No Win, No FeeTendon injuries can be very painful and upsetting. As well as affecting your everyday life, they can prevent you from working which can make them very costly too. There are many ways in which you can sustain a tendon injury but, in many cases, if you’ve suffered because someone else was negligent, you might be entitled to start a personal injury claim. This article about tendon injury compensation claims will show you the types of accidents that could allow you to claim and who you could claim against.
Our specially trained advisors can help if you’re thinking about making a tendon injury claim. They’ll review your claim with you during a free consultation and offer no-obligation legal advice. If it appears that compensation is due, they’ll put you through to a personal injury solicitor from our panel. They’ll manage your claim on a No Win, No Fee basis if it is accepted meaning they won’t charge any legal fees unless you are awarded compensation.
Please call us on 0800 652 1345 to assess your tendon injury claim right away or read on to find out more before getting in touch.
What are tendons
A tendon is a strong and flexible fibrous tissue that connects bones to muscles and plays a vital role in the movement and stability of our bodies by transmitting the force generated by muscles to the bones they are attached to. Tendons can withstand high levels of tension and are essential for many activities, including running, jumping and lifting heavy objects etc.
You’ll probably have heard of the Achilles tendon which connects the heel bone to the calf muscle as it is the largest tendon in the body. However, there are thousands of tendons across the whole of your body.
Although tendons are designed not to tear easily, they are not stretchy. As a result, tendons can be strained and injured fairly easily and can take quite a while to heal.
Types of tendon injuries you could claim compensation for
Tendon injury compensation claims can be based on any type of injury but some of the most common include:
- Tendonitis. This is a condition that occurs when the tendon becomes inflamed due to overuse. It is a form of Repetitive Strain Injury (RSI) that often affects the shoulders, thumbs, knees, hips, elbows and Achilles Tendon. Tennis elbow is a form of tendonitis.
- Tendon strains. These often affect the legs and arms and occur when a tendon is pulled, torn or twisted.
- Tenosynovitis. Where the tendon’s sheath is inflamed at the same time as the tendon. Trigger thumb, trigger finger and De Quervain’s syndrome are all examples of tenosynovitis.
- Tendinosis. This chronic condition occurs when the tendon structure has been damaged because of collagen buildup in the tendons. Overuse is the most common cause of tendinosis and it usually affects the wrist, shoulder, elbow or knee.
- Rotator cuff tears. Where then tendons in the shoulder detach (partially or fully) from the humerus bone (upper arm). Such tears can be sustained during traumatic accidents or because of overuse.
- Achilles tendonitis or rupture. This is a specific type of tendon injury that affects the Achilles tendon in the back of the ankle. It can be caused by overuse, sudden trauma, or degeneration over time.
The treatment for tendon injuries can vary from rest and painkillers to splints and tendon surgery depending on the severity of the injury. For RSI tendon injuries, symptoms may ease within a matter of weeks if the cause of the injury is removed.
As there are so many tendons in the body, we’ve not listed every potential injury here. As such, please feel free to contact us even if your tendon injury is not described above.
Symptoms of a tendon injury
The symptoms of a tendon injury may vary depending on the part of the body affected but can include:
- Loss of strength in the area affected.
- Pain that becomes worse when using the affected limb.
- Stiffness which can be worse in the morning or at night.
- A crunching feeling or noise when the tendon is used.
- Swelling, redness, tenderness or warmth in the affected area.
If you’re entitled to compensation for a tendon injury, your injury will need to be examined by an independent medical expert. They will produce a report to explain your injury and how it has affected you. This report will be used by your solicitor to calculate how much compensation for a tendon injury you may be entitled to.
Can I claim compensation for a tendon injury?
To claim compensation for a tendon injury, it will need to be proven that:
- The person you’re claiming against (the defendant) owed you a duty of care; and
- That person’s negligence caused an accident or incident; and
- You have been diagnosed with a tendon injury as a result.
In the next section, we’ll review some scenarios where negligence could allow you to claim for your tendon injury. Obviously, if you are to receive a compensation payout, you’ll need to prove how your injury was sustained and who was to blame. As such, we’ll review the types of proof that could be useful later on.
Common accidents that cause tendon injuries
Let’s now look at some examples of accidents or scenarios that could lead you to claim compensation for a tendon injury.
Accidents at work
Employers are supposed to try and protect staff at work where possible. As such, as well as trying to prevent accidents such as falls from height and manual handling accidents which can rupture tendons, they should also try to reduce the risk of repetitive strain injuries. This means you could claim compensation if you’ve been diagnosed with an RSI because you weren’t provided with PPE such as knee protection, ergonomic keyboards, wrist rests or footrests.
Slips, trips and falls
If you trip on something, the sudden movement as your body jolts forward can lead to tendons being overstretched. As such, you could claim compensation for tendon injuries caused by spillages that were not cleared up, damaged footpaths, raised carpets, a broken manhole cover and other trip hazards that could’ve been avoided.
Road accidents
When a collision involving a vehicle occurs, there is always the risk of tendon damage including strains, sprains and tears. If the RTA was caused by someone else’s negligence, a tendon injury compensation claim might be possible. This goes for drivers, passengers, cyclists, motorcyclists and pedestrians.
Sporting incidents
If you play any type of physical sport, there is usually an associated risk of injury. When playing games like rugby, football or hockey, there is always a chance that your foot can be planted while the leg is twisted and leads to ankle tendon damage. If your sports injury was caused by an unsafe playing surface, poor coaching or even faulty equipment, you could be entitled to claim for your suffering.
Violence or assault
Trauma from physical violence or assault can cause tendon injuries, particularly in the hands, wrists, and ankles. See our page here on criminal injury claims if you’ve suffered tendon injuries from a criminal act.
Please feel free to contact us even if the cause of your tendon injury is not described above.
How much compensation for a tendon injury?
When requesting compensation for a tendon injury, you need to explain every pound you request. The two main strands of a personal injury claim are general damages to cover any injuries and special damages to cover any expenses you’ve incurred.
If you make a successful tendon injury compensation claim, your damages could cover:
- The physical pain, discomfort and suffering caused by the tendon injury.
- Any distress, depression or other forms of psychological harm.
- Physiotherapy and other medical expenses.
- Care costs if you needed support during your recovery.
- Unexpected travel costs.
- Loss of income plus any future losses for longer-term tendon injuries.
- Loss of amenity (where your tendon injury stops you from enjoying your usual activities).
- Mobility aids to make it easier to cope while you’re injured.
- Home modifications to improve your quality of life for long-term disabilities.
As you can see, there’s a fair bit to consider before you submit a tendon injury compensation claim. If your claim is handled by one of our solicitors, they’ll assess all of your sufferings before your claim is filed.
Tendon injury compensation payouts
For successful tendon injury compensation claims, there’s an array of guidelines for general damages compensation payouts. As to the amount of compensation that may be paid, it will largely depend upon the type and the severity of the tendon injury, but the current guidelines suggest:
- Tenosynovitis: £2,200 – £23,130 compensation.
- Moderate tendon injury to the thumb: £9,670 – £12,590.
- Serious tendon injury to the ring or middle fingers: £10,320 – £16,340.
- Ruptured tendons in the neck leading to chronic conditions and significant permanent disability: £45,470 – £55,990.
- Most serious injury to Achilles tendon: Around £38,430.
- Serious injury to Achilles tendon: £24,990 – £30,090.
- Moderate injury to Achilles tendon: £12,590 – £21,070.
- Minor injury to Achilles tendon: £7,270 – £12,590.
If you’d like to talk to us about your tendon injury claim today, please call 0800 652 1345.
Providing proof for tendon injury compensation claims
In most cases, your tendon injury claim will be made against the defendant’s insurance policy. If you’ve ever contacted an insurer, you’ll know that they don’t simply hand out cash when asked. Instead, they’ll want full justification of why they should compensate you so your solicitor will need to provide ample proof of what happened. This could include:
- Medical records. It’s important to prove the extent of your tendon injury so your medical records will be requested and used in conjunction with an independent medical report.
- Photographic proof. Any photographs taken at the accident scene can go some way to proving how you were injured.
- Accident report forms. To help prove when and where your tendon injury occurred, a copy of the accident report form will be requested. As such, it is always important to report any accident that you are involved in.
- Witness statements. Where it is ‘one word against the other’, your solicitor could ask anyone else who saw your accident for a statement. For this reason, you should provide them with any relevant contact details.
- Camera footage. In this day and age, accidents are often caught on CCTV cameras, dashcams or body cams. If your accident was recorded, you’re entitled to ask for a copy of the footage.
If your tendon injury claim is taken on, your solicitor will help you to collect any proof you’ve not yet managed to obtain.
No Win, No Fee claims
Starting a personal injury claim can be a big step for many claimants and the thought of hiring a solicitor to help can be quite daunting. That’s especially true when you think about how much the legal fees might be. As such, our solicitors provide a No Win, No Fee service for all tendon injury claims they take on.
At the start of your claim, you’ll receive a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA). This is the contract that clarifies that:
- You don’t need to pay legal fees in advance.
- There are no legal fees payable if the tendon injury claim is lost.
- A stated percentage of any compensation you receive will be used as a success fee to pay for your solicitor’s work. This is legally capped at 25%.
Once you’ve read and signed the CFA, your solicitor will manage everything for you. They will:
- Collect and collate any evidential information needed.
- Contact the defendant to file the tendon injury claim.
- Deal with all communication and negotiation with the defendant on your behalf.
- Provide regular updates about how your claim is progressing.
- Try to ensure you receive the maximum amount of compensation possible.
To see if you can claim for a tendon injury on a No Win, No Fee basis, please call today.
Tendon injury claim time limits
In the UK, there is a 3-year limitation period for tendon injury claims. If you try to begin your claim outside of that timeframe, you risk losing any compensation you might be entitled to. The time limit will generally begin from the date on which your tendon was injured or from when the tendon injury was diagnosed.
If your child has suffered tendon injuries the 3-year time limit wouldn’t start until they’re 18. However, a litigation friend could lodge a child’s personal injury claim on their behalf.
To avoid missing out on a compensation settlement, we suggest that you contact us to discuss your claim as soon as you can. That will give your solicitor plenty of time to gather proof and medical reports necessary to support your claim. Also, in some cases, starting early may mean the defendant will pay for private medical treatment of your tendon injury before the claim is finalised.
If you’re unsure about how long you have left to begin your claim, please feel free to contact us today.
Start a tendon injury compensation claim today
Thanks for reading our guide on how to claim compensation for a tendon injury. If you’ve decided it’s time to take action, call us on 0800 652 1345 for a free initial consultation. As well as being offered no-obligation legal advice, we’ll also answer any questions you might have.
Should the grounds for your claim be strong enough, we could put you in touch with one of our personal injury solicitors. Any claims they take on don’t need to be paid for upfront as they provide a No Win, No Fee service.
Our live chat team is here to help as well so please contact them if you need to know anything else about tendon injury compensation claims right away.
