If you have suffered a broken or fractured bone because of another person’s negligence, you could make a personal injury claim. Whilst broken bone injuries may be common, fractures can sometimes be complicated injuries which take a long time to recover from and which impact your independence and mental health. In this guide, we look at when and how people could make bone fracture claims with a No Win No Fee solicitor.
Our guide looks at when you could be eligible to claim compensation and the different circumstances in which you could suffer a broken or fractured bone and provides guidelines for broken bone compensation amounts. We then look at how a No Win No Fee solicitor could help you before answering some frequently asked questions about bone fracture claims.
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Browse Our Guide
- What Is A Bone Fracture?
- Can I Claim Broken Bone Compensation?
- What Accidents Can Lead To Bone Fracture Claims?
- How Much Compensation For Broken Bones?
- Why Claim For A Broken Bone Injury On A No Win No Fee Basis?
- Read More About How To Make Personal Injury Claims
- FAQs About Bone Fracture Claims
What Is A Bone Fracture?
Before we look at when and how people could make bone fracture claims, we shall look at what a fracture is. A fracture may also be called a broken, chipped or cracked bone. When a bone is fractured the bone may be cracked (where the bone remains in one piece) or may be completely broken into two (or more) pieces.
Broken bones can be serious injuries which may take a long time to heal. For example, possible complications of a broken leg may include:
- Damage to the blood vessels, muscles or nerves.
- Infections such as osteomyelitis affecting the bone.
- Serious conditions such as compartment syndrome.
Complications such as these may require further treatment, which complicates and lengthens your recovery.
What’s The Difference Between A Broken Bone And A Fracture?
A broken bone or fracture are different terms which refer to the same injury. The most important factor to consider when looking at a broken or fractured bone is to consider whether the bone remains intact or if it has been broken into two (or more) pieces.
Types of fractures include:
- Transverse fractures.
- Oblique fractures.
- Spiral fractures.
- Compound fracture.
- Open fractures.
- Incomplete fractures.
- Complete fractures.
- Comminuted fractures.
- An impact break.
- Hairline fracture
- Greenstick fracture.
- Hairline fracture.
- Crush fracture.
The type and severity of the injury will influence how much compensation you are eligible to claim. For more information on bone fracture claims, please contact one of our advisors.
Can I Claim Broken Bone Compensation?
In order to make a broken bone compensation claim, you need to show that another party acted negligently or breached a statutory duty to you. This breach of duty or negligence needs to cause your broken bone injury. Bone fracture claims could be made for road traffic accidents, accidents at work, accidents in public places and medical negligence.
Accidents at work
Under The Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 all employers owe employees and other workers a duty of care to provide a safe working environment. If your employer failed to meet this duty of care you could claim compensation. You will need to show that:
- Your employer owed you a duty of care.
- They breached this duty; for example, they may have failed to provide you with steel toe boots or other adequate personal protective equipment on a construction site.
- This breach caused you an injury; for example, you suffered a broken foot due to a heavy object falling on your foot.
Public accident claims
The controller of a public space (such as a shop, leisure centre or restaurant) owes a duty of care to those using the space. If you were harmed because this duty of care was breached, you could claim compensation for your injuries. To claim, you need to show that:
- You were owed a duty of care, such as that outlined under the Occupiers’ Liability Act 1957.
- That the occupier failed to meet this duty of care, they may have failed to repair damaged or defective stairs as an example.
- This breach caused an injury; for example, you fell down the defective staircase and broke a bone.
Road traffic accidents
All road users owe each other a duty of care. They must follow the regulations and rules set out in The Highway Code and The Road Traffic Act 1988. In order to claim for a road traffic accident, you will need to show that the other road user:
- Owed you a duty of care.
- That they failed to meet this duty of care, such as by failing to stop at traffic lights.
- That this breach caused an injury.
Medical negligence
All medical professionals have a duty of care to their patients. They must meet the correct and minimum professional standards, such as those for doctors. To claim for injuries caused by negligent medical professional you need to show:
- That a medical professional owed you a duty of care.
- They breached this duty of care by failing to meet the minimum professional standards of care, such as by failing to correctly read an X-ray and missing an obviously broken bone.
- That this failure to diagnose a broken bone caused a longer recovery period.
Our team could help you to claim compensation for broken bones caused by any of these circumstances.
What Accidents Can Lead To Bone Fracture Claims?
There are many different types of accidents which could lead to bone fracture claims. Below we look at some examples of these.
- Accidents at work: you could suffer a broken bone in the workplace if a wet floor is not marked. Failing to place signage around a floor which has been mopped could lead someone to slip on the floor and suffer an injury, such as a collarbone fracture.
- Accidents in public places: you could have a broken bone injury if the occupier of a public place did not repair a broken floor. You may trip over the broken floor and break your wrist stopping your fall.
- Road traffic accidents: if the driver of a vehicle was not paying due care and attention you may be struck by a vehicle whilst cycling on the road.
Learn more about when you could make broken bone compensation claims, by contacting a member of our team.
How Much Compensation For Broken Bones?
How much compensation for a fractured bone you could receive will depend on your individual case. Broken bone compensation amounts will depend on the bone you have broken and how seriously the injury has impacted you. For example, a broken forearm may be awarded a different amount of compensation to a broken leg.
Compensation settlements may typically be made up of general damages awarded for your pain and suffering and special damages awarded for financial losses.
When estimating how much compensation for a broken bone you could be eligible to claim, solicitors and other parties may refer to the Judicial College (JC) guidelines. These are recommended amounts of compensation which may be awarded for the pain and suffering caused by an injury.
In the table below we have included examples of different injuries as well as the recommended compensation amount. Please note, the figure in the first row includes special damages. This figure is not from the JC guidelines.
| Injury | Severity | Compensation Bracket |
|---|---|---|
| Multiple injuries (such as multiple bone fractures) and financial losses. | Serious to severe injuries | Up to £1,000,000+ |
| Injuries causing paralysis | (A) Tetraplegia (also known as Quadriplegia) | £396,140 £493,000 |
| Broken pelvis | (a) Severe (i) | £95,680 to £159,770 |
| Broken pelvis | (a) Severe (iii) | £47,810 to £64,070 |
| Leg injury | (b) Severe (ii) | £66,920 to £109,290 |
| Back injury | (a) Severe (iii) | £47,320 to £85,100 |
| Back injury | (b) Moderate (i) | £33,880 to £47,320 |
| Other arm injuries | (b) Serious | £47,810 to £73,050 |
| Finger injury | (f) Severe finger fractures | Up to £44,840 |
| Shoulder injury | (e) Clavicle fracture | £6,280 to £14,940 |
Special Damages In Personal Injury Claims
In addition to compensation for your pain and suffering you could also claim damages for financial losses. You may be able to claim for losses and costs such as:
- Medical treatment.
- Medication.
- Care costs.
- Adapting your home or vehicle.
- Lost income due to time off work recovering from your injury.
You will need to provide evidence of your losses, such as wage slips, bank statements or invoices for medical care.
A No Win No Fee solicitor from our panel could assess how much broken bone compensation you may be entitled to claim.
Why Claim For A Broken Bone Injury On A No Win No Fee Basis?
From accidents at work to road traffic accidents, our panel of solicitors are experienced in handling a variety of different types of broken bone injury claims. A solicitor from our panel could handle your bone fracture claim on a No Win No Fee basis through a Conditional Fee Agreement.
If you are awarded compensation, your solicitor will deduct a success fee from your payout. This success fee is capped legally as a maximum percentage of your payout.
We are ready to help you start your claim.
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Read More About How To Make Personal Injury Claims
Resources and references on broken bone injury compensation claims.
- In this guide we look at how to make a claim for a serious spinal injury.
- Find out if you could claim compensation for a fractured nose in this guide.
- Here we look at when and how you claim for a broken elbow caused by a road traffic accident.
References
- Learn more about first aid in this NHS guide.
- This government resource provides information on how to request CCTV footage of yourself to support your accident claim.
- Workplace accidents should be recorded in the accident book. You can learn more in this Health and Safety Executive resource.
FAQs About Bone Fracture Claims
Next we answer some of the most commonly asked questions about bone fracture claims.
How Long Do I Have To Claim For A Bone Fracture?
All broken bone claims must be made within a personal injury claims time limit. You have three years from the date on which you suffered a broken or fractured bone or the date the fracture was diagnosed to start the claims process.
This time limit does not apply to child accident claims or those where the person lacks the mental capacity to do so. A claim may be made at any point for the child by a Litigation friend till they are eighteen. At this time, they have the standard three years in which to make a claim. A Litigation friend may act at any time on behalf of someone who does not have the mental capacity to start a claim.
Will I Need A Medical Assessment When Claiming For Broken Bones?
If you choose to claim with a No Win No Fee personal injury solicitor they may request that you have a medical assessment. This will be organised by your solicitor and carried out by an independent medical expert. The assessment will be used to create a medical report which can be presented as part of the evidence supporting your claim.
Can I Claim For Multiple Injuries?
If you have suffered multiple injuries caused by the same accident you could include them in the same claim. Discuss your case with a solicitor to find out how to claim for serious or multiple injuries.
Thank you for reading our guide to bone fracture claims. If you have any further questions or need more information, please contact an advisor today.