A Guide To Broken Chair Accident Claims

By Jo Anderson. Last Updated 12th April 2024. Welcome to our broken chair accident claims guide. Below, we explain what falling off chair injuries someone could suffer from a chair breaking, and why broken office chairs could lead to a personal injury claim. We also explain how a broken chair accident could lead to a claim, and how we could help with personal injury claims of this type.

Broken chair accidents can cause many injuries. Accidents involving a broken chair can happen in many different ways too. Perhaps you’ve been injured falling off a chair that was damaged, or been cut by pieces of a broken chair when it collapsed. You could be eligible to make faulty chair claims if someone else’s negligence caused your injury from a fall from a chair.

This guide explains what you may need to know when claiming broken chair injury settlements. We offer guidance on office chair accidents, whether it’s a broken computer chair or another collapsed chair.

We have over 30 years of experience in managing compensation claims – including broken chair accident claims. We can help you with your broken chair lawsuit so keep reading.

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What Are The Eligibility Requirements For Broken Chair Accident Claims?

To be able to make a personal injury claim for a broken chair accident, you will need to prove that your injuries were directly caused by another party breaching the duty of care they owed you.

There are various instances where you are owed a duty of care. For example, your employer owes a duty of care towards you under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 (HASAWA). Per this duty, they must take reasonably practical steps to protect you from coming to harm due to your work or workplace. For example, if you work in an office, they should perform regular risk assessments and regularly maintain any office equipment you use. If your employer were to knowingly provide you with a broken office chair, and this causes you injuries, you may be able to make a personal injury claim.

Additionally, you are owed a duty of care while in public places, such as restaurants and cafes. While in a public place, you are owed a duty of care by the party in control of that space under the Occupiers’ Liability Act 1957. Under this legislation, they must take all necessary actions to ensure your reasonable safety when using that space. Should you suffer an injury due to falling off a chair that was faulty, you may be able to make a personal injury claim.

If you’re unsure as to whether you could qualify to make a personal injury claim for a broken chair injury, please contact an advisor. They could check this for you.

How Long Do I Have To Claim For A Broken Chair Accident?

If you want to make a claim for injuries sustained in a broken chair accident and you’re eligible to do so, we should point out that a time limit applies. Broken chair accident claims, just like most other personal injury claims, are subject to a limitation period. This is outlined under the Limitation Act 1980.

Generally, the time limit to start a claim is three years from the date of the accident, or the date you became aware of negligence.

However, there are some exceptions to this. For example, if a child was injured by a broken chair at school, they could not make their own claim until they turned 18. If this happened to your child, you could apply to be a litigation friend. If successful, you could make a broken chair accident claim on their behalf. You could have up until they turn 18 to do so. Alternatively, if no claim was made for them before they turned 18, they could make their own claim once they reach adulthood. They would usually have 3 years from the date they turned 18 to launch their claim. 

If you would like to talk to us about the time limits applicable to broken chair accident claims, please call us. We’d be happy to discuss how long you could have before your claim reaches the personal injury claims time limit.

Examples Of Broken Chair Accident Claims

Although there are many different types of incident involving broken computer chairs there are a few injuries that crop up time and time again.

  • A head injury caused by hitting your head when you fall. These can be severe as you typically aren’t expecting the fall and take no measures to protect yourself. There may also be
  • Broken limbs can also be severe, again as the fall is unexpected. You may not be aware that you have broken a bone until you are examined by a doctor.
  • Cuts and lacerations caused by sharp edges, either exposed as the chair failed or present because the chair was already damaged.
  • Bruises are perhaps the most common result of a fall from a chair as well as soft tissue injuries.
  • Back damage can be caused by falling awkwardly onto your spine or, over a longer period of time, it can be caused by poorly adjusted or faulty chairs forcing you into poor posture.

If you suffer any type of injury due to a broken office chair, why not contact us to see if you could claim. We could help you fight for the maximum compensation for your case.

How Much Compensation Could I Receive For A Broken Chair Accident?

You may be wondering, ‘How much compensation could I receive for my injuries when a chair broke under me?’. Various circumstances will affect how much compensation you could receive, such as:

  • The type of injury you suffered.
  • The severity of the injury.
  • What treatment is required.
  • The financial impacts of your injury.

However, if you make a successful personal injury claim, you will receive compensation for the pain and suffering your injuries have caused you. This is awarded to you under the head of loss known as general damages.

Those responsible for valuing your claim for general damages may refer to the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG) for assistance. This document contains compensation guidelines for a range of injuries, and we have listed some of them within the following table.

Please only use this table as a guide, and note that the first entry has not been taken from the JCG.

Compensation Table

InjuryCompensation RangeNotes
Multiple Serious Injuries With Special DamagesUp to £1,000,000+A compensation settlement to reflect multiple serious injuries and their special damages, such as lost earnings, care costs and travel expenses.
Head or brain injury (a) Very Severe£344,150 to £493,000The most severe brain injuries that leave the person unable to have any meaningful response to their environment.
Severe Back Injury (a) (i)£111,150 to £196,450Severe damage to the spinal cord and nerve roots causing serious pain and disability.
Moderate Back Injury (b) (ii)£15,260 to £33,880The ligaments and muscles in the back have been disturbed causing backache.
Severe Pelvic/Hip Injuries (a) (i)£95,680 to £159,770Extensive fractures of the pelvis that could cause incontinence, for example.
Severe leg injuries (iii) Serious£47,840 to £66,920Serious compound or comminuted fractures or ligament or joint injuries that cause instability.
Severe Shoulder Injury (a)£23,430 to £58,610Could involve damage to the brachial plexus, for example.
Less Severe Arm injuries (c)£23,430 to £47,810There will have been significant disability but a great deal of recovery will have been made or is expected to.
Less Severe Wrist Injuries (c)£15,370 to £29,900These type of injuries will still result in some permanent disability such as persisting stiffness and pain.

Special Damages In Personal Injury Claims

You may also be awarded compensation for the financial losses your injuries have caused you to suffer. This would be compensated under the head of loss known as special damages. Some examples of the costs you could claim for include:

  • A loss of earnings for time taken off work.
  • Prescription fees and other medical expenses.
  • Care costs if you required help with cooking and cleaning, for example.
  • Travel expenses to and from medical appointments.

To be able to claim special damages, you should present evidence of the financial losses you are claiming for. For example, this could include payslips, receipts and invoices.

Contact our advisors to discuss your case today and to receive a free valuation of your potential compensation.

What Evidence Do I Need To Claim For Injuries Caused By A Broken Chair?

If you are eligible to make a personal injury claim after a chair broke under you, you will need to present evidence that supports your case.

Examples of evidence you could collect to help prove liability and the injuries you suffered include:

  • Pictures of the broken chair and any visible injuries suffered.
  • Medical evidence of your injuries, such as your medical records. These could also detail the treatments your injuries needed.
  • Video footage of the accident taking place, such as CCTV footage.
  • The contact information of anyone who witnessed your accident. They could be approached at a later date to provide a statement.

Contact our advisors today to discuss your case. They may also put you in contact with a solicitor on our panel who has experience working on broken chair accident claims. As part of their services, a solicitor could help you with gathering evidence.

Can I Claim For Injuries Caused By A Broken Chair With A No Win No Fee Solicitor?

One of our solicitors could help you make a claim for injuries caused by a broken office chair. They could offer their services under a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA). This is a kind of No Win No Fee arrangement that lets you instruct a solicitor without requiring any upfront or ongoing fees for their services. Similarly, if your claim fails, then your solicitor won’t ask for a fee for their work.

They will take a fee for their services if your claim succeeds. In this case, your solicitor will deduct a success fee straight from your compensation. This fee is taken as a small percentage, and there’s a legal cap in place to help ensure that the majority of your award goes to you.

Working with a solicitor can come with many benefits, as they can help you collect evidence, and evaluate your claim. Our team of advisors are here to help if you’re wondering how one of our solicitors could help you; through a free consultation, they can assess the validity of your claim and potentially pass your case on to a solicitor.

To learn more about claiming for injuries caused by broken chairs, or to get started on your claim, contact us today:

More Helpful Guides

Thank you for reading our broken chair accident claims guide. Hopefully, now you know more about how broken chairs could cause accidents. Plus, how they could lead to broken chair injury settlements. If you would like to make a claim for falling off a chair that was damaged, please call. Or, if you want to make other faulty chair claims, we would be happy to help.