Lower limb injury claims

Injuries to your leg can be distressing and painful, not to mention the possibility of being immobilised for a while as you recover. Any lower leg injury – whether that’s a knee injury or injuries to the ankle and foot – can lead to a lengthy recovery time and leave you unable to work and do your other normal activities.

Like any personal injury, a leg injury can happen in all sorts of different circumstances – often when you’d least expect. You might have hurt your leg as a result of sports injuries, a road traffic accident, medical negligence – or simply fallen awkwardly. Often, the accident was avoidable if another person had taken more care.

A lower limb personal injury can range from fractures and groin injuries, to serious tendon injuries and even limb amputations. They can be minor, such as a broken toe or bruising; or they can be as extensive as losing a leg in a traffic accident.

After any lower limb injury, it’s understandable to be down and anxious about the future. You may find yourself very dependent on those around you for a time for the first time in many years. This is especially true of injuries that involve your legs, because your ability to walk, play sports and drive are often affected. We understand how distressing it is to be injured – whatever the nature of your injuries.

If you’ve suffered a lower limb injury in an accident caused by someone else’s negligence, it’s only fair that they should be held accountable for what has happened. Thankfully, the law allows you to make a leg injury claim or ankle injury compensation claim if your injury was someone else’s fault.

Not only can you claim compensation for your pain and suffering; you can also claim for your financial losses, such as lost earnings and medical expenses.

We know compensation won’t undo what’s happened, but it can go a long way in helping with your recovery and getting your life back on track.

Getting started with lower limb injury claims is simple – simply call a trained legal adviser on 0800 234 6438 for free; or if you prefer, you can fill in this online contact form. An adviser will be able to discuss your case, and can arrange a free initial consultation with a specialist personal injury solicitor today.

Your compensation claim will be taken on a no win no fee basis which means you will not have to pay out anything if you do not win.

You can win compensation by bringing a risk free no win no fee claim under a conditional fee agreement with specialist solicitors who are authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA).

You may be surprised at the different types of physical damage and injury that can be classed as a lower limb injury. The fact is, depending on what has happened to you there is a diverse range of injury that you may have suffered.

Thankfully, no matter how the leg injury occurred, you can make a leg injury compensation claim if someone else was negligent or breached their duty to you. The most common types of lower limb injuries include:

If you’ve suffered a broken leg, fractured femur or other bone fractures, you will have had to use a wheelchair for a time and, no doubt, have needed to use crutches. It’s also likely your leg has been in a cast, which can be uncomfortable and make it difficult to get on with your day-to-day life.

In serious cases, complex or compound fractures might well require surgery, such as having metal pins inserted. It can take many months to recover from serious leg breaks, requiring ongoing physiotherapy and time off work. In the worst cases, there may be permanent symptoms or disability following serious leg injuries.

Minor leg injuries, such as a pulled muscle, will take relatively little time to heal, but serious sprains and strains – a sprained ankle, for instance – can take longer than broken bones to heal. Although sprains usually affect the ankle, they can also affect the knee, especially if it’s suddenly twisted. A strain is a stretching or tearing of muscle, which often affects the back of the leg and recovery can take a few months.

Serious soft tissue injuries can cause permanent problems. For example, a ruptured tendon is a significant lower limb injury and may require surgery, followed by a lengthy period of rehabilitation. Full mobility may never be regained and it’s important that your leg injury compensation claim reflects this.

Dislocation usually causes significant pain. It happens where the bone, such as the ankle or knee, is pulled out of its natural alignment with the soft tissues. While dislocation can happen as a result of an inherent problem with the strength of muscles and ligaments, it can be the direct result of trauma, such as a sporting injury or a workplace accident.

After the dislocation, the necessary urgent action is to put the bone back into place. But it usually leaves swelling and bruising that takes time to heal. Dislocation of the knee can also affect the blood supply to the leg below the knee, so it’s potentially a serious leg injury needing immediate medical attention.

Burns to the lower limbs can be mild or they can be very serious and cause significant physical problems. They can be caused by hot surfaces and liquids as well as electricity and chemicals. Significant burns – third and fourth degree burns – can lead to permanent scar damage often requiring plastic surgery.

Some workplace environments present a high risk of burns and scalds, particularly factories, construction sites and labs. Burns to the lower leg can also happen as a result of clinical negligence. You can make a no win no fee claim for minor burns and scalds as well as serious burns if someone else was at fault.

Injuries to the groin can cause problems with mobility, having a direct impact on your day-to-day life. A groin strain is caused when the muscles within the inner thigh are overstretched or even torn as a result of excess or sudden stress being exerted on it.

Though painful, they are usually self-healing but the recovery time – and the impact on your life – depends on how serious it is. Your solicitor will ensure your compensation reflects this.

Amputation of the leg below the knee or above the knee, is the one of the most serious lower limb injury you can imagine and rightly deserves a high level of compensation if it was it was avoidable.

One leg may be amputated as a direct result of trauma, such as a road traffic accident; or surgeons may decide that a broken leg or thigh bone is so severe, or there are serious medical complications, that the decision is to amputate the leg to save the patient’s life. If doctors were at fault and the injured person’s leg could have been saved – a clinical negligence claim could be made.

This type of leg injury has obvious life changing consequences. However, expert personal injury solicitors can help you get compensation to pay for the support you will need as you adapt. The amputation of a foot or toes also has a significant impact on the injured person’s life and the person responsible should be held to account.

As in all personal injury claims, amputation claims can be brought against the person responsible on a no win no fee basis.

Working conditions, such as regularly climbing ladders, squatting or manual handling can cause repetitive strain in the knees and hips. Workers can also develop conditions of the groin, thigh, knee, calf, ankle or foot, such as a soft tissue injury, over a period of time.

When you go to work, it is reasonable to expect to go to your workplace, do your job and come home ‘in one piece’. No-one anticipates going to work one day and suffering a leg injury or any other types of leg injury.

Unfortunately, accidents can happen in the workplace and lower limb injuries are a particular risk where machines, vehicles and hot liquids are used. There is a high risk of such accidents on construction sites, in factories and foundries, in warehouses and in the hospitality sector.

Find out more about making a supermarket accident claim.

However, the majority of workplace accidents are preventable and if you’ve suffered a leg injury at work – it’s highly likely it’s because your employer breached its duty of care to you. The law imposes strict health and safety responsibilities on employers to ensure the workplace is safe.

It means employers must carry out risk assessments that promptly identify any risks to worker health and safety; and they must deal with issues in a timely way. They also have specific responsibilities, for instance, under the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 (PUWER) and the Machine Safety Regulations. These laws require employers to ensure equipment and machinery are safe and suitable for use and accompanied by safety measures, such as guards and emergency stop devices.

What this means is that if you have suffered a lower limb injury while you were working, whether that’s a knee injury, ankle or foot injury, you should act quickly and take specialist legal advice about making a leg injury claim.

In some cases, you may have developed a condition in your lower limbs. For instance, your working conditions, such as being required to regularly climb ladders or manual handling, may have resulted in you having developed repetitive strain injury or nerve pains in the knees and hips. It’s only right that you should be able to claim leg injury compensation if your employer has failed to protect you.

We do understand it is a distressing time and you may well be worried about suing your employer. It can be reassuring to know that leg injury compensation claims are actually made against their insurance company and not the employer directly. Your compensation will then be paid by the insurer and not out of the employer’s own pocket.

Are you self-employed and want to make a leg injury compensation claim following a lower limb injury? The employer’s health and safety duties protect the self-employed and any other type of worker, not just employed members of staff. This means you should be able to make a leg injury claim if the incident was caused by someone else.

It is a reality of everyday life that there is a risk of accident and personal injury in many places we visit. This is a fact that means that a leg injury can be caused in public places – anywhere where members of the public are free to visit or simply to be (like walking down the road).

As a member of the public, you might have been injured while, eg a local park or playground; a theme park – such as Alton Towers where a number of passengers suffered serious leg injuries in an incident involving the Smiler ride in 2015 (two required leg amputations); in the street; or in restaurants and the supermarket.

However, those who are responsible for the land or the premises where the accident happened can be held liable for the injuries because they have a legal duty of care towards members of the public. The law states that any authority or person owning or occupying land and premises which are open to the public have a duty of care to minimise the risk of injury to visitors who have access.

So if you’ve suffered a lower limb injury in a public place, you can make a leg injury claim against the appropriate authority or business. You need not worry about who that might be – your solicitor will take information from you about what happened and can then quickly identify who your no win no fee claim should be against.

They will have public liability insurance in place to cover the cost of leg injury compensation claims by members of the public. Your leg injury claim will be taken on a no win no fee basis so get in touch with us for free on 0800 234 6438. We’re able to put you in touch with specialist leg injury solicitors who are regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority, giving you reassurance in the process.

Road traffic accidents can lead to minor leg injuries or they can cause serious, life-changing injuries. Unfortunately, the nature of road accidents means ankle or other types of leg injury are common – whether that’s a bone fracture, crush injuries or serious open wounds and bruising.

Find out more about motorcycle crash claims.

So long as the accident was caused by someone else – usually this would be another driver – you can claim compensation. Your leg injury compensation claim will be against the insurance company of the driver involved.

Sometimes the driver will accept responsibility at the scene. Unfortunately, they often go back on that when the insurance companies get involved. This can be disappointing but your solicitor will be able to explain the no win no fee personal injury claims process to you.

You may be very worried in case you believe you were partly to blame for the accident and your personal injury. For instance, you may not have been wearing a seatbelt or you have had a little too much to drink and weren’t concentrating on the road.

This will not stop you making a leg injury compensation claim but it means that you may not receive as much compensation. For example, if you are found 20% to blame, any compensation you could receive is likely to be reduced by 20%.

It is understandable that one of the most important questions you will probably have is – how much will it cost to make a personal injury claim following a leg injury?

Importantly, your claim will be handled on a ‘no win no fee’ basis (this is also known as a conditional fee agreement). This will be an agreement between you and your solicitor which means you won’t have to pay legal fees if your leg injury compensation claim does not succeed. This means there is no financial risk to you in bring your personal injury claim. You won’t even be asked for any costs upfront.

If you win your leg injury claim, you will then pay your legal fees out of your personal injury compensation. The exact amount varies depending on how complex your case is, but it will never be more than 25% of the money you receive. You’ll have discussed and agreed the amount with your solicitor before starting your case so you’ll know what you will have to pay.

To start your no win no fee lower limb compensation claim, contact a legally-trained advisor now on 0800 234 6438, for free information about the injury claims process; or use our claims form here.

You will be wanting to know, early on, how much compensation for as a result of your leg injury. This really depends on the nature and extent of your injuries, your recovery and the impact the injuries are having on your life.

Usually, a fair compensation settlement can be reached with the other side. You can be sure that your specialist solicitor will work hard to secure maximum compensation for you. Your financial compensation will take into account the full physical, mental and financial impact of your leg injuries. You can claim for:

This is called ‘general damages’ for personal injury. The amount you receive will depend on the your leg injury and your physical recovery. Serious injury, such as a broken or fractured femur, will attract a higher level of compensation than a minor lower leg injury such as an ankle sprain.

You may also be able to make a claim for trauma or psychological harm caused by the accident but your solicitor will discuss this with you. Your solicitor will arrange for you to have a medical examination carried out by a specialist doctor to assess the nature and extent of your injury and your prognosis. The medical report will be important evidence to prove your claim and help secure maximum compensation.

These are called ‘special damages’ and will effectively reimburse you for your financial losses caused as a direct result of the accident, such as loss of earnings, prescription costs and travel costs.

You can also claim for loss of earnings including loss of future earnings if, for instance, you are unable to carry on in your career because of your accident. If you need to pay for private medical treatment and therapies or for adaptations at home so that you can return, your claim can include these future costs.

Depending on your particular circumstances, your compensation claim may need to include a number of different elements but you need not worry. Your solicitor will discuss each of these elements with you to ensure you’re properly compensated for what you’re going through.

Lower limb injuries can be serious or minor; they can take a week to recover from or they can lead to permanent disability. This means that there is no straightforward figure for what a leg injury deserves in compensation.

For example, severe bruising or a torn muscle is far less serious that a lower limb amputation claim which is a life-changing injury such as leg amputation. However, when considering how much a claim is worth, lawyers consult formal guidelines (Judicial College Injury Tables) on what is a fair level of compensation. For example:

• Loss of big toe – up to £29,380
• Loss of one leg – £91,950 to £124,800 (below the knee); £93,380 to £129,010 (above the knee)
• Minor ankle injuries (soft tissue) – up to £9,500
• Broken femur – Between £7,000 and £10,700 depending on recovery

These examples of types of leg injury compensation figures are intended only as a rough guide – your injury solicitor will discuss your own compensation with you in more detail. You can also use our calculation guide here which will also give you a rough estimate of your potential compensation.

Lower limb injuries are often part of a bigger compensation claim and it’s quite possible that you have suffered more than a leg injury. If, for instance, you’re recovering from a road traffic accident you may have suffered multiple severe injuries and you will be claiming compensation for a leg injury in addition to your other injuries.

It is useful to understand how your injury compensation will be calculated in these types of claims. It can be relatively complicated depending on the extent of your injuries.

The first step will be for your solicitor to discuss the full extent of your injuries and identify each one. Though a value can be put on each individual injury (usually by reference to the official guidelines), these are not simply added up to produce a final figure for all your injuries.

Instead, the most serious injury will be assessed as a starting point. Then, your other injuries will be considered and an uplift applied to reflect those additional injuries. For instance, if you have suffered a broken femur that is worth £10,000 and you also suffered minor soft tissue damage (valued at around £3,000) you would receive the larger amount £10,000 plus a percentage of the £3,000 to give a final figure of, eg, £11,000.

This demonstrates how important it is to have a specialist solicitor within a personal injury team experienced in leg injury claims. To start your claim for free advice on 0800 234 6438 or use our claims form here.

If you believe someone else was at fault and caused your leg injury, you should be able to make a personal injury claim. Even if you think you were at least partly responsibility, it is wise to speak to our specialist advisers to put your mind at rest.

In most personal injury cases, the injured person must start their claim within three years of when the injured occurred, otherwise they might be ‘time barred’.

However, if you want to make a claim for a child who has suffered a lower limb injury, they have until they are 21 years old to bring a claim. In practice, you should start the claim as soon as you can while events are fresh in your mind and witnesses can be found.

So if you or a loved one has suffered a leg injury claim compensation as soon as you can. Get in touch with our trained legal advisors for free on 0800 234 6438, or fill in one of the online contact forms on this page to secure a free initial consultation with an experienced person injury claims lawyer.