If you have suffered a broken ankle injury at work and it wasn’t your fault, you might be eligible to claim compensation by making a personal injury claim.
In this article, we’ll talk you through the steps you need to take to build a solid case, start a claim and help you figure out how much that claim is worth.
In our guide, we’ll give you all the information you need by using a figurative case study based on our experience handling these types of claims. We’ll also cover all the different incidents that could cause your injury/accident, the different types of ankle injuries people suffer and the negligence involved.
Our article will inform you of all the key information you need and direct you to the services offered by our panel of personal injury solicitors and advisers, who are on hand to help you through the legal processes further.
Our helpline is available for you 24/7 for free legal advice. Either call on 0800 408 7827, write to us here or use our live chatbox in the bottom right-hand corner of the page.
About Broken Ankle Injuries
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- A Guide To Broken Ankle Injury At Work Claims
- What Is A Broken Ankle Injury At Work?
- Causes Of Broken Ankle Injuries At Work
- How Much Compensation Will I Get For A Broken Ankle Injury At Work?
- General Damages Vs Special Damages
- Case Study – £30,000 Compensation For A Broken Ankle Injury At Work
- No Win No Fee Broken Ankle Injury At Work Claims
- How To Get Free Legal Advice From A Work Accident Claim Specialist
- Contact Us For Free Legal Advice
- Need More Help?
- Broken Ankle At Work FAQs
A Guide To Broken Ankle Injury At Work Claims
According to RIDDOR, between 2019-2020, there have been 5,668 employees who’ve had a broken ankle accident at work. If you have suffered a similar type of injury because of negligence on the part of your employer, this guide could help you take the first steps toward getting compensation.
Our case study will help you understand the process from beginning to end. We will also discuss the financial and other losses you may have experienced due to poor health and safety at work. In addition, we will guide you through the different types of ankle injuries and the different causes for ankle injuries in the workplace and the actions you can take.
Broken Ankle Accident Statistics
Lower limb injuries are commonplace in various work environments. They include injuries to the toes, ankles, feet, legs and knees. The most common ankle injury types range from mild sprains to moderate breaks, including a broken fibula and, more severely, bones piercing through the skin.
The most common causes of these injuries in workplaces are trips and falls due to an employer’s failure to comply with health and safety regulations as set out in the Health and Safety at Work Act etc. 1974.
We’ve included the graph below to give you an idea of the rate of injuries sustained to the lower limbs in workplaces. These figures were recorded under RIDDOR.
What Is A Broken Ankle Injury At Work?
There are many things to consider when looking at a broken ankle injury at work, including common symptoms, the severity of the injury, diagnosis, treatment and recovery time.
The common symptoms of a broken ankle, as stated by the NHS, include:
- Pain, bruising and swelling.
- Pain when you put weight on your ankle
- Stiff and difficult to move
- The ankle is at an odd angle
- Bones sticking out of your ankle
- A bad cut or wound on the affected area
- Severe pain
- Numbing to the affected area
- Toes turning blue or white
The severities of ankle injuries
An ankle injury can range from minor to severe and treatment depends on the severity of the break and the symptoms you notice. The NHS states if you have a very minor break, no treatment may be required. If the break is severe, treatment will be necessary; however, the treatment you need will vary depending on how bad the break is.
An x-ray will be given by the hospital to determine if you have a break and the nature of the injury you have. Once this has been determined, a doctor will decide your treatment which will depend on your injury’s severity.
Projected recovery time is usually between 6-8 weeks. However, this can sometimes take longer. The doctor dealing with your injury will advise on treatment and recovery time.
If you have suffered a broken ankle at work and it was someone else’s fault, you could start a claim today. Simply call our personal injury claims team on the number at the top of this page to learn more.
What is my employer’s duty of care?
As highlighted in the Health and Safety at Work Act etc. 1974, Section 2 specifically, an employer’s duty of care to their employee is to provide them with a safe working environment. For example:
- Providing a clutter-free environment and the maintenance of this
- Ensuring there is proper storage, handling and transport of items in the workplace, including chemicals
- Providing safe and proper equipment and regular maintenance of the equipment
- Proper training about health and safety and using specialist equipment.
- Conducting regular risk assessments and acting upon the findings.
As per the HASAWA, employers are expected to do what is reasonably possible to protect you. If they don’t, they are guilty of breaching their duty of care to you.
How employers could breach their duty of care?
If an employer breaches their duty of care, this could mean that they have not done all that is reasonably possible to keep you safe. An employer could breach their duty of care by not adhering to the provisions set out in the Health and Safety at Work Act etc. 1974. Examples of breaching duty of care include:
- If the workspace is messy, causing you to trip over
- Little or no training is provided on using specialist equipment, and you’re injured as a result.
- No signage for wet floors causing you to fall
- Proper equipment isn’t provided to keep you safe, e.g. PPE
Accidents in the workplace are common, with around 65,427 reported under RIDDOR between 2019-2020. Most of these accidents happened due to an employer failing to comply with their duty of care. As you can see in the list above, some of the most common causes range from slips, trips and falls to handling, lifting or carrying heavy objects, resulting in injuries with potentially long-lasting effects.
Causes Of Broken Ankle Injuries At Work
Multiple different things could cause ankle fractures or breaks at work. Some of the most common causes of these injuries include:
- Falls and missteps
- Wearing improper footwear or not being provided with proper footwear
- Tripping over something in a cluttered work environment due to equipment being stored incorrectly
- Using equipment improperly due to lack of training or having the wrong equipment provided
Mishaps like this can cause different types of injuries and, more specifically, different ankle breaks, including:
- Lateral Malleolus fractures
- Medial malleolus fractures
- Bimalleolar ankle fractures which include breaks to the tibia and fibula
These small mistakes made by your employer can lead to a huge amount of damage, as you can see, that takes time to fix. If you have suffered any of the above or any other injury to the ankle, you could be eligible to make a personal injury claim today. Simply get in touch with us on the number at the top of the page to find out more.
How Much Compensation Will I Get For A Broken Ankle Injury At Work?
When making your broken ankle compensation claim, there are two main types of damages to consider: general damages and special damages. Together, they can form your overall settlement package.
General damages compensate you for the physical pain, emotional/mental suffering and the impact on your life quality. Special damages relate to financial losses, both past and future.
To work out how much compensation you could be entitled to, it’s important to establish that your injuries were caused by the workplace accident by providing evidence. As well as being able to determine the impact the recovery will have on you and your quality of life.
You might have heard of a personal injury claims calculator; however, our case study below can provide a more accurate estimate of how much compensation you could claim.
For more compensation information, you can call us on the number at the top of this page, write to us or chat with us on live chat at the bottom of the page.
General Damages Vs Special Damages
General damages cover different losses to special damages. Special damages include financial losses both past and future that may have occurred as a result of the injury, for example:
- Loss of earnings both past and future
- Travel costs
- Medication
- Cost of care
In order to determine what special damages you can claim, it’s important to build up a bank of evidence. Evidence could include medical documents and receipts for any extra costs. If you have no evidence, it is extremely difficult to claim losses.
For more information, see the case study table below or get in touch with our personal injury claims team.
Case Study – £30,000 Compensation For A Broken Ankle Injury At Work
Sam, an office manager, was asked by his employer to attend a photoshoot in his office for new staff photos. Unfortunately, when walking around the set, he tripped over some wires that hadn’t been secured properly by the third-party photographers. The wires trapped his ankle and as his body spun, pain erupted in his ankle.
The accident was witnessed by several staff members and was reported in the accident book straight away by an onsite first aider. Due to the nature of the injury, Sam was sent to the hospital for an x-ray.
It was estimated by his treating doctor that his recovery would take between 2-3 months. Sam realised the impact this was going to have on his life and financial security, and he decided to make a claim.
How did Sam suffer a broken ankle injury at work?
After tripping over some equipment at work, Sam sustained a moderate break to his ankle. As someone who lived alone, with no family in the area, Sam quickly realised its impact on his quality of life. He decided to act quickly and built up a bank of evidence. Sam gathered statements from his witnesses, a copy of the entry into the work accident book, and managed to get pictures of the injury. He also kept a record of medical documents and had the hindsight to keep receipts. His colleagues had also taken pictures of the scene and the unsecured wires.
With a good amount of evidence behind him, he decided to take legal action and got advice from a personal injury solicitor and made the steps to make a claim.
How much compensation were they awarded?
Sam’s injury meant he was off work for just over two months and suffered the financial losses of this unpaid time off. In addition to the lack of pay, he required a nurse to make daily visits to help with basic day to day activities. He also needed to take taxis to medical appointments, and he had to pay extra costs for medication.
The defendant quickly admitted liability and in the end, he was awarded £30,000, which included general and special damages.
Breaking down their compensation settlement
| General Damages | How much? | Special Damages | How much? |
|---|---|---|---|
| The average compensation amount for a moderate ankle injury ranges from £12,900 to £24,950 | £23,000 | Loss of earnings | £5,000 |
| Additional care | £500 | ||
| Travel Expenses | £400 | ||
| Medication | £100 |
The case of Mr Sam Mills 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.
No Win No Fee Broken Ankle Injury At Work Claims
A No Win No Fee agreement, also called a Conditional Fee Agreement, means you don’t have to pay anything unless your solicitor wins the case. If the solicitor does win the case, you’ll only need to pay a small percentage, called a success fee, which is legally capped.
The fee will be clearly stated in your agreement. The benefits of proceeding with this type of agreement mean you can claim without worrying about any upfront costs and any costs that the claims process may incur. And vitally, if your claim doesn’t succeed, you won’t have to pay any of the fees your lawyer has accrued in pursuing your claim.
How To Get Free Legal Advice From A Work Accident Claim Specialist
We understand you’re going through an incredibly difficult time and all the unfortunate consequences you’re suffering from your employer’s negligence. We want to help you through this challenging time and would love to hear more from you about your specific experience.
Once we have details, we can direct you to our panel of solicitors for advice more specific to your current situation. After we get a better understanding of your case and the negligence that has led to you suffering, you’ll be able to get a more certain value of compensation that you could receive.
Contact Us For Free Legal Advice
If this has overwhelmed you, that is completely normal. The key thing you need to know is that we can help you:
- Make your claim
- Talk you through the claims process
- Figure out what compensation you are entitled to
- Make your claim with a No Win No Fee agreement
All with the help of our panel of personal injury specialists.
For more information, contact us via any of the avenues below:
- Call us on 0800 408 7827
- Live chat with us on our website
- Make an enquiry with us here
Need More Help?
If you require more information on ankle fractures, visit this NHS guide.
For information on health and safety, visit the HSE’s guide to slips and trips
For any more statistics on injuries at work, visit here.
If you need more information on the process of claiming against your employer, visit our helpful guide on How to Sue your Employer.
If you have any questions on anything related to your accident at work, please contact us here, and we will get back to you as soon as possible.
Broken Ankle At Work FAQs
How long will I be off work with a broken ankle?
It can take between 4-6 weeks to fully recover from a broken ankle, depending on the injury’s severity.
How much compensation can you get for a broken ankle?
This can vary, but for a moderate ankle injury, you could claim up to £24,950.
Can I claim for a sprained ankle at work?
If the injury was caused due to a breach of the duty of care, you should be able to make a claim. Although, we do advise speaking to a personal injury solicitor for more advice.
How much should I settle for a broken ankle UK?
The value of a broken ankle claim will depend on the severity of the injury. Injuries that heal within a year could settle for around £5,000. However, more serious injuries with lasting problems could exceed £60,000.
Thank you for reading our guide to making a claim for a broken ankle injury at work.