When Could I Make A Leg Injury At Work Claim?

By Daniel Pike. Last Updated 15th February 2023. You might be eligible to make a leg injury at work claim if your employer caused you to sustain your injury in an accident by acting negligently. This guide will explain how an employer’s negligence could cause leg injuries to happen in the workplace. We will also explain how you could fund legal representation by making a No Win No Fee claim.

Leg injury at work

Leg injury at work claim guide

There are various types of leg injuries that could be sustained as a result of negligence, such as:

  • Soft tissue injuries
  • Broken leg injuries
  • A broken knee injury
  • Severe injuries resulting in amputation

The severity of your injuries could affect the compensation you’re awarded. Additionally, other factors could influence the final settlement you receive. In this guide, we will explore how compensation is calculated and what your settlement may comprise in more detail.

Although we have aimed to cover the information you need, we expect you may still have questions. If so, you can discuss them with our team of experienced advisors using the details below:

  • Telephone: 020 3870 4868
  • Contact form: You can fill out our online contact form with your query.
  • Live chat feature: You can speak with an advisor using the live chat box in the right-hand corner.

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Anatomy Of The Leg

There are various different types of leg injuries that could affect the various bones and muscles in the leg. For instance:

  • Tibia: Someone could sustain a tibia fracture after falling from a defective ladder.
  • Fibula: Someone could sustain a fibula fracture after tripping over stock that hadn’t been tidied away.
  • Patella: An employee could suffer from a fractured patella after being hit by a moving vehicle driven by another employee who hadn’t been adequately trained.
  • Lateral meniscus or Medial meniscus: Someone could sustain a tear to these muscles in a manual handling injury after being asked to lift an excessive weight without the correct equipment.

All employers have a duty of care to take reasonable steps to prevent you from sustaining harm. If they fail to uphold their duty of care causing you to injure your leg in a similar incident to those listed above, you could make a leg injury at work claim.

Please call us on the number above for more information on your eligibility to claim.

What Is Your Employer’s Duty Of Care?

The Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 states that employers owe their employees a duty of care. As part of this duty of care, they must take reasonable and practical steps to ensure employees are kept safe from harm in the workplace.

Although an employer’s duty of care may vary depending on the specific workplace, generally, they must:

  • Carry out regular risk assessments
  • Provide adequate training
  • Communicate health and safety policies to their employees
  • Provide Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) where necessary

If they fail to uphold the duty of care they owe you and cause you physical or psychological harm as a result, you could make an accident at work claim for the harm you sustained.

For more information on proving liability after an accident at work, please call our team on the number above. They could advise whether you’re eligible to make a leg injury at work claim.

Leg Injury Claim – Examples Of Evidence

In order to establish negligence and claim compensation for a leg injury, you need to be able to support your claim with evidence. We have included a few examples of what you could gather to support your claim in the following list:

  • Workplace accident book records
  • CCTV footage
  • Contact details of employees who witnessed your injury
  • Medical evidence

It’s best to gather as many pieces of quality evidence as possible. If you’re unsure as to whether you’re eligible to receive leg injury compensation or want answers to questions such as, “could I make a leg injury claim?”, reach out to our advisors today.

Reporting Workplace Accidents

As mentioned your employer must report certain incidents and injuries under RIDDOR. The types of reportable injuries and incidents might include:

  • Death of workers and non-workers.
  • Specified injuries to workers such as amputations, certain fractures, certain crush injuries, serious burns and loss of consciousness.
  • Where a worker has required more than seven days off work.
  • Non-fatal accidents to non-workers.
  • Occupational diseases such as occupational dermatitis and carpal tunnel syndrome.
  • Dangerous occurrences.

Additionally, if you suffer a leg injury at work you should report the accident to your manager or supervisor. Details of the accident should then be detailed in the workplace logbook which all companies should have if there are more than 10 members of staff. Records of this entry could be used as evidence to support your leg injury at work claim.

Employers’ Responsibilities After An Accident

If you experience a leg injury at work, your employer has certain responsibilities. These might include:

  • Reporting your injury to the HSE: As a responsible person, your employer should report your injury to HSE if required under RIDDOR.
  • Assessing whether you’re eligible to receive Statutory Sick Pay (SSP): In some instances, you may receive full pay if you need to take time off work after an accident. However, this will depend on what’s stipulated in your contract. In other instances, you may be eligible to receive SSP for up to 28 weeks. 
  • Address the hazard that caused the accident: Your employer should take reasonable steps to reduce the risk of someone else injuring themselves in the same way.

For more information on an employer’s responsibilities following a workplace accident, call our team. They could also provide further guidance on the steps you could take to build a strong leg injury at work claim.

2022 Compensation Payouts For A Leg Injury At Work

If you’re claiming due to a leg injury at work, you may be wondering what the value of your claim could be. A case regarding personal injuries such as a leg injury claim could be split into two heads of claim. First, there is the matter of general damages. This is the amount that legal professionals work out to compensate you for the level of pain and suffering that your leg injury causes you.

For instance, permanent injuries that cause lasting effects to mobility or quality of life are typically worth more than injuries from which the claimant makes a full recovery. As part of the process of arriving at an appropriate sum, legal professionals will use the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG) to help them gauge how much an injury could be worth in general damages.

You can see some of these guide figures in the table below. They have been taken from the latest edition of the JCG, updated most recently in 2022.

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Injury Details Damages
Leg Amputation (a) (i) The loss of both legs. £240,790 to £282,010
Leg Amputation (a) (ii) The loss of both legs below the knee. £201,490 to £270,100
Severe leg injury (b) (i) Examples might include the most serious injuries which fall short of amputation. £90,320 to £127,530
Severe leg injury (b) (ii) (ii) The injury will lead to permanent mobility problems. The person will rely on crutches or other mobility equipment for the rest of their life. £54,830 to £87,890
Severe leg injury (b) (iii) Injuries might include serious fractures such as compound or comminuted fractures or ligament/ joint injuries. £39,200 to £54,830
Moderate leg injury (iv) Injuries could include multiple fractures or those which are complicated as well as severe crush injuries. In general this will affect one of the limbs. £27,760 to £39,200
Less serious leg injury (c) (i) (i) Examples might include a serious soft tissue injury or a bone fracture where the person only makes an incomplete recovery. £17,960 to £27,760
Less serious leg injury (c) (ii) Simple bone fractures of the femur. There has been no damage to the articular surface of the bone. £9,110 to £14,080
Less serious leg injury (c) (iii) A simple fracture of the fibula or tibia bone or a soft tissue injury. Up to £11,840
Moderate knee Injury (b) (ii) Injuries might include a twisting, bruising or laceration injury. Up to £13,740

Some claims may also include a figure called special damages. Certain costs and financial losses may occur as a result of your injury. Special damages aim to reimburse you for these. This can include amounts relating to factors such as a loss of earnings or medical costs.

Get in touch if you want to know more about how much your specific leg injury claim could be worth.

Check How To Start A Leg Injury At Work Claim

If you wish to hire a solicitor to represent your leg injury at work claim, you could use a No Win No Fee agreement to fund the legal representation.

As part of the agreement, you won’t pay an upfront fee to your solicitor for their services. Also, you won’t need to pay ongoing costs while your claim proceeds. Most importantly, if your claim fails, you won’t pay a success fee to your solicitor.

For claims that succeed, you will need to pay a success fee. This is taken as a legally capped percentage that will be deducted from your compensation. However, your solicitor will make you aware of the fee prior to starting work on your case.

If you’re interested in hiring a solicitor in this way, our team could help by assessing your case to determine whether it has a chance of success. If it does, they could assign a personal injury solicitor from our panel to represent your case.

Alternatively, our team could answer any questions you may still have after reading our guide. Either way, an advisor could help. For more information, please get in touch on the details below:

  • Telephone: 020 3870 4868
  • Contact form: You can fill out our online contact form with your query.
  • Live chat feature: You can speak with an advisor using the live chat box in the right-hand corner.

Related Lower Limb Claim Resources

Below, we have included some additional guides you may find helpful.

In addition, we have included some external resources that you may find beneficial.

We hope our guide on making a leg injury at work claim has helped. However, if you need any additional information, please get in touch with our team on the number above.