When Could You Claim For A Broken Ankle At Work?

A number of circumstances could result in you sustaining a broken ankle at work. Our guide aims to explain your employer’s legal duty of care and how failure to uphold this duty can lead to workplace accidents.

We examine the eligibility criteria to begin a personal injury claim, including the relevant time limits for starting legal action.

You also will see how compensation for a broken ankle is calculated and what evidence you can use to prove your injury was caused by your employer’s negligence.

The final section of this guide explores the type of No Win No Fee contract our panel of accident at work claim solicitors can offer eligible claimants and the benefits this brings.

Claim For A Broken Ankle At Work

A Guide To Claiming For A Broken Ankle At Work

If you would like further advice on any of the information contained within this guide, or a free no-obligation assessment of your eligibility to begin an accident at work claim, then contact our advisors. Our experienced and dedicated team is available 24/7 via:

Select A Section

  1. When Could You Claim For A Broken Ankle At Work?
  2. Examples Of Accidents At Work Causing Broken Or Fractured Ankle Injuries
  3. How To Prove Your Claim For An Accident At Work
  4. How Much Could You Claim For A Broken Ankle At Work?
  5. Get Help With No Win No Fee Broken Ankle At Work Claims
  6. Further Claim Resources For Accidents At Work

When Could You Claim For A Broken Ankle At Work?

Employers are required by law to take reasonable steps to keep their workers safe. The Health and Safety At Work etc. Act 1974 established this duty of care. How an employer will uphold this duty depends on the work being carried out, but examples can include the following:

  • Ensuring maintenance checks are regularly carried out on work equipment such as machinery and vehicles, and necessary repairs or replacements are carried out promptly.
  • Providing employees with appropriate training and supervision to carry out their work duties safely.  
  • Having adequate safety procedures in place to deal with water spills and other slip hazards.

In order to begin a personal injury claim for a broken ankle in the workplace, the following criteria will need to be met:

  1. Your employer owed you a duty of care at the time of the accident.
  2. There was a breach of this duty.
  3. This breach caused an accident in which you were injured.

Time Limits

The Limitation Act 1980 establishes a time limit of 3 years for most personal injury claims. This means that you have 3 years from the accident date to begin legal action. Exceptions to this general limit can apply so for further guidance on the time limits speak to our advisors today.

Examples Of Accidents At Work Causing Broken Or Fractured Ankle Injuries

In this section, we have provided some hypothetical scenarios where you could suffer a broken ankle at work due to your employer breaching their duty of care. Examples of how you could break your ankle in a workplace accident include:

  • You work in a furniture store. Your job requires you to lift and move large objects regularly, yet you have not been provided with any manual handling training. While attempting to lift an item well above the recommended weight limit, you drop the box on your leg and cause a serious ankle fracture. 
  • When working on a construction site, you were not provided with adequate protective footwear. A forklift driver reversed into you, running you over and breaking your ankle.
  • While moving goods from a delivery van to the storage area, you tripped on a loose paving slab. Your employer knew the slab needed replacing but had failed to take corrective action in a suitable timeframe. You suffered a serious ankle break in the fall.

There are a number of other circumstances where you could suffer a broken bone at work, so contact our advisors today for a free consultation regarding your particular circumstances.

How To Prove Your Claim For An Accident At Work

As part of your personal injury claim, you will need to collect supporting evidence. We have compiled a list of possible evidence for your ankle injury claim you could collect here:

  • After an accident, you should always seek the proper medical care. This is important to get your injuries properly treated, but you can request copies of any medical documents, such as an x-ray, to highlight the extent of your injuries. 
  • Workplace training documents could demonstrate that relevant health and safety, vehicle or manual handling training was either not carried out or carried out incorrectly.
  • Employers with ten or more employees are required by law to keep a workplace accident book. You can acquire a copy of your particular incident report.
  • If your workplace has CCTV cameras, request a copy of the footage. This can be very useful in showing the accident occurring.
  • You can also take photographs of your injuries, the immediate scene of your accident, and what caused it.

You could get assistance with collecting evidence from one of the dedicated personal injury solicitors from our panel of experts. Call our advisors for a free assessment of your eligibility to claim. If they decide you have valid grounds to proceed, you get the support of a solicitor from our panel with collecting evidence.

How Much Could You Claim For A Broken Ankle At Work?

Personal injury compensation for a broken ankle at work can be awarded under two separate heads of claim, general and special damages. General damages are awarded for the pain and suffering caused by the injury, whereas special damages are awarded for any financial losses. 

Those tasked with calculating a potential value of general damages for your claim can refer to the figures from the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG) alongside your independent medical assessment. The JCG is a document published by the Judicial College that lists several different types of injuries, with guideline compensation amounts for each.

Compensation Table

We have used some JCG figures for this table. Please be advised that these figures are guidelines, not guaranteed payouts.

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Type of Injury Severity JCG Bracket Description
Multiple serious injuries plus financial losses and costs. Serious/Severe Up to £100,000+ Multiple serious injuries both physical and mental plus special damages such as loss of earnings and care costs.
Ankle Very Severe (a) £50,060 to £69,700 Unusually serious injuries such as transmalleolar fractures with severe soft tissue damage causing deformity and heightened risk of amputation.
Severe (b) £31,310 to £50,060 Injuries that necessitate the insertion of pins and plates or a lengthy period in plaster with significant disability and impairment of mobility.
Moderate (c) £13,740 to £26,590 Injuries such as torn ligaments and fractures that result in less serious disabilities including walking difficulties or inability to stand for long periods.
Modest (d) Up to £13,740 Minor undisplaced fractures, sprains and injuries to ligaments fall into this bracket. The level of award will depend on the extent of recovery.
Achilles Tendon Most Serious (a) In the region of £38,430 Severance of the tendon and the peroneus longus muscle resulting in swelling, cramp and restricted movement.
Serious (b) £24,990 to £30,090 Successful repair of the tendon division but limitation of ankle movement, limp and residual scarring remain.
Moderate (c) £12,590 to £21,070 Injuries resulting in the partial rupture of the tendon. Awards in this bracket will depend on the treatment, ongoing pain and any continuing disabilities.
Minor (d) £7,270 to £12,590 Some damage to the Achilles tendon causing uncertainty of ankle support.

Special Damages

As we said earlier in the section, if you incur monetary losses due to your injuries, these costs could be reimbursed under special damages as part of your total compensation. This can include lost earnings from time taken off work to recover or the costs of in-home care.

As with general damages, you will need to show evidence of your monetary losses, so hold onto your payslips, any receipts, and other bills. For a more detailed estimate of the potential value of your claim, contact our team today for a no-cost assessment of your eligibility. 

Get Help With No Win No Fee Broken Ankle At Work Claims

After our advisors have assessed your eligibility to begin a claim for a broken ankle at work, you could be connected with an experienced personal injury solicitor from our panel. The type of No Win No Fee contract our panel can offer their services under is called a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA)

CFAs offer claimants distinct benefits. Generally, there won’t be any fees you need to pay the solicitor to begin working on your claim, nor will they require a fee for this work as your claim progresses. As the CFA is a No Win No Fee contract, if the solicitor does not win the claim, you will not pay a fee.

There will however be a fee, referred to as a success fee, if the solicitor wins your claim. A success fee is a capped percentage amount that is deducted from your awarded compensation by the solicitor before transferring the remainder to you. As this cap is enshrined in law, you will receive the majority of the awarded compensation. 

To get started on your potential claim, your first step is to contact our advisors using the details below. They can offer more guidance on how personal injury claims work, as well as assess the validity of your potential claim.

Further Claim Resources For Accidents At Work

Read more of our workplace accident claim guides here:

These resources from external sites may be of some use to you:

We’d like to thank you for reading this guide about starting a personal injury claim following an accident at work that caused a fractured ankle. Our advisors have considerable experience in assessing personal injury claims, so call today for further guidance on any of the information given above. They can also assess your eligibility to begin a claim without charge.