WRULD Claims heard in Courts in England, Scotland and Wales

Hearing(s) - Armitage - v - United Provincial Newspapers Ltd

Date	Court	Claimant(s)	Task	Injury	Judgment for
10 Jan 2001	Leeds County	Armitage	Computer mouse use	Lateral Epicondylitis	Defendant

This is Judgment in a claim associated with the use of a mouse and, like the earlier case of Gould -v- Shell UK Ltd, it appears from the Judgment of HH Judge Cockcroft that it was only during the hearing that the use of a mouse emerged as the alleged cause of the Claimant's injuries. Mrs Armitage, who was the Personal Assistant to the Defendant's Chairman and Chief Executive, alleged that her work between September 1994 and December 1996 caused bilateral Lateral Epicondylitis. However, it is noted in the Judgment that the Claimant had "a galaxy of upper limb disorders which cannot be work-related".

It appears from the Judgment of HH Judge Cockcroft that it was common ground that the Claimant had suffered from Lateral Epicondylitis, the main issue being whether it was work-related. After reviewing the medical evidence, HH Judge Cockcroft concluded that: "There is unlikely ever to be any connection between mouse handling and tennis elbow and, certainly on the balance of probabilities, there is none here".

It is noted in the Judgment that the Claimant's reliance on alleged breaches of the DSE Regulations was abandoned at the outset of the hearing and that the case proceeded entirely upon the common law basis. HH Judge Cockcroft concluded that there was no breach of the common law duty of care.

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Last updated: 27/03/2014