Learn About Sprained Ankle Compensation Claims

A sprained ankle is an injury in which the ligaments supporting the ankle are torn or stretched. You could sprain your ankle by awkwardly twisting, rolling or turning your ankle. Your ankle may be painful, swollen, bruised and you may have limited mobility as well as tenderness. Sprains could be mild, moderate or severe and in some cases may require surgery and lead to permanent instability in the joint. In this guide we look in detail at sprained ankle compensation claims.

Key Takeaways For Sprained Ankle Compensation Claims

• You could make a claim if you can prove someone breached their duty of care to you.
• A sprained ankle injury could happen in a variety of different accidents.
• To claim compensation you must prove who was liable for your ankle injury.
• You could be awarded damages for your pain as well as for economic considerations.
• A specialist solicitor from Advice could help you make a personal injury compensation claim on a No Win No Fee basis.

Get in touch with our expert team to find out more about making an ankle injury claim.

• Phone our team on 0161 509 2856.
• Get in contact with us using our form.
• Tell us what happened to you over our online chat.

Browse Our Guide

• Who Can Make Sprained Ankle Compensation Claims?
• How Could Negligence Cause A Sprained Ankle?
• What To Expect From A Strain Or Sprain Claim
• What Are Sprained Ankle Compensation Claims Worth?
• My Child Sprained Their Ankle, Can I Make A Claim For Them?
• Make A No Win No Fee Claim Through Advice
• More Information

Who Can Make Sprained Ankle Compensation Claims?

You could suffer a sprained ankle in a variety of different circumstances and types of accident. The most important factor in being eligible to make any type of compensation claim is being able to show that another party was at fault.
Broadly, the eligibility criteria for sprained ankle compensation claims are that:

• Duty of care – a party such as your employer, the occupier of a public place or a road user had a duty of care to you.
• Breach – this party breach their duty of care.
• Injury – you suffered an ankle injury as a result of the breach.
• Time limit – that you are within the applicable time limit.

These points will be discussed below and (in the case of time limits) later in this guide.

Accidents At Work

At work, your employer has a duty of care to help ensure your reasonable safety. Employers must adhere to all legislation relevant to your workplace, role and responsibilities. The main piece of legislation applicable to making a compensation claim for an accident at work is the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. To comply with this legislation, your employer must take reasonable and practicable steps to ensure that you are safe in the workplace.

Public Liability Claims

If you are in a public place such as a swimming pool, public park, shop or restaurant, you are owed a duty of care by the party in control of this space. This party is known as the ‘occupier’. They have a duty to make sure the members of the public can safely use the space as intended. They must take reasonable steps to ensure this. This duty is outlined in legislation such as the Occupiers’ Liability Act 1957.

Road Traffic Accidents

All road users have a shared responsibility towards each other. They must make sure that the way in which they use the road is safe for themselves and other road users. To do so, they must comply with The Road Traffic Act 1988 and the Highway Code.

In the following section we explore how you could suffer a sprained ankle in these types of accidents. You can get further information on how to claim compensation for an ankle injury being speaking to a member of the advisory team.

How Could Negligence Cause A Sprained Ankle?

Different types of ankle injury could be caused in different ways. Below, we look at some examples of how you could suffer a sprained ankle in a road traffic accident, at work or whilst in a public place.

• Wet floor accidents – water could be spilled on the floor in a supermarket. If the supermarket has been notified of the spillage and has had a reasonable amount of time to cordon off the area and/or clean the spillage up but did not, you could slip over and sprain your ankle.
• Cycling pothole accidents – a local authority may have been notified of a pothole and have failed to take action to fix it. A cyclist could be thrown off their bike by the pothole, suffering severe ankle injuries.
• Slips, trips and falls – you could suffer a slip, trip or fall in a public place if a damaged floor is either not repaired or if appropriate warnings are not placed.
• Car accidents – even a minor car accident could cause severe ankle injuries. For example, a driver may fail to signal and look before exiting a junction crashing into you.
• Construction site accidents – falling from a height on a construction site could be caused by a faulty safety railing. This may lead to very severe ankle injuries.

These are just some examples of when sprained ankle compensation claims could be made. Please contact us to discuss your ankle injury claim.

What To Expect From A Strain Or Sprain Claim

When making an ankle injury compensation claim you may expect to take certain steps in line with the claims process. This may include visiting a doctor (or other appropriate medical professional) to get any treatment you need and being able to prove that your accident took place, how you were injured and who was at fault.

Below, we look at what you may expect if you claim ankle injury compensation.

Gathering Evidence

As discussed above, you must be able to provide sufficient evidence to show that someone else caused your ankle injury.

Types of evidence which could help prove your claim may include:

• Reports and records from the hospital, GP or other medical practitioner who treated your ankle injury.
• Official accident reports. If injured at work or in a public place, your accident should be recorded in either your employer or the occupier’s accident report book. You may request a copy of this record.
• Pictures of what caused your accident and injury. You could take a photo of the damaged floor, pothole, broken safety rail or car accident in which you suffered an ankle injury.
• Photos of your injury. If there are visible symptoms such as severe bruising, you can take a photo of this to help show the injury.
• CCTV footage. Whether in a public place, on the road or at work, there may have been CCTV cameras which captured your accident. In addition, the accident may have been recorded on a vehicle’s dash cam. This footage may also be submitted.
• Witness contact information. If there were any witnesses to your accident, you can request their contact details. They may be asked to provide a witness statement.

Seeking Legal Advice

You do not have to work with a solicitor in order to make a personal injury claim. However, we believe that you could benefit from the help and legal advice one of our solicitors can provide. They could help to assess your case and check that you have a valid claim.

They could also help you to gather evidence in support of your claim and could explain how the personal injury claim process works.

Time Limits

You have three years in which to begin your ankle injury compensation claim. This period is taken either from the date on which you were injured. This time limit is set out in the Limitation Act 1980. However, there are some exceptions that suspend this time limit. Please contact us to find out more about time limits for starting sprained ankle compensation claims.

What Are Sprained Ankle Compensation Claims Worth?

If your ankle injury compensation claim is successful, you will be awarded compensatory damages. Your ankle injury settlement may comprise two parts. These are:

• General damages – these are awarded for your ankle injury itself. They cover the pain and suffering which you have experienced.
• Special damages – these compensate you for financial and economic losses caused by your ankle injury.

To work out how much compensation may be awarded for your type of ankle injury (general damages) your solicitor (or another party involved in valuing sprained ankle compensation claims) may check figures in the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG). The JCG provides compensation guidelines for different injuries.

Compensation Guidelines

Below, we look at some examples taken from the JCG. Please note that the first figure was not taken from the JCG. Furthermore, as all claims are different, this table should only be used as a guide.

• An ankle injury settlement for multiple injuries and where loss of earnings and special damages are taken into consideration may be awarded up to £150,000.
• Very severe ankle injuries which are unusual fall into this bracket – £61,090 to £85,070
• A severe ankle injury which requires extensive treatment and where the person is left with significant disability – £38,210 to £61,090
• For moderate ankle injuries including torn ligaments and fractures causing problems walking on uneven ground or similar disability – £16,770 to £32,450.
• A modest ankle injury, such as a less serious sprain or ligament injury – up to £16,770.
• For the most serious achilles tendon injury where the tendon is severed – around £46,900.
• A serious achilles tendon injury where the tendon is completely divided – £30,500 to £36,720.
• A moderate achilles tendon injury involving a partial rupture of the tendon – £15,370 to £25,710.
• For minor achilles tendon injuries where you are unsure of ankle support – £8,870 to £15,370.

Next, we look at the role of special damages in an ankle injury compensation settlement.

Does Personal Injury Compensation Cover Lost Wages?

In addition to compensating you for your pain and suffering, you may also be compensated for lost earnings and wages as well as for expenses you had to pay out for due to your sprained ankle injury.

Special damages could cover,

• Loss of earnings related to taking time off whilst recovering from your injury.
• Medical treatment, medication and related costs.
• Transportation costs, such as the cost of getting to a medical appointment.
• Property damage, the cost of replacing or repairing property.

For sprained ankle compensation claims to take account of special damages you must provide evidence of these losses. You could submit a copy of a medical invoice, wage slip or bank statement to help prove these costs.

Our team could answer any questions you have about how ankle injury settlement amounts may be calculated.

My Child Sprained Their Ankle, Can I Make A Claim For Them?

If your child sprained their ankle as a result of an accident which was not their fault, you may be able to claim on their behalf. The same eligibility criteria discussed in this guide will apply to their claim. It will need to be shown that another party was at fault.

To claim on behalf of your child (or someone with diminished mental capacity) you will need to be appointed their litigation friend. This is a person appointed by the court to act on behalf of the child in their claim.

Get in touch with an advisor to find out if you could make a child accident claim.

Make A No Win No Fee Claim Through Advice

If you are eligible to make an ankle injury compensation claim, one of our solicitors may be able to help you on a No Win No Fee basis. They may do so by taking on your case through a Conditional Fee Agreement. This is a way for a solicitor to help you without having to charge any fees for their services in advance.

The benefits of this type of claim are:

• No solicitors fees to pay prior to starting work on your case.
• No solicitors fees to be paid whilst the claim is in progress.
• Nothing to pay for your solicitor’s work if the claim is not successful.

If you win, your solicitor will deduct a success fee. There is a legal cap on the percentage of your compensation which may be charged as this fee.

Get In Touch Today

To start sprained ankle compensation claims or to check your eligibility and have your questions about personal injury compensation answered:

• Call us today on 0161 509 2856.
• Use our form to contact us.
• Tell us what happened via our live chat.

More Information

Here, you can find further links to related guides on our sites.

• Find information on how to prove a slip and fall case in this guide.
• Find out how to make a claim against your local authority in this guide.
• If your child was injured in a playground accident, check how to claim here.

Helpful links

• Read more about an ankle sprain injury in this NHS guide.
• Check how to claim Statutory Sick Pay in this guide from the government.
• Learn about first aid in the workplace in this guide from the Health and Safety Executive.

Thank you for reading our guide on sprained ankle compensation claims. Please contact us if you still have any questions.