Broken bones claims

Breaking a bone is a miserable affair and even more so if it happens whilst you are at work. It can happen for a variety of reasons but whatever these are, can cause a great deal of upset for you and your family.

As an employee your employer has a duty of care towards you and your colleagues. This duty of care includes protection against the risk of an accident or injury.

But if this protection is inadequate or fails then an accident is likely to occur. The medical term for this is a fracture.

Broken bones can be minor or major in severity but as you might imagine, a severe fracture will take longer to heal and has far greater consequences for the injured person.

If you have broken a bone (or bones) through an accident at work which was not your fault then you may be entitled to compensation.

Common causes of broken bones

There are a variety of ways in which a bone may be broken whilst at work which include:

• Falling over an object
• Slipping or tripping
• Falling from a height
• Struck by a falling object
• Being caught within machinery

Broken bones are classed as hairline, simple or compound fractures.

A hairline fracture is a clean, partial break of a bone.

A simple fracture is a crack within a bone which does not protrude through the skin.

A compound fracture is the most serious of the three. With this type of fracture the bone penetrates through the skin.

Effects of a broken bone

A broken bone means pain and discomfort but do not discount the psychological impact of this injury. A serious breakage such as a compound fracture results in a long recovery period and rehabilitation which causes stress for both you and your family. There is also the risk of complications such as the early onset of arthritis.

For example: if you have broken your leg due to an accident at work then you will have to take off which causes a loss of earnings. This drop in income is also felt by your family as it affects their standard of living.

Added to this are the costs of rehabilitation: these include specialist services such as physiotherapy, specialist aids, taxi fares to hospital etc.

It is difficult to put a price on the inconvenience this causes. But it is sufficient to say that it can cause a great deal of anxiety and stress.

A compensation award can help as it will cover most if not all of these additional expenses. This does not turn the clock back in terms of your accident but it may provide some peace of mind.

Making a claim for compensation for broken bones

Look for a personal injury lawyer or firm of solicitors who have a wealth of knowledge and experience in handling these types of claims. Ideally they will have expertise in the field of workplace injuries such as this and can use this to your advantage.

They will assess your claim to determine if there is enough evidence to show that negligence directly contributed to your injury. If there is then they will instruct and guide you in the process of making claim.

What is important here is the effect your injury may have not only on your ability to work now but in the future. They should have an understanding of the impact this has had upon you and your family and the long term consequences.

If you want to know more about the claims process then visit our making a claim for compensation section.

Time limit for claiming compensation for broken bones

Compensation claims such as personal injury usually have a 3 year time limit. But check with your lawyer or solicitor about this as it does vary in certain types of claims.