By Danielle Newton. Last Updated 11th October 2023. If you’ve sustained a broken elbow, you may be struggling with the pain of your injury, trauma from your accident, and even financial anxiety. Maybe you’ve had to pay out of pocket for injury-related costs such as prescription fees, or you’ve experienced a loss of earnings due to unpaid sick leave. But did you know that these costs can be recovered in a broken elbow claim?
In this article, we’ll explain what you could be compensated for and how much you may be entitled to, as well as how to go about making a personal injury claim.
To learn more, please continue reading or get in touch with one of our specialist advisors today to discuss how our panel of personal injury lawyers could help you make a broken elbow claim;
- Call 0800 408 7827
- Write to us about your case by clicking here.
- Use the live chat feature available on your screen
Broken elbow compensation
Select a Section
- Can I Make An Elbow Injury Claim?
- What Is A Broken Elbow Injury?
- Examples Of Elbow Injuries You Could Claim Compensation For
- Case Study: £90,000 Elbow Injury Compensation
- Elbow Injury Compensation Amounts
- No Win No Fee Agreements Simplified
- How Public Interest Lawyers Can Help You Make An Elbow Injury Claim
- Begin An Elbow Injury Claim
- Additional References On Elbow Injury Claims
Can I Make An Elbow Injury Claim?
There are various ways in which an elbow injury could be sustained. These include in the following accidents:
- A road traffic accident. Road users owe a duty of care to each other, which means that they need to navigate the roads in a way that prevents injury and damage to themselves and others. To uphold this duty, they must adhere to the Road Traffic Act 1988 and the Highway Code.
- A public place accident. While you are in a public place, the party in control of that space must ensure your reasonable safety. This is their duty of care as set by the Occupiers’ Liability Act 1957. Should they breach this and you suffer an injury as a result, you could make an elbow injury claim.
- A work accident. Your employer owes you a duty of care under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 (HASAWA). This means that they must take all reasonable and practicable steps to ensure the health, safety and welfare at work of their employees. If you suffer an injury because this was breached, you might be able to make a personal injury claim.
If you would like to claim personal injury compensation, you must be able to satisfy the eligibility requirements, meaning you must be able to prove that:
- You were owed a duty of care
- This duty was breached
- You were injured as a result
Contact our team of advisors to find out if you could make a personal injury claim. Or, to learn more about elbow injury compensation amounts, read on.
How Long Do I Have To Make An Elbow Injury Claim?
If you are seeking compensation for your broken elbow, you must start your claim within the limitation period. Generally, you will have three years from the date of the accident that caused your injuries to start your claim.
However, for certain claims, there are exceptions to the time limit. This includes:
- Those who lack the mental capacity to make a claim themself. The time limit is suspended indefinitely. During this time, a court-appointed litigation friend could make a claim on their behalf. However, if the injured party regains the capacity to claim, they will have three years from the recovery date to start a claim if one has not already been made.
- Those under the age of 18. In these cases, the time limit is paused until their 18th birthday. Prior to this, a litigation friend could claim for them. Once they turn 18, they have three years to start a claim if one has not been made for them already.
If you would like to find out more about elbow injury compensation amounts, please get in touch with one of our advisors using the information at the top of the page. They could also inform you whether you are within the time limit to start a claim.
What Is A Broken Elbow Injury?
A broken elbow can range from a crack to a break in one or more of the three elbow bones. Symptoms include pain, swelling, and deformity in cases where the bone has become misaligned.
Most elbow fractures are identified by a practitioner through mobility tests or using an x-ray. Typically, a cast and sling are required to be worn for around 4 weeks, accompanied by rehabilitation exercises to encourage healing and joint movement.
Most broken bones heal within 12 weeks but recovery periods can be prolonged in more severe cases. For example, if the bone is misaligned or protruding from the skin, then surgery may be necessary.
Examples Of Elbow Injuries You Could Claim Compensation For
Did you know that you could be entitled to compensation if a third-party was responsible for your broken elbow injury? To be able to hold a third-party liable, they must have been in breach of a duty of care that they owed you, and as a result of that breach, you came to harm.
Below, we’ve provided some examples to help illustrate how to establish such negligence:
- Under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, employers owe a duty of care to ensure the safety of their employees at work. Therefore, you could be entitled to make a broken elbow claim if your injury was the result of your employer’s negligence.
- If your employer did not maintain its plant machinery and a defect led to you suffering an elbow fracture, you could be entitled to compensation.
- Under the Occupiers’ Liability Act 1957, those in control of public places owe a duty of care to ensure the safety of visitors on-site. Therefore, you could be entitled to make a broken elbow claim if your injury was due to the negligence of those controlling the public place in question (e.g. shops, salons and restaurants).
- If you tripped on a pavement in a poor state of repair and injured your elbow, you could be entitled to make a public liability claim against the council responsible for carrying out maintenance (providing that the hazard was at least 40mm deep).
- Under the Highway Code, road users owe a duty of care to one another. Therefore, if another user’s negligence resulted in your injury, you could be entitled to make a broken elbow claim against their insurance.
- A road traffic accident (also referred to as an RTA) describes any collision involving a vehicle or other road user. If a car crash caused by another driver resulted in your injury, you could be entitled to compensation.
Case Study: £90,000 Elbow Injury Compensation
As a private dentist with her own practice, Ms Needham was driving to work when she was involved in an road traffic accident. She was proceeding with the flow of traffic through a junction when another car drove suddenly into the side of her vehicle.
Ms Needham’s car was flipped onto its roof upon impact, effectively writing it off. As a result, Ms Needham suffered a serious fracture to her elbow, along with other minor bumps and scrapes.
At A&E, she was informed she had sustained a broken elbow but that she was lucky not to have been more seriously injured given the severity of the crash. In order to reset Ms Needham’s elbow joint, surgery was required. After which, Ms Needam was administered with a cast and a sling to support her broken elbow.
She then entered into a recovery period spanning 12 weeks, within which rehabilitation exercises were gradually introduced to rebuild function. During her recovery period, Ms Needham was unable to work, drive, complete day-to-day tasks or even care for her elderly mother as usual.
As she knew someone else was at fault for her injury, Ms Needham decided to pursue a broken elbow claim with help from a personal injury lawyer. Using photographs obtained at the scene as well as contact details from key witnesses, Ms Needham had a solid foundation of evidence to support her claim.
After forwarding this information to her solicitor, they were then able to build her case by obtaining witness statements and CCTV footage of the incident. Details that Ms Needham provided about how she sustained her injury were then corroborated by a report from an independent medical expert, further reinforcing her claim.
Initially, the driver responsible for Ms Needham’s road traffic accident denied liability. However, witness statements and CCTV footage confirmed that he was on his phone. This allowed liability to be established, supporting Ms Needham’s claim.
Upon a settlement being reached in Ms Needham’s broken elbow claim, she was awarded £29,500 in general damages for the pain of her injury, subsequent surgery and prolonged recovery period.
In addition, Ms Needham was awarded around £60,500 in special damages, accounting for injury-related costs such as prescription fees, travel expenses, care costs and loss of earnings.
This brought Ms Needham’s broken elbow claim to a sum of £90,000, with a more in-detail explanation of her payout below:
| Type of Special Damages: | Includes: | How Much? |
|---|---|---|
| Travel Expenses | To and from appointments/treatment | As Ms Needham’s broken elbow prevented her from driving, she was awarded £460 in travel expenses. |
| Medications/Prescriptions | Prescriptions, treatment, physiotherapy, walking aids, etc. | Ms Needham recovered £190 for the prescription painkillers she took. |
| Additional Care | Professional care at home, from family, childcare, etc. | As Ms Needham’s broken elbow prevented her from providing usual care for her elderly mother, she recovered £10,200 for the cost of a live-in carer during her recovery period. In addition, Ms Needham recovered £7,500 in childcare costs. |
| Future Loss | Loss of Earnings, future loss of earnings, potential future care | Ms Needham’s broken elbow prevented her from working for a total of 12 weeks. For the loss of earnings she suffered, she was awarded £27,500. |
| Damage to Property | Possessions damaged/lost as a result of the accident | As a result of the accident, Ms Needham’s car was effectively written-off. She was awarded £14,050 for the value of her car. |
| Cleaning/Gardening | Cleaning, gardening, areas that require consistent attention | As Ms Needham’s broken elbow left her unable to complete domestic tasks as normal, she was awarded £600 for professional services over her recovery period. |
The case of Ms Needham 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.
Elbow Injury Compensation Amounts
In making a successful broken elbow claim, there are two types of damages that can be awarded in a settlement; general and special damages. As general damages cover physical and psychological harm, you could be compensated for the pain and psychological suffering of your injury and the impact that it’s had on you.
When working out elbow injury compensation amounts for general damages, legal professionals can use the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG). Solicitors use the 16th edition of the JCG, published in 2022, alongside medical evidence to value fractured elbow claims.
We have taken compensation ranges from the JCG to create the table below. Please remember, however, that the figures are not set amounts for what you might receive following an elbow impact injury.
| Injury | Compensation Amounts |
|---|---|
| Severe Arm Injuries | £96,160 to £130,930 |
| Arm Injuries Resulting in Permanent and Substantial Disablement | £39,170 to £59,860 |
| Less Severe Arm Injury | £19,200 to £39,170 |
| Simple Fractures of the Forearm | £6,610 to £19,200 |
| Wrist Injuries (a) | £47,620 to £59,860 |
| A Severely Disabling Injury to the Elbow | £39,170 to £54,830 |
| Less Severe Injuries to the Elbow | £15,650 to £32,010 |
| Moderate or Minor Injury to the Elbow (iii) | Up to £12,590 |
| Moderate or Minor Injury to the Elbow (ii) | £6,500 |
| Moderate or Minor Injury to the Elbow (i) | £3,530 |
What Are Special Damages?
Special damages can also be claimed in attempts to restore you back to the financial standing you had before you sustained a broken elbow. They can also account for any future financial losses you may incur down the line, such as if your injury will prevent you from returning to work. If you’ve suffered financial loss as a result of your injury, then these costs can be recovered as part of your personal injury claim, such as:
- Medical expenses – such as prescriptions, specialist treatment, walking aids and the like
- Travel fees – such as to and from medical appointments
- Care costs – such as accounts for both gracious and professional care
- Loss of earnings – includes predicted loss of future earnings
If you would like to work with No Win No Fee solicitors from our panel, pop up to an advisor and they can verify your eligibility for free.
No Win No Fee Agreements Simplified
Are you worried about the financial risk tied to making a broken elbow claim? For many, the high cost of solicitors’ rates combined with financial loss experienced in the wake of an accident can be off-putting.
However, a No Win No Fee agreement could encourage anyone to pursue the compensation they deserve, regardless of their financial standing. With a No Win No Fee solicitor, you don’t pay their fees unless they win your case, and there are no hidden fees to worry about either.
If your solicitor wins your case, you’ll pay a nominal ‘success fee’ as part of your agreement to cover their legal fees. However, this too is no cause for concern, as it’s capped by law to ensure you receive the compensation you deserve.
Please get in touch to see how our panel of No Win No Fee personal injury lawyers could help you make a broken elbow claim today.
How Public Interest Lawyers Can Help You Make An Elbow Injury Claim
If you’re looking to make a broken elbow claim, we’d advise you to seek legal help in order to boost your claim’s chances of success and maximise your compensation settlement. But rather than visiting a law firm on your local high street, we’d recommend the use of online reviews to find the best solicitor for you.
With technological development allowing law firms to connect with prospective clients remotely, it doesn’t matter where your solicitor is based. Online reviews can help you narrow down your search to find which service is best for you, providing personal experiences and recommendations.
With this insight, you can make an informed decision to suit your unique circumstances. Our panel of personal injury lawyers provides their nationwide clients with updates on their case via email and telephone, while also providing in-person meetings if they’d prefer.
To learn more about the services we could offer you, please speak to one of our advisors today.
Begin An Elbow Injury Claim
To see how our panel of personal injury lawyers could help you make a broken elbow claim, please get in touch with one of our specialist advisors today. Using our years of experience valuing claims, we offer free consultations that you can rely on.
In addition, we handle a variety of claims for clients all over Britain, so why not see what we could do for you?
- Please call 0800 408 7827
- Write to us about your case by clicking here.
- Alternatively, our live online chat feature is available at the bottom of your screen
Additional References On Elbow Injury Claims
If you still have any questions about elbow injury claims or personal injury claims in general, then you can contact our advisors here at Public Interest Lawyers for help. You can get in touch using the contact information featured within this guide. Below we have provided some additional resources that you may also find useful:
- Find NHS services
- NHS broken bone guide
- Health and Safety Executive
- Click here to read out guide to dog bite claims
- Read our guide to accidents in a bar by clicking here
- Or check out our case study on a broken tooth by heading here
Remember, if you need any more advice on elbow injury compensation amounts, please get in touch.