Wrist Injury Claims – How Much Compensation Can I Claim?

Injuring your wrist can have a surprising impact on your daily activities. It can prevent you from writing, using a computer, cooking and driving amongst other things. This might be the case for any type of painful wrist injury including sprains and strains, tendonitis and fractures.

If you injure your wrist following an accident that somebody else caused, you may be entitled to compensation. As such, this article will explain when you might be entitled to be compensated by making a wrist injury claim and how you could start the claims process today.

Our team are here to help if you do decide to make a wrist injury compensation claim. If you call one of our specialists, they’ll review your case with you to see whether you’ve got a chance of being compensated.

During the call, the claims process will be explained and you’ll be given free legal advice. Importantly, if your case is suitable, one of our personal injury lawyers could be asked to represent you on a No Win, No Fee basis. If they agree, you won’t need to pay them upfront and you’ll only have to cover their fees if compensation is awarded to you.

If you’d like to take action and start a wrist injury claim now, or once you’ve finished reading, you can call our advisors on 0800 652 1345.

Can I claim compensation for a wrist injury?

Our personal injury solicitors will only take on a wrist injury claim where there is a reasonable chance the claimant will be compensated. This means that before proceeding forward, a solicitor will check whether:

• A duty of care can be established between the defendant and yourself; and
• An act of negligence by the defendant caused your wrist injury.

Legally speaking, a duty of care usually comes from some form of legislation. One example is the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 which means employee safety should be a priority in the workplace.

Another is the Road Traffic Act 1988 which means all road users have a duty of care to protect each other through safe driving. You needn’t be too concerned about proving the duty of care existed as your solicitor will do this during your initial consultation.

Instead, you’re more likely to be asked to help by providing evidence to support your wrist injury compensation claim. As such, we’ll look at this in further detail later on.

Common accidents causing wrist injuries

In this section, we’ll provide some common examples of accidents that could lead to wrist injuries and why they might entitle you to compensation. Remember, claims are only possible if somebody else’s negligence caused the accident to happen. Some of the common reasons why wrist injuries are sustained include:

• Slips, trips and falls. Slips and trips are one of the most common accidents that lead to a sprained or broken wrist because it’s common to use your hands to break your fall. So, if you tripped on a pavement that the council should have repaired already, for instance, you could be entitled to compensation.
• Road Traffic Accidents. RTAs involving motorcycle couriers and bicycle couriers are another common cause of wrist injuries. If you are hit by a motorist who was speeding, not paying attention, drink-driving or negligent in another way, you could be entitled to compensation for a wrist injury.
• Sporting incidents. Many sports injuries come from associated risks especially contact sports like rugby. You might therefore think you couldn’t claim for injuring your wrist while training or participating in a match. However, if the injury was caused by poor coaching advice, an unsafe pitch or damaged equipment, you might have a chance of being compensated.
• Workplace accidents. While you’re at work, your employer must try and remove as many dangers as possible to try and keep you safe. If they don’t, you may have grounds to claim if you’re injured in an accident at work. An example might be if you suffered a broken bone in your wrist after heavy items fell onto you because of damaged shelving.
• Repetitive Strain Injuries (RSI). Similarly, the way you work should be reviewed regularly to reduce the risk of RSI. If your wrist is injured because you use a keyboard, for instance, on a regular basis and your employer hasn’t taken steps to improve your working conditions, we could help you to claim for a repetitive strain injury.
• School or playground injuries. Claims for wrist injuries involving children are also possible. An example might be where your child fell in a playground accident and suffered a broken wrist because a climbing frame was weakened by rust.

If you’ve injured your wrist and believe you have a valid compensation claim, call us now to discuss your options.

What wrist injuries could I be compensated for?

Although the wrist is quite a small joint, there are quite a few injuries that can have a major impact on your everyday life for which you could potentially be compensated for. Some of the most common include:

• Colles’ fractures of the wrist.
• Wrist sprains.
• Wrist strains.
• Soft tissue injuries.
• Injuries that result in loss of function because arthrodesis has been performed.
• Tendonitis.
• Scaphoid fracture.

Symptoms of an injured wrist

The symptoms of an injured wrist will vary depending on the type of damage done but could include:

• Swelling.
• Reduced motion.
• Weakness.
• Pain, warmth and tenderness around the injury.
• A popping or tearing noise at the time of injury.
• Bruising.

Essentially, you could be compensated for any form of a wrist injury and its associated symptoms if the accident that led to it was caused by somebody else’s negligence. Our team of solicitors have many years of experience in handling injury claims and could help you. Please call today to see if you could be compensated for your wrist injury.

How much compensation do you get for a wrist injury?

There is no set amount of compensation paid for a wrist injury. Usually, two main heads of loss are used to determine how much compensation you’ll get (for a successful claim). General damages are claimed to cover any suffering you’ve had to deal with because of your wrist injury. Special damages is the name given to compensation used to cover any costs, financial losses or expenses linked to your injuries.

We’ll be able to tell you what you could include in your claim after it’s been reviewed. Generally, though, wrist injury compensation could cover:

• The pain and suffering you’ve dealt with following the accident and during recovery.
• Any loss of amenity (explained on this page) i.e. where your injuries have stopped you from participating in regular activities or hobbies.
• Psychological harm your wrist injury may have caused.
• Any income you’ve lost if your wrist injury at work has prevented you from working.
• Future lost income if you’re left with a long-term disability.
• Medical expenses including rehabilitation costs.
• The cost of aids and home modifications to make life easier if you’ve sustained a permanent wrist disability.
• The costs associated with the time a loved one has taken to care for you.

You should take time over evaluating the value of your wrist injury claim. That’s because if you miss anything out, you can’t request additional compensation once you’ve settled your claim.

If you work with one of our personal injury solicitors, they’ll try to ensure you’re compensated fully for your injuries by reviewing the impact of your injury in fine detail.

Wrist injury compensation amounts

For successful wrist injury compensation claims, there is a published set of guidelines (from the Judicial College) that refer to general damages compensation. In most cases, any settlement amount a claimant would get will depend mainly upon the type of wrist injury and the severity, however, the current guidelines advise:

•  Wrist injuries leading to complete loss of function, £47,620 – £59,860 compensation.
•  Significant permanent disability, £24,500 – £39,170 compensation.
• Less severe wrist injuries than those above but still some permanent disability, £12,590 – £24,500.
• Rarely above £10,350 compensation for a broken wrist or soft tissue injury that takes longer to heal but is complete.
• Uncomplicated Colles’ fracture should see in the region of £7,430 compensation.
• £3,530 – £4,740 compensation for a very minor wrist injury, for instance, a sprained wrist injury at work or a minimally displaced fracture.

While these compensation amounts are useful to personal injury lawyers when calculating a wrist injury compensation claim, they’re not guaranteed.

Providing proof for a wrist injury compensation claim

The chances of being compensated without proof are typically very slim. Most wrist injury claims are handled by insurance companies who’ll usually deny everything unless there’s strong proof to the contrary. As such, to help prove who caused your wrist injury and how serious it was, you could supply:

• Photographic proof. If your injured wrist allows and it is safe to do so, you should try to capture the accident scene on your phone. The best time to do this is right after the accident has happened and before any items are repaired, removed or replaced.
• Accident report forms. These are required to be kept by most companies. So, you should report your accident to your employer or the company whose property you were on when you were injured. Dates, times and locations can all be confirmed with this piece of evidence.
• Security camera footage. CCTV and dashcam recordings are a great way of proving how your wrist was hurt. We would recommend that you try to obtain a copy of any relevant footage as soon as possible before it is deleted.
• Medical evidence. To ensure your sprained wrist or other injury is treated correctly, it’s a good idea to visit a GP surgery, minor injuries unit or a hospital. If you then decide to claim compensation later on, copies of your medical records could be requested to help prove the severity of your injuries.
• A diary of events. Finally, you may wish to write everything down about what’s happened whilst you’re recovering. A diary could help you to remember when you couldn’t work or any family events your hurt wrist prevented you from attending. You could also log any costs or expenses you’ve incurred as well.

As part of our free consultation for wrist injury compensation claims, any proof you’ve collected will be discussed. If you have enough to clearly show what happened already, your advisor might connect you with a personal injury solicitor right away.

Will I need my wrist to be medically assessed?

When claiming compensation for a wrist injury, you will typically need to have an independent medical assessment. This is simply a part of the claims process but not something you should be concerned about.

Your solicitor will usually book a local appointment with a specialist where, during your meeting, you’ll be asked to explain how your wrist injury has affected you. You’ll also be examined to diagnose the current state of your injuries. Once the meeting has finished, a report will be drafted to explain your prognosis.

Can I make a compensation claim at any point?

When claiming compensation for a wrist injury, a 3-year time limit will apply. This will begin from:

• The date that you were injured; or
• The date your injuries were diagnosed. This might be the case for RSI, carpal tunnel syndrome and other similar wrist injuries.

There’s quite a bit of work to do during a personal injury claim so it’s quite useful if you can begin sooner rather than later. This will give you and your solicitor plenty of time to collect proof for your claim and to arrange for medical reports to be written.

Children’s wrist injury claims don’t have a time limit, as such. A parent can take action on their behalf whenever they like as long as the claim is started before the child’s 18^th birthday. This process is explained in finer detail here.

Processing times for claims will vary. Some claims that are straightforward can be settled in around 6-months or so. In other cases where discussion is needed about the severity of your injuries or who was liable for them, claims might take longer than a year.

Start a wrist injury compensation claim today

If you decide to claim compensation for a wrist injury, you’ll be pleased to know that our solicitors offer a No Win, No Fee service. This should make your claim much less stressful.

No Win, No Fee means there’s no need to pay your solicitor for their work upfront. Furthermore, you won’t have to pay them at all if your claim doesn’t work out. So that this is a formal agreement, you’ll both sign a contract called a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA). Within this document, you’ll find out about the success fee you’ll pay if your claim is won.

The success fee is a percentage that is deducted from any compensation you receive to cover your solicitor’s work. By law, you won’t be asked to pay any more than 25% of your settlement figure when using a CFA.

The easiest way to find out if you can claim on a No Win, No Fee basis is to call our advice line on 0800 652 1345. An adviser will explain your options after reviewing your claim for free.

If you have any more questions about making a wrist injury compensation claim, please use live chat to connect with us, or you can arrange a consultation on this page.