Barbed Wire / Razor Wire Personal Injury Claims Guide

By Jo Anderson. Last Updated 15th January 2024. Welcome to this guide to barbed wire injury claims, explaining ‘Is razor wire illegal in the UK?’. Here, we explain how a barbed wire cut tetanus claim could occur. Plus, we answer questions about razor wire fence injuries. These include ‘is barbed wire legal in the UK?’ Plus, “What else can you use instead of razor wire for a fence?”. If you suffer an injury on a barbed wire fence or razor wire fencing, UK law says you could seek compensation from a negligent party. For a broken barbed wire personal injury claim, our barb wire cut and razor wire cut guide provides reading on compensation payouts for barbed wire/razor wires injuries. Whether you were cut by barbed wire on a farm, or are cut by razor wires on a fence in another public place, this could be a useful guide.

Rusty barbed wire

Barbed wire/razor wire personal injury claim

Providing you can show negligence on the part of another person or organisation, a personal injury lawyer would offer to represent you on a No Win No Fee basis. Accident Claims UK handles many personal injury claims. We help people who suffer some type of injury caused by a negligent party. We could assist you in seeking compensation for injuries from a barbed wire or razor wire accident. This means a personal injury solicitor will represent you without requesting that you pay an upfront fee, and there would be no ongoing fees to find as your case goes forward either.

To find out how we can assist you in making a razor wire personal injury claim, please get in touch with one of our advisers on 0800 073 8801 today.

Select a Section

  1. Can I Claim For A Razor Or Barbed Wire Injury?
  2. How Do I Make A Barbed Wire / Razor Wire Personal Injury Claim
  3. Calculating Compensation For Barbed Wire / Razor Wire Personal Injuries
  4. Special Damages – What Expenses And Losses Could I Claim For?
  5. No Win No Fee Barbed Wire Injury Claims Explained
  6. Learn More About Barbed Wire Injuries And Claims

Can I Claim For A Razor Or Barbed Wire Injury?

When you are in a public space, you are owed a duty of care by the party in control of that space. This duty is set out under the Occupiers’ Liability Act 1957. Per their duty of care, they must take steps to ensure your reasonable safety while you are using that public space for its intended purpose. For example, they should be performing regular maintenance checks and risk assessments.

Additionally, section 164 of the Highways Act 1980 states that any barbed wire used on land next to a public highway must not cause a danger or nuisance to anybody or any animals that may use the highway. Any fencing using this type of material at a height that is less than 2.4 metres high would be considered a ‘nuisance’. As such, a local authority has the right to issue a notice. This could call for the removal of the offending barbed wire fencing.

To be eligible to make a personal injury claim for barbed wire cuts, you will need to prove:

  1. You were owed a duty of care.
  2. This duty was breached.
  3. As a result of this, you suffered an injury.

If you have suffered a cut from barbed wire, and would like to check your eligibility to make a personal injury claim, you can contact a member of our advisory team today. If it seems like you have a strong case, they may connect you with one of our expert No Win No Fee solicitors.

How Do I Make A Barbed Wire / Razor Wire Fence Personal Injury Claim

To make a barbed wire/razor wire personal injury claim, you should first get medical attention so your wounds are treated. You must then gather as much evidence as you can to prove another person was responsible for the injuries you sustained. 

How to prove that you were cut on barbed wire

To prove that you were hurt by barbed wire, you can collect different types of evidence to strengthen your claim. Examples of evidence could include:

  • CCTV footage of the accident
  • Photographs of the accident, accident site, or your injuries
  • Medical reports from any medical professionals you visited after the accident
  • Witness contact details – if anyone was present at the time of the incident, their statement could help strengthen your case

However, this list is not exhaustive. Other types of evidence could potentially help your barbed wire fence injury claim. If you speak to a solicitor, they can help you figure out what evidence will work best for your case.

Following this, you should contact a solicitor to find out whether your claim against a responsible party is valid. Once this has been established, the solicitor would offer to represent you on a No Win No Fee basis which means they would not request you pay an upfront fee for them to begin their investigations.

Time Limit For Razor Or Barbed Wire Injury Claims

There is a time limit for starting a personal injury claim if you were cut on barbed wire or a razor wire fence. This time limit is typically three years from the date of the accident, as set out by the Limitation Act 1980, though there are some exceptions.

For example, the time limit is frozen for those who are under the age of eighteen. While the time limit is frozen, a litigation friend can claim on the claimant’s behalf. Otherwise, they can only start a claim for themselves when the time limit reinstates on their eighteenth birthday.

The time limit is also frozen for those who lack the mental capacity to claim for themselves, but this time, it is frozen indefinitely. It only reinstates if the claimant recovers the appropriate capacity, at which point the three years will begin on the date of recovery. Otherwise, a litigation friend can make the claim on their behalf.

Our team of advisors are here to help if you’d like to learn more about time limits in personal injury claims. Contact our team today to start your free consultation.

Calculating Compensation For Barbed Wire / Razor Wire Personal Injuries

If you make a successful personal injury claim for a barbed wire injury, your compensation could include two heads of claim: general and special damages.

The first head of claim, general damages, compensates you for the pain and suffering caused by your razor wire injury. The Judicial College Guidelines (JCG) is a document that may be used by those calculating such damages. It provides a list of various injuries at different severities and their associated guideline compensation brackets.

The table below contains some figures from the 16th edition of the JCG, which was published in 2022. However, this is only guidance. You should also note that the first figure in the table is not taken from the JCG.

Edit
Injury Type Severity Potential awards Comments
Multiple serious injuries inclusive of financial expenses. Serious Up to £100,000+ Multiple serious injuries which, when combines result in significant pain and suffering as well as losses such as loss of income and medical costs.
Scarring Other Parts of the Body £7,830 to £22,730 A singular disfiguring, or multiple noticeable scars to the legs, hands, arms, chest or back.
Scarring Other Parts of the Body £2,370 to £7,830 Several superficial or a singular noticeable scar to the hands, legs or arms with some minor cosmetic deficit.
Injuries to knee Moderate (ii) Up to £13,740 Lacerations, bruising or twisting injuries fall into this category.
Injuries to foot Modest (g) Up to £13,740 Straightforward foot injuries such as lacerations, fractures and contusions that make an almost complete recovery.
Injuries to hand Moderate (h) £5,720 to £13,280 Injuries may include deep lacerations, crush injuries, penetrating wounds and soft tissue injuries.
Injuries to elbow Moderate or Minor (c) Up to £12,770 Majority of elbow injuries fall under this bracket, including lacerations and simple fractures. The recovery time will affect the amount awarded.
Injuries to leg Less Serious (iii) Up to £11,840 Injuries such as cuts, lacerations and simple tibia or fibula fractures fall under this bracket.

Additionally, you may be eligible to claim special damages for costs and financial losses caused by your injury. These could include but are not limited to:

  • Travel expenses – you may have incurred travel expenses getting to medical appointments about your injury, such as taxi or train fares.
  • Care costs – if your injuries were very severe, you may have needed paid care at home while you recovered.
  • Loss of earnings – you may have lost out on income, due to being unable to work because of your injuries.
  • Medical expenses – this could include paying for over-the-counter pain relief or prescriptions. 

Evidence will need to be presented of these financial losses when claiming for them under special damages. This could include receipts, invoices and payslips.

To learn more about making a claim for a razor wire fence injury, or to check how much compensation you could receive, please contact an advisor.

No Win No Fee Barbed Wire Injury Claims Explained

If you are eligible to pursue a personal injury claim after being cut by barbed wire, you may wish to get professional help with your case. One of our solicitors could offer to assist you under a type of No Win No Fee arrangement, such as a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA).

Typically, under a CFA, you won’t have to pay your solicitor for their work upfront or throughout the process of your claim. Should your claim not result in compensation, under a CFA, you would not typically have to pay your solicitor for their work.

Instead, if your claim is successful, the solicitor will take a small, legally capped percentage from your compensation. This is known as a success fee.

To learn more about claiming compensation with one of our No Win No Fee solicitors or to learn more about personal injury claims for a barb wire cut, you can contact our advisors. They can be reached by:

Learn More About Barbed Wire Injuries And Claims

For more information on claiming compensation from a Local Authority Local Council, please click on the link below:

Thanks for reading about how to make a broken barbed wire injury or razor wire fence compensation claim. Whether you have suffered a barbed wire cut with tetanus, or another injury, we would be happy to help.