£40,000 For A Broken Ankle Injury: A Guide To Claiming Compensation
If you break your ankle in an accident, seeking legal advice to make a compensation claim is advisable. But do you know what comes next? This guide provides a case study for a £40,000 payout for a broken ankle injury. It will also cover special damages, our free compensation estimate option, and our No Win No Fee service. In the meantime, if you wish to claim for a broken ankle, you can first speak to our expert team. They can then put you in contact with our panel of personal injury lawyers, who would subsequently handle your case.
To get in touch, telephone 0800 408 7827, use our Live Chat service or complete our online form. Our call centre team can be reached 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Click any of the headings below to visit a section of your choice.
Choose A Section
- A Guide To Calculate Compensation Claims For A Broken Ankle
- What Can I Break In My Ankle
- How To Calculate Financial Losses For Ankle Injury Compensation
- What Can I Add To A Broken Ankle Care Claim?
- Calculate Compensation Amounts For Claims
- A Case Study On £40,000 For An Ankle Injury
- Get A Free Compensation Estimate On Your Broken Ankle Claim
- No Win No Fee Service For Injuries
- Will I Need A Specialist Lawyer With A High Success Rate?
- Speak With Us
- Extra Resources
A Guide To Calculate Compensation Claims For A Broken Ankle
You may wish to make a personal injury claim for a broken ankle injury. This would be based on the negligence of a third-party, which this guide will discuss. We will also cover:
- Examples of how an ankle could be broken
- Potential financial losses
- General and special damages
- A case study of a £40,000 compensation payout
- Our free compensation calculation estimate
- A breakdown of our No Win No Fee service
To make a broken ankle claim or indeed a claim for any fracture, there is a personal injury claims time limit. You have 3 years to claim from the date that you suffered your broken ankle. For a child or someone who lacks the mental capacity to claim, a close relative or another appointed representative may act as their litigation friend. The litigation friend would process the claim on their behalf. However, once the child turns 18 or the injured person regains the capacity to represent themselves, the 3-year clock would begin to run from that point.
You can speak to us anytime to increase your knowledge about any of the topics covered here.
What Can I Break In My Ankle
A broken ankle may be identifiable by bruising, deep cuts, numbness and discolouration of toes. The ankle being positioned unusually or bones sticking out of its skin are further clear and obvious signs. Then there is pain, which may be significant enough to be unable to walk or put weight on the foot. All of this could stem from an accident caused by a third party’s negligence, which could lead to a claim for a broken ankle.
To successfully claim for negligence, the following 3 criteria must be met:
- You were owed a duty of care by a third party
- But a breach in that duty of care resulted in an accident
- And that accident left you with an injury such as a broken ankle.
Three scenarios could instigate a broken ankle due to negligence. One of these is under employers’ liability (EL), which would cover any workplace accidents. The Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 states an employer should, so far as reasonably possible, uphold an employee’s health, safety and wellbeing. If an accident at work occurs because of a breach in this duty, you could make a No Win No Fee claim for a broken ankle injury at work.
Another is public liability (PL), which handles accidents in a public place. The Occupiers’ Liability Act 1957 details the duty of care that is designed to prevent accidents in public places happening. Public injury claims may arise if anyone is injured in a public place because of a breach in the duty of care owed by the party in control of the area in question.
Then we have road traffic accidents (RTAs). The Highway Code sets out the duty of care that drivers should have for one another, and for pedestrians and cyclists. If there’s a breach, there may be grounds for a claim. You may suffer multiple injuries (two broken ankles and, say, a broken toe), resulting in a potential multiple injury claim. Rather than speaking to a car accident lawyer, hang fire and speak to us instead. You can talk to our expert team via our contact form or by calling us on the number at the top of this page.
How To Calculate Financial Losses For Ankle Injury Compensation
Special damages are one aspect of a potential settlement package that is designed to cover any costs that arose as a consequence of your broken ankle. Such expenses could include any income you have lost by being unable to work. They may also include potential future losses if the injury has impacted your career significantly.
Medical costs and expenses incurred by the increased use of public transport could also be applicable. Simply put, special damages represent the secondary fallout of suffering a broken ankle beyond the injury itself. Calculating these losses comes from gathering receipts and multiplying your monthly salary by your time off work. All of these may help to build your claim. Please talk with us by calling the number at the top of the page to learn more.
What Can I Add To A Broken Ankle Care Claim?
A care claim could handle any additional assistance you require after breaking your ankle. If your relatives or friends provide continuous care on your behalf, their time and effort could be included. This may also cover professional nursing costs or services like cleaning and gardening that you’re unable to perform.
A care claim deals with any care you receive as a direct result of your injury. Our Live Chat and phone line are available 24/7 for you to enquire further about care claims.
Calculate Compensation Amounts For Claims
To receive an accurate compensation estimate after a claim for a broken ankle, you will require an independent medical examination. This will take place as part of the claims process.
The specialist your solicitor will arrange for you to see will provide a thorough check before determining the full extent of your injury. Their diagnosis would also include your projected recovery time. And they could confirm the direct connection between your broken ankle and the accident itself. At that stage, your solicitor will know more about the potential value of your case.
A compensation package may consist of two heads of claim, called general damages and special damages. Let’s consider each in turn.
General Damages
General damages are intended to cover the pain, suffering and impact on your life the broken ankle has caused you. This includes all physical and also any psychological impacts of the accident.
Special Damages
We have already discussed special damages, but they represent the financial fallout of the injury. They would include lost earnings from work, medical costs, transportation charges and rehabilitation expenses (such as physiotherapy). Special damages could also handle professional care, though a separate care claim may cater to this.
Find out about general and special damages by calling the number at the top of the page.
A Case Study On £40,000 For An Ankle Injury
Emily Davis, 26, works as a PE teacher at a secondary school in Southampton. She lives with her partner Tracy in a first-floor flat in the city. They have a pet dog named Archie, and the couple often take him for a walk around their local park.
One Saturday morning in early November, Emily and Tracy were walking Archie through the park. At one stage, Archie ran ahead, with Emily giving chase. But she was unaware (nor did any signage indicate) of a 45mm pothole in the concrete surrounding the main field. Emily tripped over the far edge of the pothole, causing her to twist and badly injure her left ankle. As she went to stand up, she felt a sharp pain from being unable to place weight on her left foot.
To her horror, Emily noticed that a bone was sticking out of the side of her ankle. It was also bleeding profusely and was terribly swollen. Emily passed out, and when she awoke, was in an ambulance on her way to the hospital.
Emily was diagnosed with a badly broken ankle. Her doctor informed her that it was the lateral malleolus bone which had been sticking out. As a result, Emily required surgery to repair the damaged body part. Due to the nature of the break, several metal screws were inserted into Emily’s left foot. She was given an official recovery time of four months.
From there, Emily would begin to rehabilitate her ankle at home. Tracy assisted with her care, though her commitments were limited due to her own role as an office administrator. Therefore, a nurse was brought in to offer professional care. Public transportation journeys for hospital check-ups due to Emily being unable to drive and physiotherapy were required. And she wasn’t able to resume her role as a PE teacher until her ankle had fully healed and was rehabilitated.
Emily was distraught at what had happened. In particular, she was frustrated that the obstacle that she had encountered in a public park was not clearly marked. Had she noticed the pothole, she would have avoided it, and the accident wouldn’t have happened. Also, she was upset that her teaching role was placed in jeopardy by her injury. Even with a full recovery, she wondered if she would truly be at 100% again. She also missed a significant period of the school curriculum; GCSEs would be imminent by the time of her return.
After seeking advice from a personal injury lawyer, Emily filed a compensation claim for negligence against the local council, who were responsible for the upkeep of the park. The council initially denied liability and fought the claim. That was until it became clear following the disclosure of documents that the pothole had been reported numerous times to the council and no action had been taken to make it safe.
She received an out-of-court settlement of £40,000. This included £28,000 in general damages in respect of the pain, suffering and loss of amenity caused by the ankle break, as well as for subsequent scars left by the surgery. She also received £12,000 in special damages (shown below).
Type Of Special Damages | Includes: | How Much? |
---|---|---|
Current Loss | Lost earnings from being unable to work during her rehabilitation | £10,000 |
Medical Care | The costs of professional nursing care | £1,200 |
Rehabilitation | The physiotherapy she required towards the end of her recovery | £400 |
Travel Expenses | Travel to and from her appointments relating to her rehabilitation | £200 |
Medical Expenses | Prescriptions for paracetamols and anti-inflammatories | £200 |
The case of Miss Davis is purely an example. It is based on our past experiences of handling and valuing claims and serves to illustrate how accidents can happen and how they are valued.
Get A Free Compensation Estimate On Your Broken Ankle Claim
You may ask “How much for a broken ankle?” However, trying to determine this via the likes of a personal injury claims calculator could create false hope for claimants with broken ankles. They use general factors to create estimates, so the figures they produce may differ greatly from the final payouts. That’s why we choose to speak with clients before suggesting potential payout numbers.
We would learn all about your accident, your injury, your circumstances and the impact on your day-to-day life. The more we know about you, the more accurate that we can be. And we provide a compensation estimate for free, regardless of whether you pursue your claim for a broken ankle. So, instead of a theoretical compensation calculator, please talk to our expert team today.
No Win No Fee Service For Injuries
You could reap the rewards of using our No Win No Fee service. In short, No Win No Fee means that:
- If your claim does not succeed, you will not have to pay any of your solicitor’s fees.
- There is no requirement to pay legal fees up-front
- Nor would there be a requirement for any legal fees to be paid during the case
- Your solicitor would take a nominal amount, called a success fee (this is capped by law), but only if you receive compensation
Therefore, you won’t have to pay a penny to your No Win No Fee solicitor if your case is unsuccessful. So, No Win No Fee removes the need for claimants to locate money for any starter or ongoing costs. All of this could reduce financial stress and allow you to focus on your recovery.
Our Live Chat is open 24/7 for you to speak to us about our No Win No Fee service.
Will I Need A Specialist Lawyer With A High Success Rate?
It always helps to use a specialist lawyer with a high success rate. After all, it’s wise to use a personal injury solicitor who knows everything about your particular situation. Meanwhile, a strong track record of successful cases gives them credibility and confidence in your mind.
But you don’t need to search for a law firm that ticks those boxes precisely. Our service utilises leading professionals that have been covering specific types of injuries such as your broken ankle for many years. And our success rate is second-to-none.
We identify the likelihood of a claim succeeding before taking the case on. Therefore, if we work with you, the odds are favourable that you would receive compensation from the defendant. Get in touch with us today to find out more.
Speak With Us
It’s now time to speak to our expert team about making a claim for a broken ankle. They can put you in touch with our personal injury lawyers to handle your case. Contact us today via the following methods:
- Call 0800 408 7827
- Use our Live Chat
- Complete our online form
Our team is accessible 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Extra Resources
We hope you have learned much about making a claim for a broken ankle. Before speaking to our panel of personal injury lawyers, you can find out more information from the links below.
Read more about the official NHS guidance for a broken ankle by clicking here.
To understand how to treat a broken bone, you can click here.
For a comprehensive breakdown of compensation, click here.
Guide by MR
Edited by RI