By Richie Billing. Last Updated 16th November 2023. In this guide, we will address the question, “can I claim if I’ve broken my ankle at work?”. Broken ankles can be debilitating and may leave you unable to work, drive, or do the things you did before your injury. In some cases, you may not make a full recovery, and the impact on your quality of life could be permanent.
You may be able to claim compensation for a broken ankle. However, you would need to show that the injury you sustained by someone else breaching the duty of care they owe you. For example, you’re owed a duty of care by your employer while you’re working. We’ll look at this in greater detail later on in this guide.
Our claims team can help. They can provide you with advice to inform you on how to make a No Win No Fee personal injury claim for your broken ankle at work. If your claim is valid, you could be connected with a solicitor from our panel. Read our guide below for general advice, or get in touch with us to discuss your case in further detail.
Get in touch by:
- Calling us at 0800 408 7825
- Using the live chat function at the bottom-right corner of this page
- Contacting us using our online form.
“I’ve broken my ankle at work, can I claim?” A guide
Select A Section
- Am I Eligible To Claim Compensation For A Broken Ankle?
- How To Claim Compensation From An Employer
- Ankle Injury Settlement Amounts In The UK
- I Have Broken My Ankle At Work, Can I Make A No Win No Fee Claim?
- Further Workplace Accident Claims
Am I Eligible To Claim Compensation For A Broken Ankle?
In order to claim compensation for a broken ankle at work, you must be able to prove that:
- You were owed a duty of care by your employer.
- This duty was breached.
- You were injured as a result.
Employers owe their employees a duty of care under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 (HASAWA). This legislation states that employers must take all reasonably practicable steps to keep their employees safe while working.
These steps can vary from workplace to workplace but can include undergoing risk assessments, ensuring that staff receive adequate training, and making sure that they provide Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) when required. If your employer fails to take these steps, and you are injured because of this, then you may be due broken ankle compensation.
Later on in this guide, we will explain how to make a claim, and how evidence is crucial to supporting a claim. If you’d like to learn more about this, you can contact our advisors. They can assess your claim for free, answer any questions you may have about eligibility in ankle injury claims, and could potentially connect you with a solicitor.
How To Claim Compensation From An Employer
If you have broken your ankle at work, you should seek medical attention immediately. It is key that you see a doctor as soon as possible to minimise any possible damage to your ankle. Not only is medical care essential, but the medical notes will also help support your claim.
Once you are well enough, you will need to collect your evidence. Useful information to collect would include footage from CCTV cameras, as well as pictures from the scene of the accident. Witness details from colleagues who saw the accident happen may also be useful, as they can provide statements.
For this reason, you should report an accident at work to your employer and fill out a report in the accident book. You should do this as soon as possible to ensure that the events are fresh in your mind.
When gathering your evidence, speak to a personal injury solicitor about your case. They may be able to value your claim. You could be connected with a solicitor from our panel if one of our advisors thinks your claim has a good chance of success.
Ankle Injury Claims – Time Limits
In order to successfully claim compensation for your broken ankle, you should ensure that you start your claim before your time limit expires.
According to the Limitation Act 1980, your time limit may either be:
- 3 years from the date of the accident in which you broke your ankle
- 3 years from the date you received a medical diagnosis for your injury
There are some exceptions to this. For example, under 18’s cannot start a claim for themselves until they turn 18. The time limit will be suspended until this date. Before this point, a litigation friend will be needed to claim on their behalf.
People who lack mental capacity also do not face a time limit. It is suspended indefinitely unless they recover, and they can be similarly represented by a litigation friend.
If you have any questions about time limits or any other matters relating to ankle injury claims, please reach out to one of our advisers.
Ankle Injury Settlement Amounts In The UK
Following a successful broken ankle claim, your compensation settlement could include general and special damages. Any of the physical and mental pain and suffering you have experienced due to your injury will be compensated under general damages.
Below we have created a table to help you gain a clearer understanding of what the ankle injury settlement amounts in the UK could be. Many legal professionals will use a document called the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG) to help them value claims. This is because the JCG lists compensation figures for various mental and physical injuries. This is why we have used the compensation brackets listed in the 16th edition of the JCG when creating this table.
However, it is important to remember that there is no average payout for an ankle injury. This is because how much compensation you could receive will be affected by the specific factors to your claim. So, please only use this table as a guide. Please also note that the first entry at the top of this table is not part of the Judicial College Guidelines.
| Injury | Nature of Incident | Compensation |
|---|---|---|
| Multiple Serious Injuries With Financial Losses | Multiple serious injuries that lead to financial losses, such as lost earnings. | Up to £150,000+ |
| Ankle Injury | Very Severe: Injuries such as a severe transmalleolar fracture where any further damage might necessitate below-knee amputation. | £50,060 to £69,700 |
| Ankle Injury | Severe: Can involve the risk of osteoarthritis, and will involve recovery using pins and plaster. | £31,310 to £50,060 |
| Ankle Injury | Moderate: Can involve ligament tears and fractures, and may leave behind less severe disabilities such as struggling to walk on uneven ground. | £13,740 to £26,590 |
| Ankle Injury | Modest: Can involve minor sprains, fractures and ligament injuries. | Up to £13,740 |
| Foot Injury | Serious: Continuing pain caused by traumatic arthritis, or there is a future risk of it with prolonged treatment and potential fusion surgery. | £24,990 to £39,200 |
| Foot Injury | Moderate: Continuing symptoms and a permanent deformity due to displaced metatarsal fractures. | £13,740 to £24,990 |
| Achilles Tendon | Most Serious: The tendon and peroneus longus muscle have been severed which causes swelling, craps and restricted ankle movement. | In the region of £38,430 |
| Achilles Tendon | Serious: Despite a division of the tendon being repaired, the person will still suffer with limited ankle movement, a limp and residual weakness. | £24,990 to £30,090 |
| Achilles Tendon | Moderate: The tendon is ruptured or suffers a significant injury. Factors such as recovery rate and ongoing pain will affect how much is awarded. | £12,590 to £21,070 |
Special damages aim to compensate you for the financial losses you have suffered due to your injury. These could include:
- Travel costs.
- Loss of earnings.
- Medical expenses.
To help support your claim for special damages, you should provide evidence of your financial losses. This could be your bank statements, payslips and receipts.
Contact our advisors today if you have any questions concerning your potential personal injury claim.
I’ve Broken My Ankle At Work, Can I Make A No Win No Fee Claim?
If you have valid grounds to claim compensation for a broken ankle, then you could do so with the help of a No Win No Fee lawyer.
The lawyers on our panel can support ankle injury claims under a type of No Win No Fee agreement called a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA). If you’re supported by a lawyer under such an agreement, then you will not need to pay them for their service upfront or while your claim is ongoing. Also, you won’t need to pay your solicitor for their work if your claim proves unsuccessful.
If your claim succeeds, then your No Win No Fee lawyer will take a small percentage of the compensation awarded to you. This is referred to as a success fee. However, the percentage that they will take is limited by law.
For more advice on making an ankle injury claim with a No Win No Fee lawyer, you can speak to our advisors for free today. To contact our team, you can:
- Give us a call on 0800 408 7825
- Using our online contact form
- Or by using our 24/7 live chat function
Further Workplace Accident Claims
- Torn Ankle Ligaments Compensation Guide
- Fractured Ankle and Torn Ligaments Compensation Guide
- How Much Is Your Injury Worth?
- NHS advice on ankle injury
- HSE Workplace Injury Statistics
- Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) Guidance
We also have some other guides you may find useful:
- Public accident claims hot spots
- Council slip and trip accidents
- Public transport accidents
- How to make a public liability claim
- Making a claim against the council
- Claiming for a pothole injury
- Making a claim against a shop
- Accidents in a public park
- Cycling accident claims
- Claiming for injuries suffered while shopping
Thank you for reading our guide, answering the question “can I claim if I’ve broken my ankle at work?”.
Article by EC
Publisher ET