Broken Bones and Fracture Compensation

Broken bones and fractures are unfortunate, and accidents can happen to anyone, but in everyday life, people in positions of responsibility need to take reasonable precautions to make sure these accidents don’t happen. If you’ve suffered broken bones or a fracture in an accident that was no fault of your own, you may be able to claim compensation.

What are broken bone and fracture injuries?

Many people think that a broken bone is more serious than a fracture, which is commonly but mistakenly thought to be a minor crack or splinter rather than a clean break. However, any damage to a bone is known as a fracture in medical terms. While the seriousness of the injury will vary depending on the extent of the damage, and on which bone is affected, all fractures are treated as serious injuries and could be eligible for a claim.

Typical types of broken bones and fractures resulting from accidents are:

• Complete fracture, where a bone is snapped through into two pieces.
• Longitudinal fracture, where the bone is broken along its length rather than across (a transverse fracture).
• Compound fracture, where part of the broken bone pierces the skin.
• Comminuted fracture, where the bone is shattered or crushed into many parts.

Some fractures require only minor treatment, involving possible re-setting and fitting a cast, while others may require one or more bouts of surgery followed by rehabilitation and physiotherapy. The amount of treatment needed will affect the amount of compensation you could receive.

When could you lodge a claim?

To make a successful compensation claim, you need to show that the accident was caused either by another person’s actions or by their negligence (not taking the proper precautions that their responsibilities demanded). Example accident situations can include:

• Injury in a car accident where the other driver was directly at fault.
• Injury in an accident in the workplace, where the employer had not put proper health and safety measures into place, or where another employee hadn’t properly followed them.
• An accident in a public building or private business, where the owners could be shown to be responsible.
• An accident such as a fall in the street, where the council’s duty of keeping pavements in good condition hadn’t been kept up.

How much compensation could you get?

Personal injury compensation comes in three main parts. Firstly, you can be compensated for the pain, distress, and inconvenience that the injury caused. This will largely depend on which bone was fractured, and how badly.

Secondly, if you lose out financially through, for example, needing to take time off work, then you can be awarded money to make up for this. Finally, if your injury has long-lasting consequences, then this will increase the amount of compensation you can expect. As all these reasons make every case different, it is impossible to give an accurate estimate without knowing all the details. However, as a guide, here are some typical fracture injuries and a rough figure for possible compensation.

• Simple arm fracture with fast healing – up to £4,000
• Arm fracture with longer healing, and ongoing pain – up to £12,000
• Arm fracture with permanent results, short of disability – up to £25,000
• Permanent disability of arm – up to £84,000
• Arm amputation – up to £192,000

In all cases, the figure will be affected by the length and amount of treatment, as well as the financial inconvenience it causes. You may be offered an early settlement amount to avoid legal action, but an experienced personal injury lawyer will be able to advise you on whether you could realistically expect more compensation by starting formal proceedings.

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