By Stephen Anderson. Last Updated 11th August 2023. Have you recently sustained serious hand injuries as a result of someone else’s negligence? Was this as a result of negligence on the roads, in the workplace or on local council-owned or other premises? We are here to help you.
Our article can provide information about severe hand injuries, what can cause them, what to do if you sustain such an injury, and how you could claim.
Claiming for serious hand injuries
To find out more, continue reading or speak to an advisor today. They are available 24 hours a day to offer you legal advice for free with absolutely no obligation for you to proceed with our services. They can also connect you to a solicitor from our panel who can help you take your case forward if you have a favourable claim.
Why not get in touch? Do so by:
- Contacting us through the website
- Calling us on 0800 408 7825
- Using the live chat feature at the bottom-right of this page
Select A Section
- What Are Serious Hand Injuries?
- Causes Of Serious Hand Injuries
- Types Of Serious Hand Injuries
- How Do You Know If A Hand Injury Is Serious?
- How Long Do I Have To Claim For A Serious Hand Injury?
- Proving You Are Eligible To Claim Compensation
- Calculating Payouts For Serious Hand Injuries
- Contact A No Win No Fee Solicitor To Claim For Serious Hand Injuries
- Find Out More About Serious Hand Injuries
What Are Serious Hand Injuries?
Serious hand injuries are hand injuries that can present considerable health and disability risks. The injuries here in question are more severe than soft tissue injuries or simple fractures to the phalanges (bones in the fingers). Instead, they would involve significant loss of grip to the hands or even amputation. As such, the impact to quality of life stands to be extremely serious.
In making any personal injury claim, it is important to work out who was liable for negligence — that is, who failed to take the proper care needed to protect your health and safety. Being negligent can potentially lead to other people getting hurt.
People that control premises have a duty to mitigate the risk of damage that accidents can cause, such as serious hand injuries and indeed any injury, by practicing duty of care. This is a legally-defined responsibility that mandates that these people must look after everyone on site to a reasonable degree.
There is also legislation that applies to employers and road users.
Duty Of Care Legislation
Your employer will be bound by the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. This mandates that workspaces are safe for employees to use. For example, they may need to be clean, well-lit, and well-ventilated to ensure workers are kept safe.
On top of this, employers would be expected to carry out proactive maintenance on equipment such as forklifts to ensure they’re safe to use. Of particular importance to employers here is the need to provide adequate levels of training to staff to prevent injuries.
Parties that control places accessible to the public, alternatively, must abide by the Occupiers’ Liability Act 1957. Essentially, it requires those in control of premises to ensure they’re safe to use. In shops or civic buildings, this could include managing spillages as soon as you are reasonably able to. On pavements or public parks, this means making sure that defects to public paths are fixed in a reasonably timely manner, such as overgrown tree roots or raised kerbs.
Road users — this includes motorists, cyclists, and pedestrians — all owe each other a duty of care as laid out in The Highway Code and the Road Traffic Act 1988. This includes observing local speed limits as well as taking care at T-junctions and roundabouts to avoid crashes.
Failure to live up to this duty of care by not taking adequate responsibility for health and safety is considered a breach. If a breached duty of care is responsible for your injuries, you could be eligible to make a claim. This is because the people who should have protected you were instead negligent in their duties.
As such, if you have suffered serious hand injuries, you may be entitled to compensation. Why not speak to our advisors today for more information?
Causes Of Serious Hand Injuries
Serious hand injuries can happen in many settings, such as:
- Accidents at work; for example, in manual handling accidents, slip and fall incidents, or forklift accidents. In certain settings, improper handling of corrosive substances could also cause an injury.
- Agricultural accidents: Machinery that is dangerous to use without adequate training is common in agriculture. This can include wheat threshers and chainsaws.
- Road traffic accidents: These may occur where you are hit from the side while driving, thereby crushing your hand.
If you have been involved in any of the above accidents and it was caused by another party being negligent, speak to us. You may be able to claim, and if so, our advisors are on hand to provide additional advice.
Types Of Serious Hand Injuries
There are a variety of serious hand injuries that can occur. For example:
- Amputation, either of the hand entirely or of the digits.
- Crush injuries — this happens as a result of prolonged compression to the hand affecting the bones, muscles, and tendons.
- Nerve damage: this is where the brain’s ability to communicate with the body part in question is disrupted, leading to a diminished sense of touch or painful sensations.
- Burns that penetrate the skin and reach the tissue, such as third-degree burns or worse.
If you have experienced any of these injuries as a result of negligence, you may be eligible to start a claim. To find out more, why not speak to an advisor today for more information?
How Do You Know If A Hand Injury Is Serious?
The effects of serious hand injuries can potentially be debilitating. Here is a list of potential warning signs to look out for:
- Loss of feeling
- Severe cuts, wounds, or lacerations
- Sensations of pain
- Loss of blood
- Traumatic amputation
If you are not sure whether your hand injury is serious, consult a doctor. This guide should not be taken as medical advice and medical concerns should always be reported to a professional.
If any of these symptoms have been experienced as a result of someone else’s negligence, you could be able to claim. Speak to an advisor today for further information.
How Long Do I Have To Claim For A Serious Hand Injury?
The Limitation Act 1980 sets out that there’s a three-year time limit for starting a personal injury claim for a serious hand injury. This time limit usually starts from the date of the incident that caused your injury.
Under some circumstances, the time limit can work differently. For example, if a child has been injured, then the time limit will not start for them until their 18th birthday. Before this day, a claim could be made on the child’s behalf by a court-appointed litigation friend. However, if this does not happen, then the three-year time limit will start for the injured party once they turn 18.
If the injured party lacks the mental capacity to make a personal injury claim, then the time limit is suspended indefinitely. A litigation friend could claim instead on behalf of the injured party. However, if this does not happen, and the injured party later recovers their mental capacity, then the time limit will begin from the day of recovery.
If you have any questions regarding your eligibility to start a serious hand injury claim or how long you have to do so, then please contact our advisors today for free.
Proving You Are Eligible To Claim Compensation
In any personal injury claim, evidence is necessary to prove your case. The better standard of evidence you can offer, the better your chances may be of a positive outcome for your claim.
If you have sustained an injury, always seek immediate medical attention from a licensed professional. Not only is this key for your own health and safety, it will also create a medical record showing when you first sustained your injury. This can be useful if the defendant claims your injuries were pre-existing.
Next, consider speaking to a personal injury solicitor. You are not obligated to do so. Indeed, if you choose to, you are absolutely free to start a claim by yourself. However, employing the services of a solicitor could make the claims process easier for you. It will also allow the possibility of entering into a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA) with the legal professional — more about this later.
Following this, consider gathering evidence from the scene of your accident. Some useful sources to draw from include:
- Contact details from eyewitnesses who are willing to provide statements.
- Photographs showing how your accident happened
- CCTV footage
After this, you will be invited to attend a medical assessment. This is intended to judge the severity of your injuries, and your solicitor can use the resulting report to see how much you could be entitled to in your claim. Its other purpose is to establish whether the injuries were caused, worsened or not linked to the accident.
If you choose to be represented by a solicitor from our panel, they can arrange a medical assessment in your local area to make sure the process is as convenient for you as possible.
To find out more, speak to our advisors about your potential claim.
Calculating Payouts For Serious Hand Injuries
If you want to find out how much compensation you can receive for serious hand injuries, we can help. We have provided a compensation table based on figures from the Judicial College Guidelines below. Solicitors use this publication to value injuries.
This can be a useful point to start from. However, this table may not reflect the full extent of your injuries. To get a figure that more closely matches what you could receive in compensation, speak to an advisor.
Injury Nature of incident Possible compensation
(I) Hand Injuries (a) Total or Effective Loss of Both Hands Where there has been a serious level of injury, essentially meaning that both hands have no function. Higher compensation possible when no kind of prosthetic can be used. £132,040 - £189,110
(b) Serious Damage to Both Hands Here, there will be permanent cosmetic damages as well as a high loss of functionality. £52,310 - £79,360
(c) Total or Effective Loss of One Hand This bracket would apply in the event of a crush injury. Here, all digits or a majority of the palm would have to be amputated. Higher end of compensation possible if this happened to the dominant hand. £90,250 - £102,890
(d) Amputation of Index and Middle and/or Ring Fingers Here, the hand will be left essentially useless, and any remaining grip will be very weak. £58,100 - £85,170
(e) Serious Hand Injuries In this bracket, you would expect the hand to reduce to about half of its capacity. Fingers may have been amputated but reattached, resulting in deformity. £27,220 - £58,100
(m) Amputation of Little Finger Where the little finger has been amputated. £8,110 - £11,490
The above table refers to compensation you can get for injuries, be they physical, mental, or emotional. This type of compensation is called general damages.
However, you can also claim for financial losses that have happened due to your accident. This can include travel fees incurred by going to hospital and also lost wages. This head of compensation is referred to as special damages.
In order to prove special damages, you’d need to provide evidence such as bills, invoices or receipts.
Ask an advisor about special damages about your potential hand injury claim today.
Contact A No Win No Fee Solicitor To Claim For Serious Hand Injuries
Did you know that there is a way to start a claim without incurring fees from your solicitor upfront, while it continues, or if you lose? This is called a Conditional Fee Agreement, informally known as a No Win No Fee agreement. If you and a solicitor agree to work on this basis, you will not pay them fees for the above situations.
If you do win, however, the fee you pay will be legally capped and agreed upon before you are represented by the solicitor.
This option may give you the financial confidence you need to start a claim with the support of a solicitor. To find out more, speak to our advisors today. They offer free legal advice with absolutely no obligation for you to proceed with the services of our panel, and are available 24 hours a day. They are also able to connect you with a solicitor from our panel if you have a strong claim.
Don’t delay. Find out how we can help you claim for serious hand injuries today. For further information, consider:
- Contacting us through the website
- Calling us on 0800 408 7825
- Using the live chat feature at the bottom-right of this page
Find Out More About Serious Hand Injuries
Hand Injury Caused By Sawing Compensation Case Study Guide
Serious Hand Injury Compensation Case Study Guide
Amputated Finger Compensation Case Study Guide
Request CCTV footage of yourself — A UK Government guide which explains how you can request CCTV footage that you are seen in.
Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) — A charity offering resources on mitigating accidents.
Health and Safety Executive — A government agency that promotes health and safety in the workplace.
Thank you for reading this article about serious hand injuries.