Any injury to your hamstring can result in a lot of pain and can make carrying out everyday tasks like walking or driving very difficult. In more serious cases, a torn hamstring can take months to recover from and this can be costly if your injury prevents you from working. Importantly, if your hamstring injury was caused by somebody else’s negligence, you may be eligible to make a hamstring injury claim for compensation.

We can help you to begin the claims process by reviewing your case with you. Your initial consultation with one of our specialists is free and there’s no obligation to proceed with a claim. However, if you wish to instruct one of our personal injury solicitors to proceed if a claim is viable, you will be represented on a No Win No Fee basis. As a result, you will only have to pay solicitor’s fees if you are paid compensation.

Please carry on reading for more on hamstring injury compensation claims. Alternatively, you can call us on 0800 6524 881 if you’re ready to discuss your claim with a specialist.

Am I Eligible To Make A Hamstring Injury Compensation Claim?

Generally, you may be eligible to make a hamstring injury claim for compensation if you can prove:

• You were owed a duty of care by the defendant; and
• An act of negligence by the defendant caused an accident or incident; and
• You sustained a hamstring injury as a result of their negligence.

Many pieces of legislation mean you’re often owed a duty of care so we won’t cover this too much in this guide. However, for clarity, you’ll typically be owed a duty of care while working, shopping, driving, walking down the high street or while you’re on a company’s premises.

Therefore, it’s more important to try and establish how your accident happened, who was to blame and how your hamstring injury has affected you. We’ll explain what types of evidence you could use to do so a little later on.

Common Causes Of Hamstring Injury Claims

Effectively, any accident that results in a hamstring injury could mean you’re eligible to claim compensation if the incident occurred because somebody else was negligent. Some common examples of why people make hamstring injury claims include:

• Falls from height – e.g. if you fell from tower scaffolding because your employer failed to provide a safety harness.
• Slips, trips and falls – e.g. if your hamstring snapped after your foot was caught in a broken drain cover causing you to fall.
• Sporting incidents – these could lead to a personal injury claim if your hamstring was injured because of faulty fitness equipment, bad coaching or an unsafe pitch.
• Gymnastics accidents – e.g. a gymnast who’s sustained a hamstring injury due to defective equipment, improper coaching, or an unsafe training environment. For instance, the gymnast was forced to train on a faulty balance beam despite expressing concerns and subsequently suffered a hamstring injury, they may have grounds for a claim against the gym or the coach.
• Road Traffic Accidents (RTAs) – cyclists, pedestrians and motorcyclists are particularly at risk of hamstring pulls, strains and tears.

Don’t worry if we’ve not described your accident here, our solicitors could potentially help you to claim compensation no matter what type of incident you were involved in.

Common Types Of Hamstring Injuries

According to the NHS, hamstring injuries are graded based on the severity of the injury:

• Grade 1 hamstring injuries include a pulled hamstring or a hamstring strain.
• Grade 2 hamstring injuries are where there is a partial tear of the hamstring muscles.
• Grade 3 hamstring injuries involve a complete tear of the hamstring muscle.

Generally, hamstring injuries are caused by violent or sharp movements of the leg that places stress on the hamstring muscles.

A pulled hamstring injury can take a matter of days or weeks to heal completely. However, a grade 3 torn hamstring can take months to heal. The length of time your hamstring takes to heal is one of the factors that would generally be considered in a settlement offer if you make a successful hamstring injury claim.

Symptoms Of A Hamstring Injury

The main symptoms of hamstring injuries include:

• Sudden sharp pain in the back of the leg.
• A tearing or popping sensation at the time of the accident.
• Tenderness, swelling and bruising that appears within a few hours after the accident.
• Muscle weakness and inability to bear weight on the affected leg.

It’s important to seek medical attention for any hamstring injury to ensure a proper diagnosis and treatment plan. This would also create a record of your injury which could be used as evidence for your claim as we’ll explain shortly.

How Much Compensation For A Injured Hamstring Could I Claim?

How serious your hamstring injury is and the prognosis for your recovery is usually the main factor that can influence how much compensation for a hamstring injury you may be awarded. Therefore, your solicitor will ask you to visit an independent medical specialist so that they can grade your hamstring injury. They’ll then produce a report about how you’ve suffered and your future prognosis. This is important because your claim should be based on both current and future suffering.

In addition to any damages paid for your physical suffering, compensation might also be sought for:

• Psychological injuries.
• Loss of enjoyment of any hobbies or activities disrupted by your hamstring injury.
• Medical expenses and treatment costs.
• Lost earnings which could include any future reduction in your income.
• The cost of mobility aids.
• Care costs if you needed help to cope with your hamstring injury from somebody else while you were recovering.
• Travel costs due to your injured hamstring for treatment, medical assessments etc.

Your solicitor will use their experience to try and make sure that no aspect of your suffering is left out of your hamstring injury claim. Their aim will always be to try and ensure a fair level of compensation is awarded.

Evidence To Support Hamstring Injury Claims

No matter how you injured your hamstring, if you make a personal injury claim, it is likely to be managed by an insurance company. In our experience, their first step will be to deny any liability for the accident on behalf of their client. Therefore, your solicitor will need to use their legal skills to convince the insurer about why you should be compensated. To do so, they’ll try to find evidence to substantiate your hamstring injury claim including:

• Medical reports. This can include doctor’s notes, medical evaluations, hospital records, physiotherapy reports, and any other documentation related to your hamstring injury and treatment. This evidence will help demonstrate the severity of your hamstring injury, the treatment needed, and the impact on your life.
• Accident report. If the injury happened in a workplace accident, in a public place, or during an organised event, for example on a school trip, there should be an accident report which you may be entitled to. This should detail how the injury happened, where it happened, and who was involved.
• Witness statements. If there were any witnesses to the incident, their statements could be invaluable. They can provide an objective account of what happened and corroborate your hamstring injury claim so please let the claims advisor know if you have any witnesses during your free consultation.
• Photographs. If there are any photographs or CCTV footage of the incident, the location, or the unsafe condition that caused your hamstring injury, these can be very helpful. This might include photos of the faulty equipment at a gym, for example.
• Financial records. Records of any financial losses you’ve suffered, for example, receipts for prescription medication, travelling costs, and loss of income etc, that you’ve incurred directly due to your injured hamstring.

If you work with a solicitor from our team, they’ll take any evidence you’ve already collected and use it alongside further information they’ll gather if it’s needed.

Time Limits For Claiming Hamstring Injury Compensation

The time limit for personal injury claims, which would include a hamstring injury, is generally three years from the date of the accident or injury as defined by the Limitation Act 1980. This means you’ll typically have three years from the date your hamstring was injured, or from when you became aware you were injured, to start a personal injury claim. Legally, claims can become statute-barred if they are made outside of the time limit so it’s important to begin your hamstring injury claim as soon as you can.

If your child has injured their hamstring, their time limit will not start until their 18^th birthday. That leaves you able to claim compensation on their behalf at any point before then.

Starting your case early on should mean evidence and medical information to support your case will be easier to obtain.

Starting The Hamstring Injury Claims Process

If you’ve torn your hamstring in an accident that wasn’t your fault, call us on 0800 6524 881 to see if we could help you to claim compensation. Legal advice will be provided and you’ll be able to ask any questions you might have about the hamstring injury claims process.

While you’re under no obligation to start a claim with us, we could appoint a personal injury solicitor from our team to your case if we believe it’s strong enough. Any claim they agree to manage will be processed on a No Win No Fee basis so you won’t be expected to pay legal fees unless there is a successful outcome to the claim.

Please use our live chat service if you have any additional questions about making a hamstring injury claim for compensation.