How To Make Teeth Damage And Broken Tooth Injury Claims

By Stephen Burke. Last Updated 31st August 2023. The pain and embarrassment caused by tooth damage can be very traumatic and cause ongoing problems even after treatment has been finished. If you’ve been involved in an accident, which resulted in broken teeth and was caused by somebody else, you may be entitled to compensation.

To begin a claim with Advice.co.uk today, please call us on 0161 696 9685 and one of our friendly team will begin by taking the details of your claim.

If you would like to understand more about the claims process first, then carry on reading for all of the information you’ll need.

Select A Section

A Guide To Broken Tooth And Teeth Damage Compensation

Unlike many injuries to the human body, tooth damage can’t be repaired naturally. If a tooth is chipped or broken, it will stay that way and when a tooth is knocked out, it can’t usually be replaced without some sort of false tooth.

The pain involved in accidents resulting in tooth damage can be painful at the time and for a period afterwards. However, it is the psychological damage that can really cause problems, especially when front teeth are damaged or removed.

Tooth damage compensation claims guide

Tooth damage compensation claims guide

It is essential, therefore, that if your teeth are damaged through an accident caused by somebody else, that you claim compensation to firstly cover the pain and suffering caused but, more importantly, to pay for any treatment or cosmetic surgery required to put the situation right.

Advice.co.uk are personal injury specialists who can help to make tooth damage injury claims, using no win no fee solicitors, on behalf of clients up and down the country.

We’ve written this guide to explain what compensation can be claimed for, the legal definition of liability in personal injury claims, what to do in the event of an accident, how much compensation you may be entitled to and the most common claims for tooth damage that are made.

If you are involved in an accident, then you can take steps to make claiming easier such as:

      • Photographing the scene including the cause
      • Reporting the accident so it’s recorded in an accident log book
      • Seeking medical assistance
      • Asking any witnesses for their recollection of what happened in a written statement

These steps will make claiming simpler and will increase the chances of winning compensation for your injuries.

We want to ensure you get the right information before making a claim. This is why we offer free legal advice to anyone considering a claim. We believe it’s best to have the correct information rather than guessing whether you can claim or not.

What Is Tooth Or Teeth Damage?

Tooth damage can take on many forms. Personal injury lawyers can make compensation claims for any type of tooth damage including any of the following:

      • A broken tooth: Any injury where the tooth is broken leaving the root of the tooth inside of the jaw.
      • Loose tooth: This can happen when the root of the tooth is damaged or broken by an impact to the head or jaw.
      • Chipped tooth: A part of the tooth is chipped away by some form of impact.
      • Cracked tooth: A split of the tooth occurs (or a crack) caused by an impact.
      • Grazed teeth: This is where the protective enamel of the teeth is worn away by the teeth impacting with an abrasive surface.

A personal injury solicitor will use medical reports to base a compensation claim on which will determine which type of injury has been sustained, which teeth were damaged and how the damage has impacted the victim, both physically and psychologically.

How Is A Broken Tooth Injury Claim Calculated?

If you make a successful dental negligence claim for a broken tooth, your compensation settlement may include general and special damages.

General damages compensate you for the pain and suffering your broken teeth have caused you. When valuing this head of claim, many legal professionals will refer to the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG) to help them. This document lists guideline compensation amounts for various injuries. In the table below, we have included some of the figures listed in the 16th edition of the JCG.

Please only use this table as a guide.

Injury TypeSeverity Of The InjuryCompensation Bracket
Teeth Damage(f) Chronic and significant tooth pain extending over several years together with significant general deterioration in the teeth’s overall condition. The pain may have been caused by certain issues (such as an untreated abscess).Up to £38,130
Teeth Damage(f) (i) Serious damage to or loss of several front teeth.£8,730 to £11,410
Teeth Damage(f) (ii) Damage to, or loss of, two front teeth.£4,350 to
£7,630
Teeth Damage(f) (iii) One front tooth is seriously damaged or lost.£2,200 to
£3,950
Teeth Damage(f) (iv) Compensation shown is per tooth: loss of or damage to back tooth.£1,090 to
£1,710
Psychiatric Damage Generally(c) Moderate – This bracket covers mental injuries that have impact on a person’s relationships and how they cope with life, education and work. While there will have been problems with all these factors, the injured person will have a positive prognosis.£5,860 to £19,070

You may also be awarded special damages. This aims to compensate you for the financial losses you have endured due to being harmed by a negligent dentist.

Some examples of the financial losses you could be compensated for include:

  • A loss of earnings if you required time off work to recover.
  • The cost of additional dental treatment.
  • Medical costs, such as paying for prescriptions or over-the-counter pain relief.

To be able to claim back these losses under special damages, you will need to provide evidence of them, such as bank statements and invoices.

Contact our advisors today to receive free advice for your broken tooth injury claim.

When Can You Make Teeth Damage Compensation Claims?

As with all personal injury claims, you need to be able to prove that somebody else caused your accident in some way.  If you caused the accident yourself, then you won’t be able to claim.

Generally, your solicitor will apply the following three tests to prove liability:

      • Did the defendant (person or organisation you blame) owe you any duty of care?
      • Did they breach that duty of care at all?
      • Were your injuries caused by the breach?

If they can answer yes to all of these questions, then there’s a good chance you could claim compensation.

In the next few sections we’ll explain how different types of accidents could be claimed for and how liability could be proven. Don’t worry if your accident isn’t listed, these are just the most common. We can help with claims from any type of accident, so long as somebody else was liable.

Dental Injuries And Tooth Damage Caused By A Road Traffic Accident

Road traffic accidents are common and often lead to broken and damaged teeth because any impact caused to the head can lead to tooth loss. It’s possible to suffer tooth damage in lower speed accidents and it can happen to a driver or passenger alike.

In the case of pedestrians, cyclists or motorcyclists, tooth damage is even more likely because of the impact caused when they either hit the other vehicle or the hard road surface.

If you’ve been involved in a road traffic accident, caused by another driver and sustained damaged teeth, please get in touch. We’ll assess your claim with you and decide whether you’ve got a good claim or not.

Claims For Broken Teeth Caused By Accidents At Work

If you sustain tooth damage or have a tooth knocked out at work, then you may have a valid compensation claim.  It is dependent on the circumstances, but employees are protected at work by the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.

Under the legislation, employers must ensure the workplace is safe and risks are reduced where possible. This is done by risk assessments, staff training, the provision of safety equipment as well as health and safety policies.

If you believe that your accident at work was caused because one of the above wasn’t done properly, even if it was caused by a colleague, you could make a claim against your employer.

Employers are not allowed, by law, to discipline you for making a compensation claim against them (providing it’s a genuine claim) and have insurance in place to cover themselves. You therefore shouldn’t be off from claiming for the compensation you may be entitled to.

Claims For Broken Or Damage Teeth Caused By A Slip Or Fall

Slip, trip and fall accidents can happen just about anywhere in day to day life and are common causes for damaged or lost teeth.

Compensation can be claimed if the fall was caused by some form of negligence such as:

      • You fall down a flight of stairs because the hand rail was faulty and end up with damaged teeth.
      • A trip hazard wasn’t visible due to poor, damaged or faulty lighting which meant you tripped over it.
      • The floor or path you were walking on was uneven, such as raised paving slabs or pot holes.
      • A floor was wet or slippery and there were no warning signs, or they were inadequate.

Any type of trip and fall can lead to damaged teeth, so call us if you believe you suffered injuries because of somebody else’s mistake.

Claims For Dental Injuries Due To Medical Negligence

It goes without saying that medical professionals such as dentists, doctors and surgeons have a duty of care to every patient.

Dental injuries from medical negligence

Dental injuries from medical negligence

If you’ve suffered tooth damage following medical negligence you may wish to seek compensation.  Usually, a claim would be made against the NHS or private dentist group rather than the individual responsible for the injuries.

It’s important to use a lawyer experienced in medical negligence claims as proving negligence can be a complex task. An experienced solicitor will have medical experts who they can call on to assess you professionally and provide the evidence to support your claim,

Damaged Tooth – What Evidence Will I Need To Claim?

There can be various scenarios in which you could sustain a tooth injury, so the relevant evidence can depend on your circumstances. For example, breaking your teeth in a road traffic accident could lead to a claim. If dashcam footage exists of the accident, then you could present this to support your claim.

If the tooth injury occurs due to an accident at work or in a public area, then it may have been captured on CCTV. You can request this footage at any time.

Dental records could be useful evidence no matter how your accident occurred. This could include scans and notes on any treatment you were provided.

To find out more about gathering evidence when claiming compensation payouts for teeth damage, get in touch with our advisors today.

Is There A Time Limit When Making A Dental Accident Claim?

As established by the Limitation Act 1980, there’s usually a three-year time limit for starting different types of personal injury dental accident claims such as those for damaged teeth. This time limit usually begins from the date of your accident.

Under certain circumstances, the time limit can work differently. If, for example, the injured party lacks the mental capacity to start a dental compensation claim, then the time limit is suspended indefinitely. A court-appointed litigation friend may claim instead on behalf of the injured party. If this does not happen, and the injured party later recovers their mental capacity, then the time limit will start from the day of recovery.

If a child has been harmed in a dental accident, then the time limit will not begin for them until their 18th birthday. A claim could be made on their behalf before that day arrives by a litigation friend. If this doesn’t occur, then the injured party will have three years to start their own claim once they reach the age of 18.

To learn more about your eligibility to claim for teeth damage or a broken tooth, contact our team for free today.

How To Start A Personal Injury Claim For Teeth Damage

The easiest part of making a claim for your teeth damage will be picking up the phone and calling Advice.co.uk.

Our team of advisers are here to answer any questions you might have. This is even if you’re not sure you want to proceed yet. We offer free legal advice so that you can base your decision on facts rather than guessing.

Our friendly team offer a free, no obligation, initial assessment of your claim.  We listen to what happened, the evidence you’ve gathered, the injuries sustained and the impact on you.

Once done, we’ll provide an honest assessment of how likely you are to win the case and gain compensation.  If we believe you’ve got a good chance, we’ll connect you with a personal injury solicitor who offers no win no fee services.

We cover no win no fee in more detail in the next section.

No Win No Fee Tooth Damage And Dental Injury Claims

Many clients worry about making a compensation claim because they’re worried about the financial risk in claiming. In some cases, that worry is justified but Advice.co.uk only work with no win no fee solicitors. This reduces the risk massively.

A no win no fee solicitor doesn’t get paid unless they win your case. Even then you don’t have to send them payment as they take a success fee (an agreed percentage of your compensation, maximum 25%) from any compensation and send the rest straight to you.

Many of our clients tell us that if we didn’t offer no win no fee, they probably wouldn’t be able to afford to claim or be willing to take the risk of ending up with a large legal bill. This is why we only work with no win no fee solicitors for all cases.

Why Work With Our Advisors?

All members of our team are friendly and professional and can offer free legal advice to you while you’re deciding whether to make a claim or not. They are open and honest and will provide an accurate assessment of the chances of success in making a claim.

When you decide to contact us, we’ll follow this process:

You make contact with us, detailing your injuriesWe'll assess the claim for youIf we agree the claim is valid, and you're happy to proceed, we'll begin

Call Our Advisors To Start Your Claim

It’s important to note that our personal injury specialists can help with claims that have happened anywhere in the UK. Also, if we take your case on, we’ll only use solicitors that offer their services on a no win no fee basis.

If you’re happy to begin your compensation claim today, then you can get in touch by:

  • Calling us on 0161 696 9685 where one of our advisers will take the details of your claim straight away.
  • Sending us as many details of your claim in an email to [email protected] and we’ll get back to you.
  • Filling in this online form with the relevant details to begin your claim.

Remember, when you get in touch with us, we will offer you free legal advice.  Then we’ll assess your claim, for free, and if we agree that you have a good chance of winning the claim, we’ll connect you with a no win no fee solicitor to begin your claim.

Similar Related Guides

Hopefully you’ve gained enough information about tooth damage claims from this guide.  For further information, we’ve provided the following useful and relevant guides:

If you would like to speak to an advisor about broken teeth compensation, then you’re welcome to contact us here at Advice today. You can reach us either online or on the phone by using the contact details found within this guide.