The human right to dignity v. physical integrity in manual handling

In the case of The Queen v. East Sussex County Council and The Disability Rights Commission [2003] the position in English and European Law with regard to the rights of disabled people to be lifted manually in their homes was reviewed. The judgement also reviewed the position with regard to the risks posed to carers when they manually lift. The judgement stated that where the human rights of disabled people were in issue--where their Article 8 right to "dignity" was offended--then carers would in certain situations have to find ways to lift those people manually. This article reviews and challenges the findings in this case. A conclusion is reached that a reading of English and European law does not suggest that nurses and carers can be expected to be caused a physical harm to their persons, in order to assuage the "dignity" rights of those they lift. Further, that issues such as insurance and compensation, possibly owing to a nurse who manually lifts, have not been settled, and that all of these issues have not been determined where lifting occurs manually in a hospital setting.