Jaw Injury Claims – How Much Compensation Can I Claim?

Jaw injuries are either painful, awkward or both and they can make it difficult for you to eat or speak properly. While we probably associate a broken jaw with an act of violence, there are many other ways the jaw can be injured. Jaw injury compensation can sometimes be sought if the injury was caused by somebody else’s negligence or a criminal act.

This article on the process of claiming compensation for a broken jaw and other types of jaw injuries will review when you might be entitled to compensation, what types of accidents can be claimed for, and how much compensation for a jaw injury might be paid.

We have a team of specially trained advisors on hand if you’d like to find out your options. During a free claims consultation, we’ll review your claim with you and see if you have a chance of being awarded compensation for your jaw injury. If we believe you do, a personal injury lawyer will discuss the case in more detail with you. Should you both agree to work together, your solicitor will represent you on a No Win, No Fee basis meaning that no legal fees will need to be paid unless you receive compensation for your jaw injury.

Please call today on 0800 652 1345 to discuss your claim right now or continue reading on.

Common types of jaw injuries

Before we look at the common jaw injuries that occur, it’s worth noting that any type of jaw injury can cause long-term physical problems. For example, if jaw damage makes it difficult to brush your teeth, your dental health could suffer. Jaw injuries can also lead to nerve damage, facial disfigurement and numbness. As such, any jaw injury claim will need to factor in all forms of suffering caused by your injuries.

The most common jaw injuries our solicitors could help you get compensated for include:

• Broken jaw.
• Dislocated jaw.
• Muscle, tendon or ligament damage.
• Nerve damage
• Temporomandibular disorder – a jaw condition that causes chronic pain.

In many cases, at the time you sustain a jaw injury, you may also suffer damaged teeth. Again, this would be factored into any subsequent jaw injury compensation claim.

Can I claim compensation for my jaw injury?

Our personal injury solicitors usually look for some indication that you have a fair chance of winning your jaw injury claim before accepting it. To do this, they’ll discuss your claim with you to try and ascertain whether:

• The defendant in the case owed you a duty of care; and
• Their negligence caused an accident or incident; and
• Your jaw was injured in that accident.

You don’t have to worry too much about the duty of care part because our specialists will confirm this when you call. Essentially, it’s something that comes from specific types of legislation. For example, the Health and Safety at Work 1974 could be used if you hurt your jaw in an accident at work.

The above applies to personal injury claims. The criteria for dental negligence claims relating to jaw injuries are slightly different but something a medical negligence solicitor on our panel could help with.

Common compensation claims involving jaw injuries

In theory, it is possible to injure your jaw in just about any type of accident where there is facial trauma. However, some common incidents leading to jaw injury claims include:

• Sporting injuries – especially with contact sports like rugby.
• Road Traffic Accidents (RTAs) – particularly accidents involving cyclists and pedestrians.
• Slips and falls where the injured party wasn’t able to break their fall with their hands.
• Assaults at work and other forms of criminal violence.
• Dental implants.

If you’ve broken or injured your jaw in an accident that was not your fault, why not call our team to see if you could be compensated?

Examples of negligence leading to jaw injury compensation claims

Here we are going to look at the types of negligence that could entitle you to jaw injury compensation. They include:

• If your jaw was fractured at work because you were struck by a forklift in an area it was not to be driven in.
• Where you tripped on a pavement the local council should have repaired and broke your jaw as a result.
• If your dentist used the wrong type of dental implants or followed the wrong procedure and caused an infection that damaged your jaw.
• Where your jaw was broken in a sporting incident because of damaged equipment or an unsafe playing surface.
• Where you were thrown from your motorcycle and broke your jaw because a driver opened their car door in front of you.

This list isn’t exhaustive but it shows the types of mistakes (negligence) that could allow you to take legal action.

How much compensation for a broken jaw can I claim?

When making a compensation claim for a broken jaw or another type of jaw injury, the payout (if successful) would be based on the extent of suffering you’ve endured (general damages) and any associated costs (special damages).

As such, if you make a successful jaw injury claim, it could compensate you for:

• Your physical pain at the time your jaw was broken and any ongoing pain and suffering.
• Psychological problems caused by the incident i.e. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD compensation), depression or anxiety.
• Wages lost due to time off work while you were injured.
• Loss of enjoyment of your usual hobbies as well as family or social activities.
• Medical expenses including prescription fees and private hospital treatment.
• Fuel, parking or other travel expenses.
• Care costs to cover the time spent by someone else caring for you.
• Future losst earnings if a longer-term broken jaw affects your ability to work at the same level as before.

In our opinion, you are much more likely to receive a just settlement for your jaw injury if you have a specialist personal injury solicitor providing representation. That’s because they’ll use all of their experience to present a solid case to the defendant’s insurers about how you have suffered.

What is the average settlement for a broken jaw?

While each case will be considered on its own merits the Judicial College issues regular guidelines with regard to recommended minimum/maximum compensation awards for a broken jaw. Currently the stand at:

• £30,490 to £45,540 compensation for a broken jaw where there are multiple fractures and permanent problems such as severe pain and paraesthesia.
• £17,960 to £30,490 compensation for a broken jaw with permanent problems as above but not as severe.
• £6,460 to £8,730 compensation for a simple fractured jaw that has required immobilisation but a complete recovery is made.

My jaw was broken in an assault, will I get compensation?

If your jaw was broken after you were punched in the face, you could be entitled to compensation through a government scheme.

CICA or the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority operate a scheme to compensate victims of violent crimes. Importantly, the scheme has several criteria that are different to other jaw injury claims including:

• A 2-year time limit instead of the usual 3.
• The crime must have been reported to the police.
• You must not have provoked the incident in any way.

The person who assaulted you doesn’t have to have been caught, charged or prosecuted for you to claim through the CICA scheme. If you would like to talk to us about making a CICA claim for a broken jaw, please contact our team today.

Do I require a medical assessment for a jaw injury compensation claim?

If you win your claim, the general damages element will be based on the severity of your jaw injury. For this reason, you’ll need to prove that before compensation will be awarded. As a result, all personal injury claimants typically need to have an independent medical assessment.

Your solicitor will try to make a local appointment in which a medical expert will review your medical records, examine you and talk with you about how your jaw injury has affected you. They’ll produce a report after the meeting to list your injuries and offer a prognosis. The report will be forwarded to everybody involved in the claim.

Providing proof for a jaw injury compensation claim

In most cases, any jaw injury compensation claim will be handled by an insurance company on behalf of the defendant. It is highly likely that liability for the accident and your injuries will be denied from the outset. As such, your solicitor must try to present as strong a case as possible and back it up with proof. This could include:

• Medical records. It’s important to have any jaw injury x-rayed and treated by a medical professional. This should help you to recover as soon as possible. Additionally, your medical records can be used as proof to show the extent of your injury.
• Witness statements. Your solicitor might ask anybody else who saw your jaw be broken to provide a statement of what they saw. These statements can be helpful if it is not clear who was to blame.
• Photos. Following any type of accident, it’s a good idea to take pictures of the scene and try to capture the root cause. If you can, do this before anything is moved from the scene or repaired.
• CCTV or dashcam footage. If the accident that caused your jaw injury was caught on camera, ask the owner to provide a copy of the footage. This is a legal right but you need to do so before the recording is deleted.
• Accident report forms. You should report the accident and your jaw injury to the company whose premises your accident happened on. You should do this as quickly as you can and ask for a copy of their accident report form.
• Report any crime to the police. As explained earlier, if you suffered jaw damage following an assault, report the crime to the police as soon as possible.

Please let us know if you’d like us to review any proof you’ve gathered or if you have enough to begin a jaw injury claim.

Jaw injury claim time limits

As with any other type of personal injury claim, a 3-year time limit applies to jaw injury claims in the UK. In most cases, this will begin on the date you were injured. However, in dental negligence claims for example, where your jaw injury might not be immediately obvious, your time limit could start from when your condition caused by your jaw injury was diagnosed.

While 3 years is a fair length of time, it can be more beneficial to start a claim quickly because:

• It’s often much easier to find proof to backup your jaw injury claim.
• There’s enough time to sort out a medical assessment.
• You might receive an interim payment from the defendant before the claim is settled to pay for private hospital treatment (if liability has been accepted).

If you’d like to find out how long you have got left to claim, please get in touch with one of our specialist advisors.

Why claim compensation on a No Win, No Fee basis?

We understand that the thought of paying legal fees for a solicitor to represent you might put you off from claiming. Our solicitors want to give access to justice for as many people as possible so always offer a No Win, No Fee service for any jaw injury claim they take on.

If one of our solicitors agrees to represent you, they will strive to:

• Work with you to get a full understanding of your level of suffering.
• Collate and collect supporting proof.
• Contact the defendant to inform them about the claim. They will also handle all communication to shield you from complex questions.
• Negotiate for you and argue your case if any objections are raised.
• Use their experience to try and achieve a fair settlement offer on your behalf.

Claiming compensation for a jaw injury using a No Win, No Fee agreement means you won’t pay your solicitor a penny unless your claim is won. In that case, a percentage of your compensation would be duducted as a success fee.

Start a jaw injury compensation claim today

The easiest way to find out if you’re entitled to compensation for a jaw injury is to call our advisors on 0800 652 1345 today. One of our friendly advisors will review your claim with you and set out your options.

If we can, we’ll refer you to a No Win, No Fee solicitor on our panel. They’ll handle everything for you if your claim is accepted and try to secure compensation for you as swiftly as possible.

Our live chat service is available if you have any other questions about jaw injury claims.