Broken wrist compensation
By Daniel Janeway. Last Updated 13th July 2022. Have you suffered a fractured wrist in an accident that wasn’t your fault? If so, you could seek legal advice about making a compensation broken wrist claim. This guide offers an example case study for a £35,000 payout on a broken wrist injury. We’ll also be covering distal radius fractures, care claims, special damages, compensation calculators and No Win No Fee.
Before reading on, though, why not speak to our friendly team to discuss your fractured wrist injury? Our specialists could connect you to our panel of personal injury solicitors, who could then handle your case.
You can call us on 0800 408 7825, use our Live Chat feature or complete our online form. Our advisors are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to discuss your broken wrist claim. Otherwise, you can click any of the headings below.
Choose A Section
- A Claims Guide To Calculate Broken Wrist Compensation
- What Is A Distal Radius Fracture?
- Can A Wrist Fracture Cause Financial Loss?
- Common Accidents Causing Distal Radius Fractures
- Am I Eligible For Care Claims?
- Solicitors Can Value Wrist Fracture Compensation Amounts
- Case Study: £35,000 Wrist Fracture Injury Compensation
- How Much Compensation Do You Get For A Broken Wrist In 2022?
- No Win No Fee Agreements Explained
- You Can Use The Best Personal Injury Solicitors
- Talk To Our Advisors
- Additional Materials
A Claims Guide To Calculate Broken Wrist Compensation
You could make a claim if a third party causes you to fracture your wrist. This guide notes the criteria required to make a broken wrist claim, along with:
- A breakdown of a distal radius fracture
- Potential financial losses from a wrist fracture injury
- Care claims
- General damages and special damages
- An example case study of a £35,000 compensation payout
- Compensation calculators
- No Win No Fee
If you’re claiming for any injuries such as a fractured wrist, a personal injury claims time limit exists. The time limit means that you would have 3 years to claim from when you fractured your wrist. There are however exceptions to the rule. But what about a child (someone aged under 18) or a victim who lacks the mental capacity to claim?
Well, a close relative or another appointed representative could act as their litigation friend to process the broken wrist claim on their behalf. But once the child turns 18 or the victim becomes able to represent themselves, the 3-year clock begins for them at that point.
You can learn more by speaking to our specialist team anytime.
What Is A Distal Radius Fracture?
The distal radius is where the radius connects to the wrist. So, a distal radius fracture is when the radius breaks, at the joint with the hand and it’s usually due to the hand outstretching or over flexing.
This injury could reduce the movement and usage of the hand until you have fully recovered. In severe cases, victims may suffer additional nerve damage which renders their wrist unusable due to the break. To make a negligence broken wrist claim, you have to meet the following 3 criteria:
- You were owed a duty of care by a third party
- However, a breach of that duty of care caused an accident
- And that accident resulted in you suffering an injury such as a fractured wrist.
Three different pieces of legislation which could be used to support a personal injury claim. One is employer’s liability (EL), which would be covering workplace accidents. The Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 notes that an employer should go as far as reasonably possible to uphold their employees’ health, safety and wellbeing.
However, a fall at work could result in you fracturing your wrist as you try to break your fall. An accident at work may result from the duty of care being breached. If it can be proven that your employer had been negligent then you may have grounds to pursue a compensation claim for your injuries.
Another is public liability (PL), which applies a duty of care on operators of public spaces. The Occupiers’ Liability Act 1957 can be used when a member of the public has suffered an injury in a public space due to the breach in the duty of care owed to them. If you’re injured in a public place, a duty of care breach may be the cause. And that could allow you to make a public injury claim or public accident broken wrist claim.
Personal injury lawyers could offer to support you right through the claims process. Complete our contact form to begin a conversation with our advisory team today.
Can A Wrist Fracture Cause Financial Loss?
The answer is, simply, yes. A wrist fracture could cause you to lose a significant amount of money, even for minor breaks. Lost income, medication costs, public transport usage and any physiotherapy would all be factors here. And we’ll explain them in greater detail a little later on. In the meantime, you can call us today to chat about financial loss being included in your claim for a broken wrist.
Common Accidents Causing Distal Radius Fractures
Distal radius fractures could occur in numerous ways. A workplace accident such as a fall may result in a wrist fracture. After all, in 2019/20 alone, there were 693,000 instances of an injury at work. A simple slip or trip at work could also result in you breaking your wrist as you hit the ground.
That could also apply in parks and on pavements, thus causing an accident in a public place. And accidents in public places may lead to you making a public accident claim or multiple injuries broken wrist claim. As noted earlier, a car accident could also bring about a fractured wrist.
Back in 2016, over 180,000 people suffered injuries on roads, and 17,550 cyclists suffered injuries in 2018. You can chat to us anytime to learn more about potential causes of wrist fracture accidents. According to the Highway Code, all road users should offer a duty of care to each other and vulnerable road users including pedestrians and cyclists. Therefore, a collision or a crash may suggest a duty of care breach. And imagine if your fractured wrist is one of multiple injuries to mention along with whiplash or a back injury
Am I Eligible For Care Claims?
Care claims can form part of the special damages claim. That might include:
- Extra support from relatives and friends
- Professional nursing services
- General services such as cleaning and gardening
To find out more about care claims, you can use our 24/7 Live Chat.
Solicitors Can Value Wrist Fracture Compensation Amounts
Before a claim can be matched with a value, you would have to undergo an independent medical evaluation as part of the claims process. A full medical check could properly diagnose the injury and outline your expected recovery time. And it could confirm the link between the accident and your injury. Crucially, though, it could prove that, only for the accident, you would be okay.
Your solicitor would then be able to estimate your compensation calculation payout in the form of general damages and special damages.
General Damages
General damages emphasise the pain, suffering and loss of amenity that come from your wrist fracture. They would focus on your physical and mental trauma.
Special Damages
On the other hand, special damages would be covering the financial fallout of your fractured wrist. Special damages handle lost earnings, medical expenses, public transport costs and any physiotherapy.
To find out more about general damages and special damages, call us using the number at the top of this page.
Case Study: £35,000 Wrist Fracture Injury Compensation
Ms Farrelly, 27, works as a personal trainer and is employed by a gym in Nottingham. She lives with her husband Joshua, who is also a PT. She enjoys jogging and Zumba dancing during her time away from work. One evening, Charlotte was completing a workout with a client in her gym. As she headed towards the main reception, however, she slipped on the wet floor in the corridor. There was no signage indicating that the floor had been recently mopped and maybe slippy.
As a result, Ms Farrelly put her left arm out to try and break her fall. In doing so, however, she fractured her left wrist, and she was in severe pain. Ms Farrelly was taken to her local A&E for her injury to be checked out by a doctor. The diagnosis was a severely fractured wrist which would require surgery to repair the broken distal radius. The operation was a success, there would be a period of recovery of 4 months until Ms Farrelly could return fully to her job and some disability remaining.
Most concerning, however, the nature of her break left her with limited movement in her left wrist. As a personal trainer, where the use of gym equipment is a crucial element, this disability was devastating to Ms Farrelly. It also meant that she would have to lose four months of her salary, and she had garnered many clients by this point.
She also recognised the importance of physiotherapy to help her recuperation, though she was sad at having to pay professional nursing costs. After all, she was a very active person. What’s more, she was very frustrated at her employers. She wondered “why couldn’t the cleaner have left a simple sign about the wet floor?” That being said, she had to think about the decision to file a claim against her gym.
After seeking legal advice, Ms Farrelly eventually filed a compensation claim against her employers. She received £35,000 as an out-of-court settlement from the gym’s insurance company. This included £22,000 in general damages and £13,000 in special damages.
| Type Of Special Damages | Includes: | How Much? |
|---|---|---|
| Current Loss | Lost earnings from being unable to work | £10,000 |
| Physiotherapy | Professional rehabilitation costs to assist with her recovery | £1500 |
| Professional Care | Professional nursing care costs, cleaner and grandener | £1000 |
| Travel Expenses | Costs of travel to and from hospital appointments | £500 |
The case of Ms Farrelly 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.
How Much Compensation Do You Get For A Broken Wrist In 2022?
If you meet the requirements to start a broken wrist claim, then you may be wondering how much your broken wrist injury could be worth in compensation. This can depend on various factors, including how serious your injury is. For example, relatively minor fractures or soft tissue injuries affecting the wrist that heal fully in a short period of time may be valued lower than more serious wrist injuries which cause a permanent disability.
You can view the table below, where we have included some compensation brackets for different wrist injuries that you may be compensated for if you are eligible to start an injured wrist claim. The brackets should be considered estimates only but can give some indication of how much compensation you may receive depending on how serious your wrist injury is. The brackets are based on the 2022 (16th) edition of the Judicial College Guidelines. While representing a personal injury claim, a solicitor may check these guidelines to help with calculating the value of a claimant’s injuries.
| Description Of Wrist Injury | Compensation Bracket |
|---|---|
| (a) Injuries that cause complete loss of function. | £47,620 to £59,860 |
| (b) Injuries that cause significant and permanent disability. Some useful movement does remain. | £24,500 to £39,170 |
| (c) Some permanent disability such as a degree of persistent pain or stiffness | £12,590 to £24,500 |
| (d) A fracture or soft tissue injury which takes longer than 12 months to fully or almost fully recover from. | £6,080 to £10,350 |
| (e) A Colles’ fracture that’s deemed uncomplicated. | In the region of £7,430 |
You can get in touch anytime to chat about estimates for your personal injury broken wrist claim.
How Much Will I Get For A Broken Wrist Settlement If I Was To Blame?
Whilst your injuries need to have been caused by someone else’s negligence in order for you to make a claim, you may still be able to receive a reduced settlement if you were only partly responsible. This is known as split liability or contributory negligence.
For example, it may be determined that you were only 50% liable for your broken wrist. If so, then you would receive half of the payout you would have done if you were not liable at all.
To illustrate, if you would have been awarded £10,000, then you would receive £5,000 instead.
Wrist injury settlement amounts can be split in other ways due to liability negligence too. You could also be awarded other percentages such as 30% or 60%. It will depend on the decision that legal professionals arrive at whilst valuing your claim.
Get in touch today, and we can give you a better idea of how much compensation you get for a wrist injury in these scenarios.
No Win No Fee Agreements Explained
No Win No Fee is extremely popular with our claimants. The potential benefits include:
- No legal fees required up-front
- And also no legal fees required during the case
- Your personal injury solicitor would only take a nominal amount (called a success fee and capped by law) if you receive a compensation figure
Therefore, if your case loses for any reason, you pay nothing to your No Win No Fee solicitor. Lower costs and less stress could only be a good thing, right? So use our Live Chat anytime to discuss No Win No Fee with our friendly team.
You Can Use The Best Personal Injury Solicitors
Indeed, you should aim to utilise the best personal injury lawyers for your broken wrist claim. As for how you could identify the top personal injury solicitors? Well, key factors would include positive reviews, strong credentials, a successful track record and any particular injury specialities.
The location of a law firm shouldn’t be one such factor. Our panel of solicitors offers a nationwide service handling cases all over the UK while covering every major injury imaginable.
Call our advisors today using the number above about your broken wrist claim.
Talk To Our Advisors
We’ve now said everything that we can, so it’s time to hear your story. Our team could put you in touch with personal injury lawyers to potentially handle your case. To enquire about your broken wrist claim, contact us via the following methods:
- Telephone 0800 408 7825
- Use our Live Chat
- Complete our online form
Remember that we’re accessible 24/7, and there would be no obligation to proceed with your case.
Additional Materials
If you would like to speak to an advisor for more information on wrist injury compensation or other related topics, then please get in touch with us online or on the phone. You can reach our advisors by using the contact details included in this guide. You could also learn more about this topic by using the links below.
You can click here to read the official NHS guidance about a fractured wrist.
Read more about broken bones by clicking here.
To read the Occupiers’ Liability Act 1957 in full, you can click here.
Guide by AR
Publisher LA