You may be concerned and have questions about your leg injury at work. We understand this and hope that the advice contained in this article can help you.
Using an illustrative case study of someone who suffered a leg injury at work, we explain the personal injury claims process and how compensation can be calculated using the facts of your case. You may have been the victim of:
- Falls from a height at work
- Slips and trips in the workplace
- Repetitive strain injury
- Impact with an industrial vehicle as either driver or bystander
Leg injury at work compensation
Starting a case for workplace negligence may seem daunting. We are happy to explain the legal jargon and connect you with a personal injury solicitor who could really help. If you have been considering a claim, or are ready to proceed with one now, simply get in touch with our friendly personal injury claims team by
- Calling for a free, no-obligation chat on 0161 696 9685
- Writing to us at Advice.co.uk
- Using the live support portal, bottom right of this screen
Our advisors can answer any questions you have in a free no-obligation chat. If they think you have a good chance of being awarded compensation you could be referred to our panel of personal injury solicitors who work on a No Win No Fee basis for any claim they take on.
Select a Section
- A Guide To Claiming Compensation Payouts For A Leg Injury At Work
- What Is A Leg Injury?
- Top 3 Common Leg Injury At Work Causes
- Our Professional Estimation Of Your Personal Injury Compensation
- What Are Special Damages?
- Case Study: £30,000 For A Leg Injury At Work Claim
- Receive Free Legal Advice On Your Claim Here
- A Breakdown Of No Win No Fee Policies
- Our Experts Can Provide Free Legal Advice
- More Resources And Guides On Leg Injuries At Work
- Leg Injury At Work FAQs
A Guide To Claiming Compensation Payouts For A Leg Injury At Work
Firstly, we understand that you may have many questions about how to approach a claim for a leg injury at work. Perceived costs of a solicitor’s services or the threat of court appearances can dissuade a lot of people from pursuing a claim for compensation. When you work with a No Win No Fee lawyer, they can bear the brunt of these complexities, making the process far less stressful.
Your personal injury solicitor can explain the jargon and work with you to obtain the clearest possible picture of what happened that day. Your lawyer can help you understand what you can use as evidence, such as witness statements and receipts for expenses. On your behalf, they could calculate two types of damages ensuring you are compensated correctly.
Throughout this article, we provide advice and links to further resources to help inform your choice. We explain what leg injuries claimants may endure, what law aims to protect your safety at work, and what duty of care your employer has. We look at how they could breach that duty, and what steps you could take after suffering an injury they caused.
If you have any questions about anything in this article, our team can offer you free advice. Just call on the number at the top of the page. They’re ready to speak with you any time of any day and you don’t have to proceed with the services of our panel of solicitors if you choose not to.
What Is A Leg Injury?
Often, the freedom of walking or running is something we take for granted. We may only fully comprehend the value of our legs after we suffer injury to them and our mobility is dramatically halted. It’s important to note that, although the leg bones are strong, they can also be uniquely vulnerable to many different types of injury. Some examples include:
- Sports injuries
- Sprains and strains
- Torn ligaments
- Fractured bones or broken toes, knees or hips
- Compound fractures (when the bone punctures the skin)
- Multiple fractures and tissue damage
- Amputation and severe, permanent loss
Any of these injuries, from minor to severe, can have very debilitating repercussions to mobility and lifestyle. Whilst some leg injuries can heal fairly quickly (within 6 to 8 weeks) others can entail months or even years of rehabilitation and multiple surgeries. A hip replacement or broken knee can cause much more havoc in a victim’s life than a sprained ankle, but given the nature of such a large part of our anatomy, it’s possible to suffer many injuries in one accident.
The NHS offers advice about broken legs and you can find many other online resources to help you understand your injury. One of the worst consequences of a leg injury could be that it renders normal movement to be awkward. You may need to learn to use a wheelchair, crutches, or a leg boot as you recover. All of this could impact your ability to function as before.
Top 3 Common Leg Injury At Work Causes
Every business that wishes to employ people in Britain has a legal duty of care to those employees. The Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 requires employers to protect the safety and wellbeing of employees as far as is reasonably practicable.
There are limits as to what is reasonable to expect employers to do. And under Section 7 of the Act, employees are required to do their best to avoid accident and injury to themselves and others. But if you can prove that you suffered an injury caused by an accident that could or should have been prevented, you could claim.
If you’re unsure as to whether your employer is liable, speak to our team for guidance.
Slips, Trips, And Falls
Statistics show that despite the clear direction in the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, accidents and injury in the workplace are not uncommon. During 2019/20:
- 111 workers lost their lives in the workplace.
- There were 65,427 reported significant injuries under RIDDOR.
- 693,000 people sustained an injury at work according to the Labour Force Survey.
- 38.8 million working days were lost due to work-related injuries or illnesses.
- £16.2 billion was the cost of injuries and ill health from current working conditions (2018/19).
The most common kinds of non-fatal accidents reported under RIDDOR, which is the formal body for the recording of serious accidents in the workplace, in 2019/20 were:
- Slips, trips, and falls on the same level (29%)
- handling, lifting, or carrying (19%)
- struck by a moving object (11%)
- acts of violence (9%)
- falls from a height (8%)
This clearly underlines the crucial need for employers to abide by the rules in the Health And Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. Conducting regular assessments and attending to hazards before they cause injuries is a key requirement. Providing proper training and adequate supervision as well as meeting with safety representatives are also important.
As our example case study demonstrates, the correct provision of PPE can make all the difference in enabling someone to perform their job safely. A decision to cut safety budgets or ignore regulations can be fatal.
Handling Lifting and Carrying
As you can see from the statistics above 19% of non-fatal work accidents are caused by handling objects in the workplace. To ensure employees are not injured when handling goods it is really important that training is given here.
Struck By Falling And Moving Objects
Anyone who works in a busy factory or warehouse environment can attest to the constant hazards. We hope that our colleagues are operating machinery and driving transportation vehicles as carefully as possible, but accidents can still happen.
Stacked products and materials need to be put in place correctly, as a falling object can be fatal. Safe practices and awareness of potential risks are key defences against being injured at work. And these are responsibilities your employer has a duty to uphold. If they fail and you’re injured, you could hold them liable.
Our Professional Estimation Of Your Personal Injury Compensation
There are three points that you need to consider at the start of making a personal injury claim against your employer.
- Did your employer have the duty of care where you were harmed?
- Did they breach this duty of care?
- Was their breach the cause of your injuries?
Importantly, a personal injury claim cannot be made simply for an accident. It must involve actual injury. Furthermore, the accident should have been reasonably avoidable had your employer acted adequately under law.
If you choose to use the services of a No Win No Fee lawyer, they should arrange for you to have a medical assessment. This is essential to preclude the argument that any injuries were wholly due to a prior medical condition. If the independent medical professional finds that your injuries were either worsened or caused by the incident, then this provides supporting evidence for your claim. Your solicitor would then use the report the medical professional creates to help them value your injuries. The value of your injuries falls under general damages.
General damages compensate you for the pain and suffering your injuries have caused you, including:
- Any mental health impacts, such as Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or depression
- General loss of pleasure or amenity in life as you lived it before the accident
- Pain and suffering
Using the Judicial College Guidelines, your lawyer may refer to previous awards for injuries similar to yours to help them value your general damages. This publication offers guidance on compensation amounts for various injuries. Whilst only for reference, it provides your personal injury lawyer with a figure to argue for on your behalf in court.
What Are Special Damages?
The second component of your personal injury calculation is called special damages. These compensate you for the financial impacts you’ve endured as a result of the injuries. At the worst possible time, money problems can often accompany sudden change as you face the chaos and upheaval of coping with your leg injury. Therefore, certain costs or losses can arise such as:
- Lost earnings or missed future work
- Care costs from a paid professional or even family members who help (their time can be reimbursed as compensation)
- Travel costs (to hospital or physiotherapy, for example)
- Physiotherapy or counselling costs
- Childcare provision
- Lost deposits
- Gardening, pet care
- Lost attendance bonuses at work
To summarise, special damages can reflect an array of demonstrable costs that you’ve incurred because of your injury. All of them could be included as part of your final settlement. As long as you have the appropriate bills, receipts, statements, or records to show the expense, you could recover your financial loss through compensation.
Case Study: £30,000 For A Leg Injury At Work Claim
Miss Knight worked for a local garden centre warehouse where much of the stock was stored on high shelves. She used a fixed ladder to move from one area to another. She would climb up to get the products she needed. The ladder was regularly maintained and the firm had a good health and safety policy, until the directors started to make cuts.
One of the first things to be cut from the budget was the employees’ financial allowance for appropriate footwear. Eventually, they fell behind on maintenance too. This led to Miss Knight’s accident. A faulty rung turned under her foot and she fell, breaking her tibia.
Miss Knight purchased flat-heeled, sensible shoes for herself and took her own safety and wellbeing concerns seriously. She understood the employees’ responsibility to take personal care. She was doing the best she could.
Making a Personal Injury Claim
As the costs created by her injuries began to mount, her panic increased. Unable to work, her rent fell into arrears. Simple things such as getting to the shops and buying food became very difficult for her so her family had to help. A friend recommended she explain her situation to a No Win No Fee solicitor. She did, and the solicitor was able to help her.
At first, her employer argued that Miss Knight hadn’t followed their guidelines on appropriate footwear and so had been responsible for her own injuries. However, using evidence, Miss Knight proved that she had purchased flat-heeled, sensible shoes and took workplace safety and wellbeing seriously. She’d understood the employees’ guidelines.
She also used proof to support her claim that the ladder had not been appropriately maintained. Her employer had to admit liability.
Miss. Knight was able to prove her financial losses and her No Win No Fee lawyer was able to factor them into her claim for compensation. Using general and special damages combined, her personal injury lawyer arrived at a realistic and accurate figure that the court upheld.
| General Damages | How Much? | Special Damages | How Much? |
|---|---|---|---|
| The JCG recommends that a possible award of between £16,860 to £26,050 is appropriate for fractures where an incomplete recovery is made. | £26,050 | loss of earnings | £1,500 |
| travel costs to and from medical appointments (and other places as she couldn't drive) | £100 | ||
| loss of work attendance bonus | £200 | ||
| private physiotherapy costs | £200 | ||
| care from family | £450 | ||
| loss of skiing holiday deposit | £1,500 |
We created this case study for demonstrative reasons only. It’s fictional but based on past cases and experiences. Its purpose is to illustrate what the claims process can be like.
Receive Free Legal Advice On Your Claim Here
We offer a free claim valuation service. It’s completely confidential and after a brief, informal chat, our advisors can assess how likely your claim would be for success. We can connect you with a panel of No Win No Fee solicitors with over three decades of experience who could take your case up and represent you.
Personal injury compensation calculations vary greatly, The more detail you are happy to give, the more leeway you provide the advisor with to interpret your financial damages. They have the expertise to understand the many ways your leg injury at work has impacted you. And, they can put you in touch with our panel of personal injury solicitors. You’re under no obligation to proceed with these services after getting your estimation though. To find out more, get in touch today.
A Breakdown Of No Win No Fee Policies
No Win No Fee agreements, or Conditional Fee Agreements (CFAs) as they are also known, can offer many people legal representation at no upfront cost. Your lawyer can work with you to assemble evidence such as
- Witness statements
- CCTV footage
- Bills and receipts proving outgoings
- Accident logbook notes
- Hospital notes and A&E admission reports
Using this information, your No Win No Fee solicitor can start work on your behalf with no upfront fees to be paid. If the case fails, there are no solicitor fees to pay at all.
Should your case win, you would pay a small fee to your solicitors. This amount is capped by law, ensuring that you receive the bulk of the compensation to attend to your recovery and repair of your finances.
Our Experts Can Provide Free Legal Advice
To summarise, we encourage you to speak to our team about your leg injury at work claim, or any other kind of injury that you suffered in the workplace. If you’re wondering ‘what can I claim for an injury at work?’ or you’re actively seeking accident at work compensation, please feel free to:
- Call for a free, no-obligation chat on 0161 696 9685
- Write to us at Advice.co.uk
- Using the live support portal in the bottom right of this page
Whether it was workplace negligence that created falls from a height, slips trips and same-level falls, or repetitive strain injury due to lack of adequate breaks, speak to us today for free legal advice about your options.
More Resources And Guides On Leg Injuries At Work
To sum up, please feel free to contact us to discuss workplace negligence that resulted in a leg injury at work. Below are some further resources that we hope can clarify your options and provide you with more information.
Read our guide to find out more about accident at work compensation amounts.
Perhaps you are seeking car accident compensation amounts? We have a guide for that too.
The HSE can help if you are looking for more reading about RIDDOR, the way to report a serious injury in the workplace.
They also offer help and advice about coping with repetitive strain injury and other occupational health hazards.
If you are looking for further statistical information about accidents in the workplace and their type and prevalence, look no further.
Leg Injury At Work FAQs
What is the most common type of leg injury?
Briefly, sprains and strains are amongst the most common type of leg injury. Sportspeople are at risk of enduring these.
How quickly does a broken leg heal?
A minor fracture may require 6 to 8 weeks to fully heal. Recovery times may be quicker depending on other factors such as age and general health. In addition, complicated fractures can take longer.
Can you die of a broken leg?
It’s unlikely, but any leg fracture requires immediate medical attention to assess the full extent and prevent infection. Septicemia can be a very serious side effect of untreated injuries and can be fatal if left untreated. In addition, poorly treated injuries can heal incorrectly leading to limps or impaired gait for life.
How can I avoid a leg injury?
Correct preparation, such as footwear or protective clothing can help. As well as this, it can be useful to slow down and take care in wet weather if working at heights. To summarise, always wear suitable clothing and take care at all times to avoid slips, trips, and falls.
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