Broken Bone at Work – A Guide to Claiming Compensation

Legally, employers are supposed to stop you from being injured at work. However, accidents at work do happen and they can result in quite serious injuries. Broken bones are common workplace injuries that, if caused by employer negligence, could result in a personal injury claim. This guide to claiming compensation for a broken bone at work, therefore, explores how broken bone claims work and how much compensation might be awarded.

We can help if you believe you are entitled to claim for a broken bone at work. Initially, a legal advisor may explain your options in a free consultation and answer your questions. If they believe your employer is responsible for your broken bone injury, they could connect you with one of our specialists No Win, No Fee work injury solicitors if you want to proceed.

To find out whether you’ve got a feasible broken bone compensation claim, you can:

• Call 0333 241 2519 to speak to a legal advisor.
• Connect to our live chat service day or night.

Read on for more about how to claim compensation for a broken or fractured bone or give us a call if you have any questions.

Types of Broken Bones at Work We Can Help With

During a traumatic accident, your bone can become fractured. The fracture may go through part or all of your bone. The terms broken bones and fractured bones are interchangeable. Some examples of the different types of broken bones at work we can help with include:

• Closed Fractures: Where the skin is not pierced by the fracture.
• Open or Compound Fractures: Where the broken bone breaks the skin.
• Hairline Fractures: Often caused by repeated stress on the bone.
• Compression Fractures: Where two or more bones are fractured after being forced together.

Symptoms of a broken bone include swelling, pain and deformity. During your accident, you may have heard a snapping or popping noise. Following the accident, you might find it difficult to use the affected limb or put weight on it.

Can I Make a Broken Bone at Work Claim?

You are owed a legal responsibility by your employer to prevent personal injuries while you’re at work. The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 means that your employer must take reasonable preventative steps to prevent accidents. For instance, to prevent broken bone injuries, your employer should remove as many trip hazards as possible and train you on how to work safely at height where required.

You might be entitled to claim for a broken bone injury at work if you can demonstrate that:

• Your employer owed you a duty of care at the time you were injured.
• An accident occurred in the last three years because your employer was negligent.
• Your broken bone injury can be attributed to that negligence.

If you’re reasonably confident that your employer is responsible for your fracture injury, please call our legal advisors now to explore your options.

What Types of Negligence at Work Can Lead to Broken Bone Claims?

Some examples of how a broken bone at work can occur due to a negligent employer include:

• If your toes were broken after a heavy load was dropped on them in a construction accident because your employer failed to provide protective footwear.
• You slipped on a wet floor and sustained a broken wrist and elbow caused by a radiator that was known to be leaking.
• If you suffered broken ribs at work after being assaulted whilst working in a pub due to a lack of security staff.
• Where you sustained multiple broken bones after poorly erected racking collapsed onto you in a warehouse.
• If you suffered fractured vertebrae and a broken coccyx after you overstretched and fell off a ladder at work that was too short for the job at hand.
• Where you sustained a broken leg at work after you were struck by a forklift in a waste recycling facility because it was being driven in a pedestrian-only area.

Even if you can’t see a scenario matching your own here, please feel free to contact us as we could still help you to claim broken bone compensation for your suffering.

What Should I Do If I’ve Sustained a Broken Bone in the Workplace?

If you believe that you’ve broken a bone at work, you should:

• Seek immediate medical attention at A&E.
• Tell your employer about the incident as soon as you’re able to.
• Ensure your injuries are logged in the company’s accident report book.
• Follow any medical advice you’re given about when and how to return to work.

Taking the steps above can help you to recover from your broken bone injury sooner and will give your employer a chance to rectify any issues and prevent similar workplace accidents. Also, the steps above could provide you with some of the evidence you’ll need to prove your case if you decide to make a broken bone claim.

What Evidence Can Be Used for a Broken Bone Injury Claim?

Your employer will probably forward your claim to their insurance provider when you file it. That means you’ll need to prove to them how the accident happened, why your employer is liable and the extent of the suffering you’ve endured because of your broken bone injury.

Examples of the types of evidence you can use to help prove your case include:

• Photographs of the accident scene and any obvious hazards that caused your injuries.
• X-rays, scan results and copies of your medical records.
• Your copy of the accident report form to confirm when you were injured.
• Details of anyone else who witnessed the incident.
• CCTV footage if your accident was captured on camera.

If you would like us to review any evidence you’ve already secured, please feel free to contact our legal advisors now.

How Long Do I Have to Claim Broken Bone Compensation?

The time limit for work-related injury claims is 3 years. This is defined in the Limitation Act 1980. For most broken bone claims, this period begins on the date that your accident occurred.

It’s usually advisable to begin your claim as quickly as you can. That’s because claims made outside of the limitation period can become statute-barred meaning you could miss out on any compensation for a broken bone at work you’re entitled to.

How Much Compensation for a Broken Bone at Work?

If you are paid compensation for a broken bone at work, the nature of your injury, your recovery time and any future suffering will all be considered when valuing your settlement.

The first element of a settlement, general damages, deals with the pain and suffering you’ve endured. To help prove this, your solicitor will use your medical records and could also arrange an independent medical assessment. Once they have a proper understanding of how you’ve been affected, they might refer to past cases and also figures in the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG) to help calculate how much compensation you could be entitled to.

Our broken bone compensation table lists some JCG figures for guidance. However, these are not guaranteed broken bone compensation amounts as each claim is unique.

• A broken arm at work resulting in permanent and substantial disablement can see compensation range from £39,170 – £59,860.
• For a simple forearm fracture compensation is between £6,610 – £19,200.
• A broken rib at work resulting in only weeks of serious pain and disability, compensation is up to £3,950.
• For badly broken fingers that may cause partial amputations, leading to deformities, compensation is up to £36,740.
• A badly broken pelvis involving extensive fractures and serious complications, compensation is between £78,400 – £130,930.
• For a simple broken femur without articular surface damage, compensation ranges from £9,110 – £14,080.
• A broken leg involving simple tibia or fibula fractures can see compensation up to £11,840.
• For a moderately broken foot, i.e. displaced metatarsal fractures with permanent deformity and ongoing symptoms, compensation ranges from £13,740 – £24,990.
• For a simple broken ankle involving minor fractures, sprains, and ligament damage, compensation is up to £13,740.

If you are awarded general damages, you might also be entitled to claim special damages. This is compensation to cover any financial losses linked to your broken bone injury. For instance, you could be eligible to claim for:

• Any loss of earnings (present and future).
• Travel costs (to cover hospital visits for example).
• Medical expenses.
• Care and support costs.
• The cost of home adaptations to help you deal with longer-term injuries.

If you’d like to know how much compensation for a broken bone at work you could receive, please contact one of our specialists today.

Can I Claim Compensation for a Fracture Caused By Faulty Equipment?

All workplace equipment must be properly maintained, fit for purpose and in good working order. This is a requirement of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998.

As such, if you are injured by faulty, defective or damaged equipment at work, it may be possible to sue your employer for your suffering. For instance, it may be possible to claim if your hand was fractured by a faulty industrial press that started moving while you cleared it because its emergency stop feature failed.

If you believe you’re entitled to make a broken bone claim because you were injured by faulty workplace equipment, please call our legal advisors.

Can I Claim Broken Bone Compensation If I’m Self-Employed?

While you’re working for someone else, they have a duty of care towards your well-being. That duty is the same for all staff including the self-employed, contractors, zero-hours staff, agency workers, consultants, subcontractors and full-time employees.

Therefore, if you’ve broken a bone at work and can prove the employer’s negligence caused your accident, you could be entitled to claim compensation for your suffering.

Do I Need a Work Injury Solicitor to Make a Broken Bone Claim?

While you’re not obliged to take on legal representation for a broken bone claim, a solicitor specialising in injuries at work could improve your chances of winning your claim and their negotiation skills could lead to a higher settlement being awarded.

If you work with one of our accident-at-work solicitors, their services can include:

• Manage the caseload from start to finish.
• Deal with your employer (or their insurers) on your behalf.
• Ensure the claim is filed correctly and on time.
• Negotiate on your behalf to secure the maximum amount of compensation possible.
• Keep you up to date throughout the claims process.

They will also reduce the financial risks of taking on legal representation by working on a No Win, No Fee basis. This means you’ll sign a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA) so you:

• Don’t pay for your solicitor’s work upfront.
• Don’t pay anything to your solicitor for their efforts if the claim is lost.
• Will have a success fee deducted from any compensation you receive.

So that you retain the majority of any settlement you receive, the maximum success fee percentage when a CFA is used is 25 per cent of your settlement.

To see if you could make a No Win, No Fee broken bone injury claim, please call today.

Will I Need to Attend Court?

In our experience, when claiming compensation for a broken bone at work, very few cases need to be heard in court. It is far more common for such claims to be dealt with by solicitors and insurers directly. They will aim to settle the case amicably to remove the need for costly and time-consuming court hearings.

However, as a last resort, your solicitor may schedule a court date if:

• They strongly believe your broken bone claim is winnable; but
• Your employer will not offer a fair settlement; or
• They deny liability for your injuries.

If your case does need to be taken to court, your solicitor will be there to support you every step of the way.

Contacting Us About a Broken Bone Compensation Claim

If you would like to begin a broken bone at work claim, you can:

• Call one of our specialist advisors on 0333 241 2519.
• Use our online chat service whenever it’s convenient for you.

Our initial advice is provided for free and there’s no obligation to sue your employer if you’re not ready to. However, all accepted broken bone claims are processed on a No Win, No Fee basis for your peace of mind.