If you suffer a chest injury that results in a disability after an accident that wasn’t your fault, you could seek legal advice about claiming compensation. But it’s worth knowing beforehand what goes into making a chest injury disability claim. This guide provides an example £49,000 compensation settlement case study. The headings below explain the main topics that we’re covering.
In the meantime, feel free to get in touch with our advisors. They could connect you to the panel of personal injury solicitors that may then handle your case. Telephone us on 0800 408 7825, use our Live Chat at the bottom of the page or complete our online form.
Choose A Section
- A Guide To Calculate A Chest Injury Causing Some Continuing Disability Compensation
- What Is A Chest Injury With Continuing Disability?
- Financial Issues From Chest Injuries
- Common Causes Of Chest Injuries
- Further Advice About Care Claims
- Estimation For Your Chest Injury Payout
- Case Study: £49,000 Chest Injury With Some Continuing Disability
- Our Settlement Estimate Policy
- When Can I Use No Win No Fee?
- Find The Best Personal Injury Lawyers Today
- Talk Today
- Quick Information
A Guide To Calculate A Chest Injury Causing Some Continuing Disability Compensation
In this guide, we delve into numerous topics of great significance as part of the claims process. These include potential financial problems, the main drawback of a compensation calculator, and benefits of No Win No Fee agreements. We should note that there is a personal injury claims time limit applicable to all personal injury claims. So, you have 3 years to make a chest injury disability claim from the accident date or from the date of knowledge. Our friendly team can explain this in further detail if you drop us a message today.
What Is A Chest Injury With Continuing Disability?
The chest is crucial as it handles breathing within the body, plus the circulation of blood and basically keeps us alive. Therefore, any potential injuries here could have a long-term impact on vital organs. The injury itself could be that you break or crack a rib, or perhaps several ribs, you punctured a lung, you bruise your heart. Typical symptoms include bruising, swelling or tenderness, significant pain when breathing and a possible “cracking” sound.
Though the ribs may naturally heal, the complications may result in a potential disability and could be very concerning. Heart tissue damage, long-term breathing difficulties and the impairment of the lungs are amongst the consequences. And these would be very noticeable on a continuous basis, while also representing a strong risk in the future. Call our expert team here at Public Interest Lawyers for additional guidance.
Financial Issues From Chest Injuries
Depending on the type of injury really reflects the recovery time. broken ribs recovery could range from three to six weeks whereas damage to the lungs could take much longer. Therefore, such a period away from work could bring about a short-term financial dip. Then consider the requirements for painkillers and additional public transport usage (since driving with a chest injury could be very difficult). All of a sudden, you’re not only losing potential money, but you’re paying more cash out of your own pocket too.
But then consider the amount of time you may spend off work if you do develop a continuous disability within your chest. The lost earnings multiply greatly for as long as it takes for your problem to be corrected. If they become permanent, there is a very real risk that working and enjoying life as before may be altered. Hence why filing a chest injury disability claim would be almost compulsory if your injury was caused through a negligent breach in the duty of care owed to you. Speak to us today if you want to know more about the financial fallout of chest injuries and disabilities.
Common Causes Of Chest Injuries
To claim negligence requires you to meet three criteria. The first is that a third party owed you a duty of care of some kind. But the duty of care was breached. And the result of this would be you suffering a chest injury, resulting in a continuing disability. Below we discuss three duties of care where a breach may occur that could lead to a chest injury disability claim.
The first comes under, employer’s liability (EL) as per the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. This is to prevent potential injuries at work. 693,000 workplace accidents occurred in 2019/20. A chest injury at work might be you falling over cable wires that were hazardously placed by a colleague, and you cracking your ribs upon landing. A multiple injury claim is a possibility.
Now, the next duty of care comes via the Occupiers’ Liability Act 1957. Public liability (PL) oversee the wellbeing of people using public spaces. Yet accidents in public places still take place, and it could be that you’re injured in a public place. One potential accident in a public place may be that you slip on a wet surface in a restaurant without warning signs puncturing your chest on something sharp as you fall. A public injury claim is one potential outcome of such an accident.
Last but not least, we have the Highway Code’s duty of care to prevent road traffic accidents (RTAs). It applies to all road users: drivers, pedestrians and cyclists. But it’s possible that a serious car crash sees you fall forward onto the dashboard bruising your heart in the process. Whatever the case may be, personal injury lawyers could support you throughout the claim process.
Find out more about chest injury accident scenarios by chatting with our advisors.
Further Advice About Care Claims
At this point, we would like to discuss care claims. These could allow you to receive compensation for any assistance you receive. This could include:
- Support from family and friends (gracious care);
- A nurse or carer looking after you;
- Or hiring professionals for home-care services like cleaning.
We can advise you on care claims if you use our 24/7 Live Chat.
Estimation For Your Chest Injury Payout
An independent medical assessment would be a requirement of the claims process. A doctor needs to fully diagnose the extent of your chest damage, from the initial injury to the consequential disability. They would check your breathing, both for right now and for how it could change moving forward. And they would ask you questions about the nature of the accident and the impact on your life.
The findings of this evaluation would influence the value of your potential chest injury disability claim compensation. It would comprise general damages and special damages, as they would be covering every singular consequence. General damages focus on the pain, suffering and direct impact of the situation on your daily life. Special damages, meanwhile, handle the likes of lost earnings, prescription charges, along with home care. Use the contact form to ask any questions you may have about general and special damages.
Case Study: £49,000 Chest Injury With Some Continuing Disability
Mr Richmond, 40, worked on a building site. As part of his role, he and his colleagues position steel beams in place for buildings. This comes with the assistance of their team’s crane operator.
One particular day, however, things went badly wrong. Mr Richmond was in position to receive one of the steel beams. The crane operator was following the orders of another employee on the ground when guiding the direction of the beam. But as he went to send the beam over to his teammates, a malfunction occurred within the crane operations. As a result, the beam came at Mr Richmond too quickly and with undue force.
The impact was significant. Mr Richmond took a hard blow to the chest area, knocking him down to the ground. He remained conscious, but his breathing became very tight and he was in great pain. He was advised to go to his local hospital, which he did.
Upon evaluation, Mr Richmond was diagnosed with severe bruising to the heart, extensive chest soft tissue damage and lung function impairment. Mr Richmond’s breathing remained a serious issue. So much so that he developed pneumonia due to excess mucus in his lungs. He was hospitalised for a further two weeks. By the time he was able to return to work, Mr Richmond felt weaker and would always be dealing with breathing difficulties moving forward. At this stage, he also had a cough which would be present to some degree for the foreseeable.
After seeking legal advice, Mr Richmond filed a chest injury disability claim against his employers due to the fact the crane had malfunctioned before but never been repaired. He received £49,000 as an out-of-court compensation settlement. This included £42,780 in general damages and £6,220 in special damages.
Type Of Special Damages | Includes: | How Much? |
---|---|---|
Lost Earnings | Costs of lost earnings | £6,000 |
Medical Costs | Cost of prescription | £50 |
Public Transport | Costs of frequent public transport usage for hospital visits | £50 |
Other Costs | Additional expenses due to his injury & continuous disability | £120 |
The case of Mr Richmond 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.
Our Settlement Estimate Policy
We know that making a claim isn’t an overnight decision. It’s something to think about, and we recognise that the potential payout is a key factor to influence that choice. Better still, we avoid using online personal injury claims calculators and focus on the findings of your medical assessment. Therefore, the estimate that you receive would be the most accurate reflection of what you may receive. For advice on a compensation estimate for your chest injury disability claim, speak to us today.
When Can I Use No Win No Fee?
If your case fails for any reason, you still don’t pay a single penny to your personal injury solicitor. The only time that you pay legal costs to your legal team would be if your case succeeds. In that scenario, your personal injury solicitor takes a success fee which is capped by law. So, even if you do pay, it’s a figure which has a set ceiling. To enquire about No Win No Fee agreements as part of your chest injury disability claim, call our friendly team.
Find The Best Personal Injury Lawyers Today
To find the best personal injury lawyers using the internet could be a start, Look at past client reviews to see if a law firm is offering the kind of service you want. Call up potential law firms and speak to them directly.
Our panel of personal injury solicitors brings vast expertise, first-class credentials, chest injury specialities, positive reviews and a long track record of successful cases. So, if you want the right legal representation for your personal injury claim, talk to our helpful team.
Talk Today
You can contact our advisors today to discuss your chest injury disability claim. There are three ways that you can do this:
- Telephoning us on 0800 408 7825;
- Using our Live Chat;
- Or fill out our contact form.
Quick Information
Our website covers how to file a chest injury disability claim.
In addition, we have details about public liability claims.
And we also explain motorcycle crashes which could result in chest injuries.
The NHS has guidance on rib injuries.
They also discuss how to identify broken bones.
You can read the Occupiers’ Liability Act 1957 by clicking here.
Article by AR
Publisher EC.