How To Claim Compensation For A Hairline Fracture

By Danielle Griffin. Last Updated 27th March 2023. Welcome to this guide, which explains how to claim for a hairline fracture in an arm, a hairline fractured ankle and negligent treatment for a hairline fracture. Here, we answer questions about making a hairline fracture claim, including ‘what is a hairline fracture?’ and ‘When could I make a hairline fracture compensation claim. Seeking compensation via a hairline fracture claim is a possibility if you’ve been injured through no fault of your own.

Hairline fractures are small cracks in the bone and although small, they can be very painful. What’s more, hairline fracture symptoms often worsen over time. You may be eligible for compensation if you have suffered a hairline fracture injury that was not your fault.

Doctor showing a hairline fracture x-ray to a patient after an operation

For example, you may be able to claim compensation if poor health and safety standards at work led to an accident in which you suffered a fracture injury. Likewise, if you had an accident in a public place, you may be eligible to claim.

Read on to learn more about the process of claiming for a hairline fracture. If you would like to speak to an advisor for free about this type of personal injury claim, you can:

Select A Section

  1. What Are Stress Or Hairline Fractures?
  2. How To Make A Hairline Fracture Claim
  3. Time Limits For Hairline Fracture Claims
  4. Misdiagnosis Of A Hairline Fracture
  5. Calculating Claims For Hairline Fractures
  6. What Special Damages Can You Claim For A Stress Fracture?
  7. Hairline Fracture Claims With A No Win No Fee Solicitor
  8. Other Resources That Could Help

What Are Stress Or Hairline Fractures?

A hairline fracture is a small crack or severe bruise within a bone. Overusing a part of the body or repetitive movements can can cause a hairline fracture. They can also be caused by accidents such as falls. These injuries are also referred to as stress fractures. We will use both the term hairline fracture and the term stress fracture interchangeably in this guide.

Accidents in a public place can cause stress fractures, such as a slip or trip leading to a fall. People who work in physically active jobs may suffer a hairline fracture if they put excessive pressure on their bodies.

Hairline Fracture Symptoms

Hairline fracture symptoms can include the following:

  • The fractured part of the body appears swollen
  • There is also bruising around the affected area
  • And the affected area is tender and painful when touched

How To Make A Hairline Fracture Claim

To succeed in a claim, it’s necessary to show that the defendant:

  1. Owed you a duty of care. A duty of care means that another party is responsible for your health, safety and wellbeing. For example, if you are on the premises of a business, the management owes you a duty of care.
  2. That they breached that duty, such as failing to grit icy surfaces
  3. And as a result of that breach, you suffered an injury.

Your solicitor will need to provide evidence that the other party breached its duty of care towards you. Moreover, your lawyer will need to prove that the accident caused the injuries.

You can claim compensation for a hairline fracture caused by these accidents:

Evidence To Support Your Claim

As stated above, you must be able to prove that a breach in the duty of care owed to you caused your hairline fracture. For example, a hairline fracture to the ankle could be caused by your employer not providing proper PPE.

Examples of evidence that can support your claim for personal injury compensation include:

  • Accident footage. This could be from CCTV, a mobile phone, a dashcam or a doorbell camera.
  • Witness contact information. If anyone witnessed the accident that caused your injuries, you could note their contact details so they can give a statement.
  • Medical records. These could contain details of your hairline fracture treatment. In addition to your medical records and x-rays, you might be asked to attend an independent medical exam. This can help determine the effect the injury could have on your lifestyle.
  • You can also document the symptoms of a hairline fracture in a diary. Anything related to the injury can be noted down, such as missing work or a sporting activity as well as your pain levels.

Free advice about what evidence you could submit to support your claim is available from our advisors 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. They can also check your claim. If it seems eligible, you could be connected with one of our No Win No Fee solicitors.

Time Limits For Hairline Fracture Claims

As we have previously stated, various factors could affect how much compensation you could receive if you suffered a hairline fracture in your ankle, such as the recovery time. However, as well as ensuring that you have the relevant evidence to support your claim, you also need to ensure that you make your claim within the relevant time limits.

Generally, the time limit for making a personal injury claim for a small hairline fracture is 3 years from the date you suffered your injury. Alternatively, if you are making a medical negligence claim for a fracture misdiagnosis, you could also have 3 years to start your claim from the date of knowledge. This is when you first realised that you suffered harm due to medical negligence.

There are certain exceptions to the time limits stated above. These are:

  • Minors have 3 years to start a claim from their 18th. Before this point, the time limit is suspended. A court-appointed litigation friend could also make a claim on their behalf before they turn 18.
  • People who lack the mental capacity to make a claim for themselves could have a litigation friend make a claim for them. Alternatively, they will have 3 years to make a claim if they regain this mental capacity.

Contact our advisors today if you have any questions about making a claim for a hairline fracture in your ankle or anywhere else in your body. They could also advise you on whether you could be eligible for compensation and could connect you with our experienced solicitors.

Misdiagnosis Of A Hairline Fracture

It could be considered medical negligence when a doctor misdiagnoses a fracture. A doctor may misdiagnose a fracture if the area is very swollen, so it isn’t easy to examine. Or the doctor may mistake the symptoms of a fracture for a bad sprain.

Similarly, it could also constitute medical negligence if a doctor misses a fracture. A missed fracture means that the doctor has failed to spot the fracture. Hairline fractures can be missed because they don’t always show up on an x-ray. Therefore if a patient has the symptoms of a stress fracture, the doctor should use an MRI scan if the x-ray is not clear.

If a doctor misses a fracture, it will go untreated, meaning the patient may suffer unnecessary pain. What’s more, the patient may experience unnecessary complications from the fracture, which could have been avoided had it been treated immediately.

If your injuries have worsened because of missed fracture medical negligence, you may be eligible to claim compensation. Contact Accident Claims to enquire about claiming hairline fracture compensation.

Calculating Claims For Hairline Fractures

Now we’ve answered questions such as ‘what is a hairline fracture?’ and ‘who could make a hairline fracture claim?’ let us look at how compensation could be calculated.

Generally, when someone successfully claims compensation for their injuries, they could receive different types of damages. These include general damages and special damages.

General damages compensate claimants for the pain and suffering they’ve experienced as a result of their injuries. Consideration is also given to the impact on their enjoyment of life. 

However, all claims are different. Therefore, when calculating general damages compensation, legal professionals must assess the case’s unique facts. They could take into account any treatment for a hairline fracture that was needed, as well as the severity of the injury and its short and long-term impact.

Solicitors can use the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG). This is a publication that contains compensation brackets for different injuries. We have included these figures in the table below.

Edit
Injury Severity Notes Amount
Knee Injury Severe (ii) A fracture of the leg which has extended into the knee joint. There is permanent pain and the person’s movement and agility are restricted. £52,120 to £69,730
Neck Injury Moderate (i) Fractures or dislocations that cause immediate symptoms and may need spinal fusion in the future. £24,990 to £38,490
Hand Injury Severe Finger Fractures (f) Severe finger fractures. The fracture may be serious enough to require a partial amputation. Up to £36,740
Ankle Injury Moderate Ligamentous tears or fractures that make it difficult to walk on uneven ground and stand/walk for a long period of time. £13,740 to £26,590
Foot Injury Moderate Displaced metatarsal fractures that cause continuing symptoms and result in a permanent deformity. £13,740 to £24,990
Shoulder Injury Serious (b) Injuries could include a fractured humerus that restricts the shoulder’s movment. £12,770 to £19,200
Shoulder Injury Clavicle Fracture (e) The amount of compensation which may be awarded will depend upon the extent of the fracture and if there are any residual symptoms. £5,150 to £12,240
Arm Injury (d) Simple forearm fractures. £6,610 to £19,200
Leg Injury Less Serious (ii) Simple femur fractures that cause no damage to the articular surfaces. £9,110 to £14,080
Wrist Injury (d) Where the person has suffered a fracture which taken longer than a year to fully recover from. £6,080 to £10,350

These figures are only to be used as guidelines as each settlement is unique. Therefore, if you’d like some insight into your own estimated payout, you could call our team. We would be happy to talk to you about your case and the compensation you could be eligible to claim for different types of hairline fractures, including a hairline fractured ankle and a hairline fracture in the arm.

What Special Damages Can You Claim For A Stress Fracture?

If your hairline fracture claim is successful, you will be paid general damages. This is compensation for the pain, suffering and loss of amenity caused by your injuries. In addition, you may also be able to claim special damages. Special damages are an additional form of compensation that covers costs incurred because of your injuries.

You may be able to claim back the following costs in a successful claim (provided you supply evidence):

  • Medical expenses, such as the cost of physiotherapy
  • Travel expenses
  • Care expenses
  • Mobility equipment expenses
  • Home adaptation expenses
  • Loss of income expenses

Hairline Fracture Claims With A No Win No Fee Solicitor

If you wish to claim compensation for a hairline fracture, you may be able to work with a solicitor under a No Win No Fee agreement.

There are many benefits to making a claim like this. Firstly, you will not have to pay a fee upfront. Instead, you will sign a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA). Under this, you and your solicitor will agree that you will pay a success fee instead on the condition that they achieve a successful outcome.

If the claim fails, you usually don’t have to pay your solicitor any of their legal fees. This means you are taking less of a gamble with your finances because we will only charge you a success fee if you win your claim.

Making a No Win No Fee claim may be more affordable for you too because you pay your fee from your compensation payout, rather than upfront. Please have a look at our No Win No Fee claims guide to learn more.

Contact Us

To begin your hairline fracture compensation claim, please contact us. We will assess your case and if we can see that you are owed compensation, our team of skilled lawyers can handle your case.

Other Resources That Could Help

We hope that this guide to claiming compensation for a hairline fracture has proven to be helpful. You can read these guides about claiming compensation for broken bones, to learn more.

£58,000 Compensation Payouts For A Broken Ankle – Case Study

£100,000 Compensation For A Broken Elbow At Work – Settlement Amounts Case Study

£23,000 Compensation Payout For a Broken Wrist Whilst on Holiday

How do I know if I’ve broken a bone? – an NHS guide

Preventing slips and trips at work – An HSE guide

Broken leg – an NHS guide

Other Useful Compensation Guides

Thank you for reading our guide to making a hairline fracture claim.