Your arms are part of almost everything you do, from typing on keyboards and lifting heavy objects to controlling a steering wheel and pressing a light switch. Yet, it can change your life forever when they are injured. Fortunately, it has never been easier to make an arm injury claim.
This helpful guide will explore key areas of this topic. It will go over some of the most common arm injuries and how they can happen, as well as how to know if you’re entitled to personal injury compensation. Finally, it will explain what you can do about it.
Whatever your questions, don’t hesitate to contact an advisor to discuss your potential claim:
- Call us anytime 24/7 on 0800 073 8801.
- Talk to us right now using the chat button below.
- Contact us to start your claim today.
Select A Section
- Can I Make An Arm Injury Claim?
- What Are Common Types of Arm Injuries?
- How Is Arm Injury Compensation Awarded?
- Can I Claim For Loss of Earnings Caused By A Severe Arm Injury?
- What Evidence Could Help Me Claim Arm Injury Compensation?
- How Long Do I Have To Make An Arm Injury Claim?
- No Win No Fee Arm Injury Compensation Claims
- More Useful Resources About Making A Personal Injury Claim
Can I Make An Arm Injury Claim?
You can make an arm injury claim if you can prove that a negligent party caused your injuries. To do so, you must prove that:
- They owed you a duty of care, which is a legal responsibility imposed on one party that requires adherence to a standard of reasonable care to avoid causing foreseeable harm.
- They acted in any way that did not meet that standard of care.
- That action or inaction caused your injuries.
There are duties of care across many areas of life, and a breach in them can give rise to arm injuries.
Accidents At Work
Your employer has a duty of care over your health and safety. This is set out in the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, which states that your employer must take every reasonable step to protect you in the workplace.
This could include risk assessments, safety training, supervision, and the proper use of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). If they fail to do this, you can sue an employer for negligence leading to injuries.
An arm injury claim might, therefore, arise from a workplace accident. Examples include:
- If hazardous materials are not stored properly, they can lead to serious burns, including to your hands and arms.
- Poor training in manual handling procedures can leave you using the wrong technique. This can in turn cause arm injuries alongside injuries to your shoulders and back.
- Inadequate risk assessment might miss out on faulty equipment, causing you to lose a finger or break your arm.
Accidents In A Public Place
The Occupier’s Liability Act 1957 regulates safety in public spaces. It places a duty of care on whoever controls a public space to keep everyone within it as safe as reasonably possible.
The negligent party will depend on the situation. It could be a shop owner or local authority. It could be your neighbour.
Public liability claims occur across various circumstances:
- Incorrect road work planning could cause a road traffic accident resulting in an arm amputation.
- Misplaced signage on footpaths might lead to a trip and fall, resulting in an arm fracture.
- You tripped on a rug in a cinema, breaking your wrist as you fell.
Road Traffic Accidents
Every single road user has a duty of care to not endanger others using the roads. As part of this obligation, anyone navigating the roads must comply with the Road Traffic Act 1988 and the Highway Code.
Due to the potentially dangerous nature of cars or other large vehicles, many examples of negligence on the road are also a criminal offence.
Injuries often arise from drivers failing to drive safely:
- Failing to observe hazards at a junction, which can result in running over a pedestrian and causing them to suffer a serious arm injury.
- Driving faster than the speed limit allows, causing a car crash with multiple injuries, including an arm amputation.
- Not ensuring all passengers wear seatbelts. This can result in various injuries to passengers if the driver stops suddenly or the vehicle is in an accident.
These are just some examples. To know if your case is right for a claim, contact our advisors using the details above.
What Are Common Types of Arm Injuries?
There is no one-size-fits-all approach to making an arm injury claim, because there is no one type of arm injury. Common examples include but are not limited to:
- A finger trapped in a door.
- A wrist injury.
- A simple fractured forearm.
- A radial forearm fracture.
- A broken elbow.
- A dislocated shoulder.
If you aren’t sure if your injuries apply, get in touch today. Our advisors can provide advice for your unique circumstances. Additionally, if you have an eligible arm injury claim, they could connect you to one of our solicitors.
How Is Arm Injury Compensation Awarded?
If you make a successful arm injury claim, your settlement could be up of two heads of loss (or parts). These are general damages (for pain and suffering) and special damages (for related expenses).
Physical pain and mental suffering are compensated under general damages. Those responsible for valuing claims will calculate the amount using medical evidence, your testimony, and the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG). This is a resource provided by the Judicial College for categorising injuries by severity and value. We’ve put together a table using some figures from the JCG.
Please be aware that the first entry in this table is not a JCG value.
| Injury | Severity | Notes | Compensation Guideline |
|---|---|---|---|
| Multiple Severe Injuries Plus Special Damages | Very Serious | Settlements could compensate for multiple injuries and related costs, including loss of earnings and a carer. | Up to £1,000,000+ |
| Amputation of Arms | Loss of Both Arms | The injured party is reduced to a state of helplessness. | £293,850 to £366,100 |
| Loss of One Arm (i) | The amputation occurs at the shoulder. | Not Less Than £167,380 | |
| Other Arm Injuries | Severe | Extremely serious injuries, which although fall short of amputation, the injured party is little better off. | £117,360 to £159,770 |
| Permanent and Substantial Disablement | One or both forearms sustained serious fractures causing significant permanent disability. | £47,810 to £73,050 | |
| Less Severe | A substantial recovery from significant disabilities has taken place or is expected. | £23,430 to £47,810 | |
| Elbow | Severely Disabling | The claimant sustained a severely disabling elbow injury. | £47,810 to £66,920 |
| Less Severe | These elbow injuries cause some functioning impairments, but do not involve major surgery or cause a significant disability. | £19,100 to £39,070 | |
| Wrist | Less Severe | There's some permanent disability, such as a degree of pain and stiffness. | £15,370 to £29,900 |
| Fractures or Soft Tissue Damage | These fractures and soft tissue injuries take longer than 12 months to heal, but it will be either complete or if largely complete, only have minor symptoms. | £7,420 to £12,630 |
These numbers are guidelines and may not reflect a final payout. However, it is useful at this stage to know what making a claim could do for you. Contact us using the details above to know more.
Can I Claim For Loss of Earnings Caused By A Severe Arm Injury?
As discussed above, settlements may consist of two parts. If a severe injury causes you to lose earnings, it is possible to recover special damages as part of your arm injury claim. This is usually for financial losses to date but may also include any effect on your future earning potential.
Special damages may also include:
- Medical expenses
- Travel costs for treatment
- The price of modifying your home or vehicle.
- Wages for domestic help.
Special damages are calculated on a case-by-case basis and can only be claimed with clear evidence. To claim for lost earnings, for example, you would need to provide payslips.
Our advisors will be happy to discuss this with you via the contact details above.
What Evidence Could Help Me Claim Arm Injury Compensation?
Arm injury claims require evidence (like any other personal injury claim). You will need to prove both the cause of your accident that resulted in your injuries. Your solicitor (if you wish to instruct one) can gather this evidence for you.
- Incident Reports – Police, insurance companies, and businesses with ten or more staff members keep a record of accidents. This can be requested in support of your claim. For example, if you sustained injuries in an accident at work, you can request a copy of the accident book.
- Medical Evidence – Personal injury claims could be submitted with a report by a medical expert such as an orthopaedist. If you work with a solicitor, they could arrange an independent medical exam. You can also submit relevant GP or hospital notes.
- Videos and Photos – Under Article 15 of the UK General Data Protection Regulation, you have a right of access to your personal data. That includes dashcam footage, CCTV recordings, and any other media in which you appear.
- Witness Contact Details – You can also provide the details of anyone who saw your accident happen. Their account may be evidence that makes your case.
If you have any concerns or queries about the proof involved, contact us using the details above.
How Long Do I Have To Make An Arm Injury Claim?
You have three years from the date of your accident to make an arm injury claim. On the third anniversary, the Limitation Act 1980 states that you are time-barred. For most cases, you can not make a personal injury claim on that day or after.
However, children and persons who lack mental capacity cannot make a legal claim by themselves:
- For children (under 18), their three years will begin when they turn eighteen. However, the court could appoint a litigation friend to manage the claim for them at any point prior to their 18th birthday.
- If an injured party lacks the mental capacity to claim for any reason, the court can appoint any trusted person as a litigation friend. A litigation friend can act for them at any time while they lack the capacity to manage the process themselves. If they regain this mental capacity without a claim being made, then they will have three years from that date to begin the process.
Our advisors can answer any questions you have about limitation, as well as provide advice if you would like to act as an injured party’s litigation friend. Contact us today using the details at the top of this page.
No Win No Fee Arm Injury Compensation Claims
Our solicitors are well-placed at the top of their industry to bring your arm injury claim to its best possible end. They are dedicated to:
- Providing guidance every step of the way.
- Streamlining complex processes.
- Clarifying all queries in a manner tailored to you.
- Applying decades of expertise on your behalf.
- Deploying the latest legal developments to win.
You can also instruct one of our solicitors to work on your claim for arm injury compensation on a No Win No Fee basis. This is possible through a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA). In a CFA, you agree to pay your solicitor a small, capped percentage of the compensation awarded if you win. In return, you receive a number of benefits:
- No upfront costs.
- Piece of mind without ongoing fees.
- Don’t pay a penny if you lose.
That’s it. There’s simply no need to wait to claim money that could be yours. To discuss eligibility and be connected to one of our solicitors:
- Call us anytime 24/7 on 0800 073 8801.
- Talk to us right now using the chat button below.
- Contact us to start your claim today.
More Useful Resources About Making A Personal Injury Claim
Further guides from Accident Claims:
- What Are Conditional Fee Agreements? – our useful guide.
- How to Sue a Restaurant For An Allergy – everything you need to know to get started.
- Making a Personal Injury Claim on Behalf of Someone Else – What to do if you aren’t the injured party.
Some external links you might find useful:
- Road Accidents and Safety Statistics – see the latest numbers provided by the UK Government.
- Guidance on broken arms and wrists from the NHS.
- Costs to Britain of Workplace Accidents – see what the Healthy and Safety Executive has found.
Thank you for reading our guide. All that remains is to contact our advisors and start your arm injury claim today.
