A Woolworths worker has been awarded more than $230,000 in damages after an appeals court in Brisbane found the warehouse demands placed on workers had aggravated a shoulder injury.

The supermarket has been ordered to pay Berhane Ghebreigziabiher Berhane $231,211.45 by the Court of Appeal.

Woolworths was also ordered to pay Mr Berhane's costs. Credit:Brendon Thorne

Mr Berhane was a "picker" from August 2010 at the Woolworths distribution centre at Larapinta, in Brisbane's south. His job involved lifting and moving cartons weighing up to 17 kilograms onto pallets, an action he would perform 1600 times on a normal day and up to 2160 times.

"The system of work involved frequent lifting away from the body of weights in excess of recommendations of the Worksafe Victoria Guide to Manual Order Picking," Court of Appeal Justice Phillip Morrison said in his ruling.