a written workstation assessment.
Speak to a regulated personal-injury solicitor — initial advice is free.

FAQs

Can I claim for RSI from years of typing?: Yes. Repetitive strain injury, carpal tunnel and tenosynovitis are well-recognised industrial diseases. The three-year limit runs from the date a doctor first connected your symptoms to your work, not from when you started the job.
What about work-related stress and anxiety?: A claim for psychiatric injury caused by work stress is possible but harder. You must show the employer knew (or ought to have known) that you were at risk of psychiatric injury, that the injury was foreseeable, and that the employer failed to take reasonable steps. Walker v Northumberland CC [1995] is the leading authority.
I work from home — am I still covered?: Yes. The DSE Regulations and the general duty under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 apply wherever you carry out work for your employer. The employer must risk-assess your home workstation.