By Daniel Janeway. Last Updated 25th August 2024. This article explains how you could successfully claim damages for even a ‘minor accident’ that was not your fault. Using a case study, we explain how our panel of lawyers might value a nail injury compensation claim that was an accident in the workplace, in public, or on the roads. This article could help if you suffered a puncture wound by a nail through no fault of your own.
We provide links and statistics throughout to demonstrate how a claim is assessed and valued in your favour. Using a typical case study, we explain the law around responsibility for your safety and what damages you might win using a No Win No Fee lawyer. We conclude by showing you how and where to get in touch with the best solicitors to handle your case.
If you have any questions or would like further information as you read, we encourage you to call our friendly team to discuss your circumstances on 0800 408 7825. It’s a free, no-obligation chat to assess your eligibility to launch a personal injury claim. If you prefer, you can write to us at Public Interest Lawyers where we would be happy to assist.
Select a Section
- What Are Nail Injuries?
- Financial Loss From Nail Injuries
- How Can A Nail Accident Occur?
- Nail Injury – How Long Do I Have To Claim?
- Get A Professional Compensation Settlement Value
- Case Study: £9,500 Compensation For An Injury Caused By Nail
- Nail Injury Compensation Claim Estimates
- No Win No Fee
- Discover Good Personal Injury Solicitors
- Talk With Us About A Nail Injury Compensation Claim
- More Advice On A Nail Injury Compensation Claim
What Are Nail Injuries?
Masonry and wood nails are used in many constructions and building projects and are usually counter-sunk or hidden when properly nail in. An exposed nail is a danger as it can be challenging to see and the sharp, protruding point can easily pierce and infect someone who accidentally comes into contact with it. Depending on the length of the nail, they can be lethal if not correctly rendered.
Although most places are not building sites, exposed nails can still present danger, particularly in the workplace—the Health And Safety At Work etc. Act 1974 provides a set of rules for employers that obliges them to provide training, information, and proper onsite maintenance to avoid contact with any sort of exposed hardware, not just nails. If you were injured at work, this link can explain how to record your accident correctly.
The Occupiers’ Liability Act 1957 is a similar concept and seeks to ensure that we are safe in any place that is accessible to the public. Local authority controlled areas are included under this law, so if you trod or touched on a nail in the course of using public facilities or in a shopping complex, you might have a claim. If your accident happened in a public place, and you are not sure who might have the duty of care, speak to our team for advice.
Road traffic accidents (RTA’s) is the other area of liability we concentrate on and in a scenario such as this, contact with a nail may not be that high a risk. However, the duty of care still applies under The Highway Code. If you were pierced or stabbed by any object during an accident caused by someone else, you could have grounds for a nail injury compensation claim or similar.
Financial Loss From Nail Injuries
After an unpleasant encounter with a protruding nail, your injuries could range from a slight puncture to the skin to a complete skewer from a nine-inch steel point. Depending on where this puncture happened, your injuries could be severe enough to stop you from working or functioning correctly.
Your No Win No Fee lawyer will seek something called ‘special damages’ on your behalf, which is a way of collecting all the out-of-pocket expenses you have incurred due to trying to cope with your injuries. If you need care help or family assistance, or special modifications to get on with routine daily tasks, or just help with hospital visit fares, these damages could return that money to you in court.
How Can A Nail Accident Occur?
Places under construction are usually very safely regulated and encountering an exposed nail is rare in everyday life, but it can happen. By definition, an accident involving a nail is something you may not notice until it’s too late. A handrail, a stair-tread, an exposed partition wall – any incomplete or damaged architectural aspect could present the risk of exposed nails that could harm you.
Suppose you were pierced, stabbed, or torn by a steel nail exposed in an area that should have been either cordoned off or attended to, speak to our team today to discuss your options. You could have substantial grounds to launch a nail injury compensation claim if you believe the accident should not have happened.
Nail Injury – How Long Do I Have To Claim?
If you’re injured because of a nail, then you could be owed compensation. However, it’s important to remember that the injury needs to have been caused by the negligence of somebody who owed you a duty of care. For example, you could have stood on a rusty nail on someone’s property, and that nail went through your foot.
The Limitation Act 1980 tells us that you typically have 3-years from the date of your injury in which to begin your claim. However, there can be exceptions to this rule. To give an example, the time limit for children doesn’t start until their 18th birthday. Whilst anyone under 18 cannot make their own claim, a litigation friend can be appointed to do so on behalf of the injured child.
There are similar exceptions in place for if the claimant suffers from a reduced mental capacity. To find out more, get in touch with our advisors today.
Get A Professional Compensation Settlement Value
When you decide to hire a lawyer and pursue a compensation claim, they will require you to sit for a medical assessment. This is concrete evidence to prove that your injuries resulted from the accident that day and not from some other incident that could negate your claim.
Once your lawyer has this piece of evidence, they can potentially seek the two heads of damages that make up the bulk of your nail injury compensation claim. General damages are suggested awards as decided by the Judicial College to recognise your pain and suffering and a nail injury that causes scarring. Still, no long-term effect could qualify for an amount in the award bracket of £3,710 – £12,900. With more significant damage or septicemia, the award could be much more.
Special damages seek to repair your finances and prevent suffering in this area of your life. Any cost associated with the injuries that you have had to meet can be included under special damages, such as:
- Loss of earnings
- Loss of any future or anticipated opportunities to earn
- Travel costs to the hospital appointments
- Care costs
- Loss of bonuses or damage to pension
- Damage to any personal items during the accident
- Lost or cancelled deposits due to your injuries
Rather than relying on online ‘compensation calculators’ which many websites offer, speaking to a No Win No Fee lawyer from our panel in person dramatically improves your chances of your settlement being valued correctly and fully. Please talk to our team if you have other costs because of what happened to you.
Case Study: £9,500 Compensation For An Injury Caused By Nail
Miss Jackson was shopping with her mum in the local precinct and was having a lovely time until she took a short flight of stairs down into a clothes outlet. The pain was immediate, and she shrieked in horror as she saw the blood-red, sharp end of an exposed masonry nail sticking right up through her foot.
After her foot was freed, she was taken to hospital to be treated for a puncture wound and possible blood poisoning. She was given a tetanus shot, and although the injury was small and localised, it was excruciating. She was unable to work for a few weeks, and as she lived in a two-storey house, she needed help to food shop and walk up and downstairs.
Although she was reluctant to consider suing the clothes shop at first, a friend explained that all companies carry insurance for such incidents and that it was essential to press ahead with compensation. Not just for the money, but the principle. If it had been a small child that stumbled on the exposed nail, the consequences could have been much worse.
Miss Jackson lacked the funds to hire a solicitor and knew there was a three-year time limit to launching personal injury claims, so a No Win No Fee arrangement was perfect for her. She spoke to the solicitor. The clothes shop admitted liability for leaving unfinished renovation work in a part of their store accessible to the public. Miss Jackson was awarded £9,500 in her nail injury compensation claim.
The award can be broken down as follows:
| General damages | Special damages |
|---|---|
| Miss Jackson was awarded £6,000 in the JCG after their guidelines recommended this amount for a puncture wound with no long lasting damage but some scarring |
Loss of earnings – £1,500 |
| Care help – £500 | |
| Travel costs to hospital – £250 | |
| Tetanus and other medications required – £150 | |
| Physiotherapy to strengthen foot again – £1,000 | |
| Ruined pair of shoes – £100 |
Nail Injury Compensation Claim Estimates No Win No Fee
Miss Jackson’s case is purely an example, and the compensation amount calculated below would differ in every case. Still, it illustrates the essential points to make out a successful claim for personal injury:
- Who’s fault was it?
- Could it have been avoided?
- Have I suffered injuries?
- Have those injuries cost me money?
- Is my claim within the 3-year time limit?
- Do I have all the evidence from my medical assessment and receipts?
For more free legal advice, please get in touch with our team.
No Win No Fee Nail Injury Compensation Claim
Using a No Win No Fee lawyer is not the only way to launch a compensation claim. Still, when you consult in person with a skilled personal injury solicitor, you benefit from their experience and insights into your case. No Win No Fee arrangements have many advantages, such as:
- There are no fees to pay your lawyer upfront – you can start a case immediately
- No fees to pay while the case is ongoing, however long that takes
- If your case fails, there’s nothing to pay the lawyers at all
- If your case is successful, there is a small fee to pay your lawyers at the end
- This fee is capped by law to keep it low and as fair to you as possible
- You receive expert legal advice and guidance throughout your case
Even if you have never used a solicitor before, No Win No Fee arrangements can help you win the damages you deserve for your no-fault accident. Speak to our team for more information.
Discover Good Personal Injury Solicitors
Thanks to the internet, it’s no longer essential to use the law firm that’s local to you in the high street. Google searches can generate a vast selection of law firms that offer No Win No Fee services and reviews can help narrow your search, but it can be overwhelming.
For immediate clarity on how your nail injury compensation claim could be valued appropriately, speak to us. With access to a panel of lawyers working remotely to settle cases like this across the country, our team can assess your case and help you find expert legal advice today.
Talk With Us About A Nail Injury Compensation Claim
Getting in touch with us is easy. Our team is available 24/7 to take your call and discuss your nail injury, or any other type of personal injury that occurred because of negligence at work, in public, or on the roads. You can:
- Call us direct on 0800 408 7825
- Write to us at Public Interest Lawyers
- Speak to Michelle at our ‘live support’ option, bottom right
We hope this article has helped in your decision to start a negligence case and look forward to helping you receive the damages you deserve.
More Advice On A Nail Injury Compensation Claim
For more advice about accidents on public transport, please read here
For further advice about accident hot spots, please read here
More information on making negligence cases against the local authority, please read here
For more information about stab and pierce injuries, please read here
For further reading about accident statistics in the workplace, please read here
For details about using NHS services, please read here
Guide by EA
Edited by LC/II