Your ligaments are the important bands of tissue that support your joints and connect your bones. If they are torn, ruptured, or stretched, you are likely to suffer a lot of pain and might be out of action for some time. In more serious cases, surgery might be required and you might face a long period of rest and rehabilitation. If your ligament damage was caused by somebody else’s negligence, you might be eligible to make a ligament damage claim for compensation for your suffering.

In this guide to ligament damage compensation claims, we’ll explain how the claims process works, what types of injuries could be claimed for, and the amount of compensation that you might expect to receive.

For more information on how to make a ligament damage claim for compensation, please read on. Otherwise, please feel free to call us on 0800 6524 881 if you are ready to take action straight away

Am I Eligible To Make A Ligament Damage Compensation Claim?

As we’ll explain later on, there are numerous accidents that could lead to ligament damage injury claims. However, before a personal injury solicitor will accept yours, they’ll need to review whether:

1. The defendant in the case owed you a legal duty of care.
2. If an act of negligence led to your accident and thus the duty of care was broken.
3. Whether your ligament damage was caused as a direct result of the accident.

While point 1 is important, you shouldn’t worry too much about it as a duty of care can be established by various laws. For example, while on the road, all drivers have a duty to keep one another safe because of the Road Traffic Act 1988. Similarly, your employer needs to keep you as safe as possible while you’re working because of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974. Your solicitor will know which law is relevant in your case once they have reviewed it.

Common Causes Of Ligament Damage Claims

Ligaments are bands of tissues that connect the bones and support the joints. Damage to these tissues may be in the form of stretches, tears or ruptures. Any of these can cause a considerable amount of pain, limiting your movement and affecting all aspects of your life. Surgery is often necessary to treat more serious ligament injuries. This is followed by an extended recovery time.

Ligament injuries may result from many different types of accidents resulting in a compensation claim, including:

Slip, trip, and fall accidents

Slip, trip and fall accidents commonly damage the ligaments in the back, ankles, knees, hands, and wrists depending on how you fall and if you put your hand out to stop your fall.

Accidents at work

Work-related ligament damage is most often caused by incorrect manual handling techniques that can result in back injuries at work, and repetitive strain-type injuries in the hands, elbows and shoulder injuries. One-off ligament injuries in the workplace are often caused by different types of slip, trip and fall accidents such as slipping on a wet floor, falls off ladders or scaffolding, tripping over loose wiring or torn carpeting, to name just a few.

Any accident at work causing ligament damage due to negligence may be subject to a ligament damage injury claim.

Repetitive Strain Injuries (RSI) at work

Your employer should take steps to protect you if you are conducting repetitive tasks over prolonged periods. If they fail to do so, and you sustain ligament damage as a result, you may have grounds to sue for RSI compensation. Similarly, if you injure ligaments in your back because you weren’t trained in manual handling techniques, you could also be eligible to claim.

Road traffic accidents

Whiplash is the most common type of injury caused in road accidents, but there are many other injuries to soft tissue and ligaments that road traffic accidents can cause.

*A Note On Whiplash Injuries

If you suffer whiplash injuries from an RTA (as a driver or passenger in a car crash), a personal injury solicitor may not be able to help you. In 2021, new government reforms mean that claims worth less than £5,000 can be made through an online portal. Our advice here is that you may still wish to seek legal advice. After all, how would you know for sure what the value of your claim is? After reviewing your claim, your advisor will explain which path is the best one in your case.

Sports-related ligament injuries

Sports-related ligament injuries usually result from inadequate training, for example, and can affect any part of the body depending on the sport and the nature of the accident. If you suffered a strain or sprain injury in a sports-related incident and believe negligence was the cause then you could have a claim for compensation.

Medical negligence

Ligament damage due to medical negligence may arise if your doctor fails to diagnose your injury or misdiagnoses it resulting in delayed or wrong treatment. Either of these can exacerbate the symptoms of a torn ligament injury or even cause permanent damage.

How Much Compensation For Ligament Damage Could I Claim?

The amount of compensation for ligament damage you could claim will usually be based on two different heads of loss:

• When claiming general damages you’ll seek compensation for the pain and suffering your injuries have caused and for loss of amenity.
• If you claim special damages the compensation will be used to recover any monetary losses caused by your injuries. For example, you could seek damages to cover lost earnings, medical treatment costs or travel expenses.

When claiming general damages, your injuries will need to be assessed by an independent specialist. So that you don’t need to travel too far, your solicitor will usually arrange your appointment locally.

Ligament Damage Settlement Amounts Guide

The sample settlement amounts for ligament damage have been provided to give you some guidance on the potential level of compensation and are based on guidelines for general damages advised by the Judicial College.

• £12,510 to £27,760 compensation for moderate ligament damage in back injuries.
• Up to £12,510 for minor ligament damage affecting the back.
• £39,200 to £54,830 for serious ligament damage in the legs.
• £69,730 to £96,210 compensation for knee injuries with severe ligamentous injuries.
• £26,190 to £43,460 for knee injuries with less severe ligament damage.
• £13,740 to £26,590 compensation for moderate ankle ligament damage.
• Up to £13,740 in compensation for modest ankle ligament damage.
• Up to £13,740 for ruptured/torn ligaments in the foot.

Please bear in mind that the settlement amounts listed may vary depending upon the severity of your injuries. To find out more, please speak with an advisor today.

Evidence To Support A Ligament Damage Claim

Any compensation claim for ligament damage requires evidence. This should help to prove what caused the accident to happen, who was to blame, and the level of injuries sustained. Please use the list below to give you some idea of what you could use to support your claim.

• Medical notes. The importance of medical evidence to support your claim cannot be understated. Therefore, if you attended A&E or a minor injuries unit, your medical records could demonstrate the severity of ligament damage.
• Photographic evidence. Taking a picture of the accident scene can be a great way to show how your injuries occurred. For example, if you slipped on water at work, capturing the scene on your phone before the area is cleaned up could help significantly.
• Details of witnesses. You should write down the contact details of anybody else who witnessed your accident. If needed, their statement could help to confirm your version of events.
• Camera footage. CCTV or dash-cam footage is another great way to help prove what happened leading up to your accident.
• Accident reports. When an accident happens at work or in a shop, it must be recorded in an accident report book. You should be given a copy that could be used to help confirm the location, date and time of the incident.

Once you’ve collected evidence, you could call our team to have it reviewed. An advisor will check whether anything else is required before letting you know what happens next.

Time Limits For Claiming Ligament Damage Compensation

When you contact us about claiming compensation for ligament injuries, one of the first things we’ll do is to check whether you’re claiming within the allowed time limits. Mostly, this will be a 3-year period from the date of the accident that you were injured in.

An exception to this rule is where a child has been injured. In this scenario, a responsible adult could act as a litigation friend and claim at any time before the child turns 18 years old.

There are several tasks that a solicitor will need to perform before contacting the defendant. Therefore, we would advise you to begin the claims process as soon as possible. That should give your solicitor plenty of time to request medical records, contact witnesses and speak with medical experts about your ligament damage compensation claim.

Using A Personal Injury Solicitor To File A Ligament Damage Claim

It is highly likely that when you contact the defendant in your case to inform them of your ligament damage claim, they will pass your letter on to their insurer. That means you won’t be compensated unless you can satisfy the insurance company that the defendant caused your accident and your injuries weren’t caused in another incident.

This process can be complex and involve tricky medical or legal negotiations. We strongly believe that you have a better chance of winning your case if you let one of our personal injury solicitors represent you during these discussions.

If your case is accepted, one of our solicitors will work hard to try and win the case on your behalf. Where a compensation offer is tabled by the insurance company, it will be discussed with you to see if it fully reflects your level of suffering. If it doesn’t, your solicitor will go back to try and agree to a higher settlement amount.

To begin your claim today, please call our team on 0800 6524 881. We’ll review your ligament damage compensation claim right away and advise you of your options.