By Daniel Janeway. Last Updated 22nd September 2023. Have you sustained a broken hip through no fault of your own? If so, this article aims to inform you of how you could make a personal injury claim against the third party responsible.
If, at any point, you’d like more information, please don’t hesitate to contact one of our friendly advisors today. They can connect you to our panel of personal injury lawyers who could help you make a successful claim to secure the compensation that you deserve.
Available 24/7, you can call us on 0800 408 7827, write to us by clicking here or use the live chat feature on the bottom of your screen.
Broken hip compensation
Select a Section
- What Is A Pelvic Fracture Injury?
- Financial Loss From A Hip Fracture
- Common Accidents Causing Hip Fractures
- Care Claims And Hip Injury Compensation
- Hip Injury Compensation Payout Examples
- Case Study: £100,000 For A Fractured Hip
- Get A Free Compensation Estimate For Your Hip Injury Claim
- No Win No Fee Agreements And Broken Hip Injury Claims
- How Long Do I Have To Make A Hip Injury Claim?
- Reach Our Advisors
- Additional Resources On Broken Hip Compensation Claims
What Is A Pelvic Fracture Injury?
A pelvic fracture injury can be anything from a crack in the upper femur to a broken hip bone, with symptoms including pain, swelling, and limited movement of the leg.
These injuries are commonly sustained from falling onto your side but can also be the result of an ongoing health condition. Immediate medical treatment is required for these injuries and an x-ray or scan is often needed to confirm a broken hip.
In most cases, surgery is the only option for recovery, with procedures ranging from screws being fitted to a hip replacement. Generally, broken hip patients are discharged within 2 weeks. However, rehabilitation programmes can take anywhere from 4 weeks to 4 months for mobility to be regained, depending on the severity of the injury and the extent of the treatment required.
Financial Loss From A Hip Fracture
If you’ve sustained a broken hip injury, it’s common to experience financial loss in the aftermath of your accident. Whether paying out of pocket for things like prescription fees and care costs or suffering a loss of earnings as a result of unpaid sick leave or missed opportunities, injury-related expenses can be recovered as part of your personal injury claim.
In attempts to restore you to the financial position you were in prior to your injury, special damages can be claimed to compensate you for any financial loss you’ve experienced as a result of your injury. Please continue reading to learn more about special damages and the types of expenses that can be recovered.
Common Accidents Causing Hip Fracture
If you’ve sustained a broken hip injury and someone else was responsible for it, then you could be entitled to compensation. To establish liability of a third party, you must be able to prove that they owed you a duty of care and that they breached that duty, resulting in an accident in which you were harmed.
Here are some examples of bodies commonly owing a duty of care and how they may be held liable for negligence:
- Employers
- Under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, you could be entitled to compensation if your broken hip was a result of your employer breaching their duty of care. In 2019, slips, trips and falls accounted for a third of all major workplace injuries, with over 95% causing broken bones. If you slipped on a leak that your employer ignored, you could be entitled to claim for a broken hip.
- Those in control of public places
- Under the Occupiers’ Liability Act 1957, those in control of public places have a duty of care under public liability. If you sustain a broken hip in a public place accident and third-party negligence is responsible, you could be entitled to compensation. For example, if you tripped due to a poorly maintained paving slab on a public footpath and sustained a broken hip, you could be entitled to claim against the council if the hazard was over 40mm in depth.
- Road users
- In 2019, over 157,630 people were injured on Britain’s roads. A road traffic accident (RTA) is defined as any collision involving a vehicle or other road user. Road users have a duty of care according to the Highway Code, which they could be held liable for breaching if they’re injured as a result. If an RTA caused by a careless driver resulted in you sustaining a broken hip, you could be entitled to compensation.
Care Claims And Hip Injury Compensation
A broken hip can be incapacitating in varying degrees, but it’s inevitable that you’ll need some level of help after sustaining this type of injury.
As part of a personal injury claim, the cost of care can be compensated. Whether you received assistance from family and friends – referred to as gracious care – or you acquired professional help from a carer, you can receive costs for care regardless of whether any expense was incurred.
To value the cost of gracious care, the average time that was spent caring for you is used in accordance with the average fee charged by a local professional. This figure is then reduced on the basis that the service you received wasn’t commercial.
Compensation for professional care is calculated using invoices raised, the total of which is then reimbursed to you.
Therefore, please ensure you retain a paper trail of any expenses incurred to evidence your personal injury claim, including care costs. You can also claim care costs for any assistance you usually provide to others but your broken hip prevented you from continuing, like caring for a vulnerable loved one.
If you’d like to find out more about claiming back care costs, please speak to one of our advisors today or continue reading to learn about other types of expenses you could recover.
Hip Injury Compensation Payout Examples
In making a personal injury claim for a broken hip, your solicitor will ask you to undergo a medical assessment with an independent expert. Your appointment will likely entail the following:
- A physical examination will be performed
- A series of questions will be asked about your accident
The practitioner will assess and give their opinion on the extent of your injury and the impact it’s had. In addition, the appointment aims to corroborate the details you gave your solicitor about your accident, thereby evidencing your claim.
This information ultimately helps your solicitor value your case, therefore it’s vital that you attend. If you choose to make a claim with us, we’ll make every effort to ensure your appointment is as convenient for you as possible by using our extensive network of specialists across the nation. To learn more about the services our panel of personal injury lawyers provides, please contact one of our advisors today.
What is the average settlement for a broken hip?
The figures in the table below have been taken from a publication called the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG). If you break your hip, the payout you receive will reflect the level of pain and suffering you experience as a result – this figure is called general damages. Legal professionals use the JCG during the process of arriving at an appropriate sum.
The JCG was last updated in 2022. This is the edition from which the figures below have been taken. Whilst the amounts shown are based on court cases that have taken place in the past, the value of your own broken hip compensation amount will depend on factors such as the impact on your life. Therefore, your claim needs to be valued individually before an accurate figure can be settled.
| Injury | Severity | Description | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pelvis | Severe | (a) – (i) When the pelvis has been extensively fractured, leading to other injuries such as a ruptured bladder | £78,400 to £130,930 |
| Pelvis | Severe | (a) – (ii) When injuries are slightly less severe than the highest bracket | £61,910 to £78,400 |
| Pelvis | Severe | (a) – (iii) Fractures that increase the likelihood of hip replacements in the future | £39,170 to £52,500 |
| Pelvis | Moderate | (b) – (i) When the injury is significant, but if there is disability, it is not lasting | £26,590 to £39,170 |
| Pelvis | Moderate | (b) – (ii) May include the need for hip surgery | £12,590 to £26,590 |
| Pelvis | Lesser | (c) – (i) The injury will have been significant, but there is no disability that remains | £3,950 to £12,590 |
| Pelvis | Lesser | (c) – (ii) Complete recovery after minor injuries to the soft tissue | Up to £3,950 |
| Psychiatric damage | Severe | (a) The person’s prognosis will be very poor, and symptoms will be severe | £54,830 to £115,730 |
| Post-traumatic stress disorder | Severe | (a) In cases such as these, the person will experience difficulties such as being unable to work as a result of their symptoms | £59,860 to £100,670 |
| Mental Anguish | N/A | (E) When the injured person believes they will die due to their injuries | £4,670 |
The circumstances in which you could claim a broken hip are quite varied. For example, if your injury is due to a misdiagnosis such as a missed fracture, a compensation amount could still be awarded to you if you can prove it was due to medical negligence. Get in touch to find out if you can make a claim today.
Special damages in hip injury claims
Special damages can be claimed in addition, with the aim of restoring the claimant back to the financial standing they had prior to their injury. Accounting for injury-related costs that have been or will be incurred, expenses that can be recovered include:
- Medical bills, travel expenses, care costs and the like
- Loss of earnings from unpaid sick leave or missed opportunities resulting in future losses
Case Study: £100,000 Payout For A Fractured Hip
As an experienced scaffolder, Mr Jackson was on a job when part of the scaffolding he was on collapsed. As Mr Jackson’s employer had failed to appropriately train new staff before allowing them to erect scaffolding, they were in breach of their duty of care under the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974.
This breach led Mr Jackson to fall from a height and land on his side, experiencing excruciating pain in his upper thigh and hip as a result. After being rushed to A&E, an x-ray confirmed that Mr Jackson had fractured his hip and he was scheduled in for surgery within 48 hours.
Due to the severity of his injury, Mr Jackson required a hip replacement. However, his surgery was only partially successful and required a revision surgery just 4 weeks later. This meant Mr Jackson’s recovery period was significantly longer than that of the average broken hip injury, taking around 6 months of rehabilitative physiotherapy before he regained normal mobility.
As Mr Jackson’s injury left him largely incapacitated, he was unable to work during his recovery period. In addition, he was also unable to complete usual duties like caring for his children and elderly mother or undertaking domestic chores.
Since Mr Jackson knew he wasn’t responsible for his broken hip injury, he decided to pursue compensation with help from a personal injury lawyer. In building his case against his employer, he used records from his workplace’s accident book, photographs taken at the scene of the incident and contact details obtained from his co-workers who witnessed it.
In addition, Mr Jackson’s solicitor gathered witness statements and a report from an independent medical specialist, ensuring they had the evidence they needed to make a successful claim.
Initially, Mr Jackson’s employer disputed the claim and stated that they had in fact provided proper staff training. However, when Mr Jackson’s solicitor made a disclosure request to RIDDOR, a pattern of past reports emerged showing a series of near-miss accidents of a similar nature. This indicated a lack of employee competence in regard to safety procedures, evidencing Mr Jackson’s claim and forcing his employer to settle.
For his broken hip, Mr Jackson was awarded £52,825 in general damages, which was based on the severity of his hip fracture and the prolonged recovery period he subsequently endured.
Mr Jackson was also awarded around £47,175 in special damages, attempting to account for the loss of earnings he experienced, as well as injury-related costs he had to pay such as childcare and medical costs:
| Type of Special Damages: | Includes: | How Much? |
|---|---|---|
| Travel Expenses | To and from appointments/treatment | As Mr Jackson’s broken hip prevented him from driving, he was awarded £475 for travel expenses. |
| Medications/Prescriptions | Prescriptions, treatment, physiotherapy, walking aids, etc. | For his prescription painkillers, Mr Jackon recovered £110. In addition, he also received £35 for the crutches he required and £125 for a wheelchair. |
| Adaption To Property | For injuries that cause serious loss of functions (i.e. amputations, disabilities, etc.) | Mr Jackson’s broken hip left him largely incapacitated, meaning he had to make adaptations to his house to enable mobility. He recovered £110 for a wheelchair ramp and grab rails, £60 for a shower seat and £2,950 for a stairlift. |
| Additional Care | Professional care at home, from family, childcare, etc. | As Mr Jackson’s broken hip left him unable to care for his elderly mother, he recovered £8,580 in domiciliary care costs over his recovery period. In addition, Mr Jackson was awarded childcare fees of £3,725 for each of his two children and £2,560 to fund his own care, totalling £18,590. |
| Future Loss | Loss of Earnings, future loss of earnings, potential future care. | Earning £47,000 a year, Mr Jackson was awarded £23,500 for the 6 months he was forced to take off work. In addition, he recovered £3,000 for the attendance bonus he subsequently lost. |
| Cleaning/Gardening: | Cleaning, gardening, areas that requires consistent attention. | As Mr Jackson was unable to complete domestic tasks due to his broken hip, he was awarded £1,945 for a cleaner and gardener. |
The case of Mr Jackson is purely an example. It is based on our past experiences of handling and valuing claims and serves to illustrate how accidents can happen and how they are valued.
Get A Free Compensation Estimate For Your Hip Injury Claim
We advise any claimants interested in how much compensation they could receive to avoid online ‘personal injury compensation calculators’. Rather than taking the unique features of your case into consideration, they can provide general estimates which can be inaccurate.
If you’d be interested in receiving a trustworthy quote on your compensation entitlement for a claim for a broken hip, please speak to one of our friendly advisors today. We can offer you a free consultation on your unique situation, working with our experienced panel of personal injury lawyers to provide you with reliable figures.
No Win No Fee Agreements And Broken Hip Injury Claims
Sustaining a broken hip injury can take a significant physical and psychological toll, particularly if it was through no fault of your own. Whether you’ve had to pay for things like prescription fees and care costs or experienced a loss of earnings from taking unpaid sick leave, you may be suffering a financial shortfall as a result of your incapacity.
If the prospect of paying solicitors’ fees is stopping you from pursuing compensation, a No Win No Fee agreement could be the solution.
As part of these agreements, you don’t pay your No Win No Fee solicitor unless they win your claim for you. There are no hidden fees to worry about either. You’re only required to pay a small ‘success fee’ to cover your solicitor’s legal costs. However, this fee is legally capped to ensure you still receive the compensation you’re entitled to.
If you’re looking to claim for a broken hip on a No Win No Fee basis, then look no further than our panel of personal injury lawyers. While we do our best to secure your compensation, you can focus on your recovery, knowing your claim is in safe hands.
Please contact one of our advisors today to learn more about our services.
How Long Do I Have To Make A Hip Injury Claim?
When making a claim for a hip fracture settlement, you must make a claim within the limitation period. Typically speaking, you have 3 years from the date you were injured to begin the process of making a claim. It states this in the Limitation Act 1980.
Although, this time limit is not absolute. Certain scenarios can lead to this time limit being extended. For example:
- The claimant could be under 18
- The claimant could suffer from a reduced mental capacity
Each claim is unique, so some may need to be assessed on an individual basis before a time limit can be decided. Additionally, some claimants (such as children) cannot legally claim for themselves. Therefore, a litigation friend must be appointed to claim on their behalf.
Get in touch today to learn more about time limits involved when trying to claim hip injury compensation amounts.
Reach Our Advisors
If you’ve sustained a broken hip through no fault of your own, our panel of personal injury lawyers is here to help you claim the compensation you deserve. Please reach out to one of our specialist advisors today for a free, no-obligation consultation to see what we could do for you.
Available 24/7, call us on 0800 408 7825, write to us by clicking here, or use the live chat feature at the bottom of this page.
Additional Resources On Broken Hip Compensation Claims
Thank you for reading our guide to claiming for a broken hip. We’ve provided some additional resources below that may be of use:
- Find NHS services
- NHS broken bone guide
- Health and Safety Executive
- Click here to see our guide on public accident claims against the council
- Head here to read our guide to university accidents
- Click here to read our guide on dog bit cases
For more advice on claiming broken hip compensation, please get in touch.