Have You Injured Your Ankle In An Accident That Wasn’t Your Fault? You May Be Entitled To Make An Ankle Injury Compensation Claim.
Types Of Ankle Injuries
Ankle injuries are often associated with sports injuries. But the truth is, you don’t have to be an athlete or even a very active person to injure your ankle. Something as simple as walking on an uneven surface can cause a painful, incapacitating sprain.
Ankle injuries can happen to anyone at any age. Statistics show that more than 1 million people visit emergency rooms each year because of ankle injuries. Some of the most common ankle injuries that Free Legal Justice sees in ankle injury compensation claims are sprains and fractures, which involve ligaments and bones in the ankle. There is also the risk of wear and tear and strain to your tendon because of specific activity.
When we look at what type of ankle injury a claimant has suffered, we look at the kind of tissue, whether it is a bone, ligament, or tendon that has been damaged by some sort of accident. If you happen to experience any pain in this area after an accident, make sure that you do not ignore it. If you ignore it, this could end up creating lasting negative consequences for your mobility.
If an ankle has been fractured, it means that there has been a break in one or more bones. A sprain injury describes damage caused to ligaments when they are stretched beyond their normal range of motion. A ligament sprain can be mild and result from many microscopic tears in the fibres that comprise the ligament, or it can be an extremely severe injury and result in a complete tear or rupture. Muscle and tendon strains are more common in the legs and lower back. In the ankle, there are two tendons that are often strained. These are the peroneal tendons, and they stabilize and protect the ankle. They can become inflamed as a result of overuse or trauma. Acute tendon tears result from a sudden trauma or force.
What Causes Ankle Injuries?
An ankle injury often occurs when the ankle joint has been twisted too far out of its usual position. This can happen when you walk on an uneven surface, or step on something that is lying on the floor surface, and your ankle joint lands up in an unnatural position. Typically, the ankle injuries that Free Legal Justice deal with on a daily basis happen as a result of:
Tripping or falling;
Landing awkwardly after a jump;
Walking or running on uneven surfaces;
A sudden impact or trauma to the ankle such as a car accident;
Twisting or rotating the ankle out of its ordinary position; and
Rolling the ankle because of uneven footing.
What Are The Signs Of An Ankle Injury?
Common symptoms of an ankle injury include:
Sudden severe pain to the ankle, as well as continued pain in the ankle thereafter
Swelling of the ankle;
Bruising around the ankle; and
Inability to walk or bear any weight on the ankle.
The symptoms of a sprain and of a fracture can be very similar- often people mistake the one for the other. You could do even more damage if you don’t treat an ankle injury properly- it is important to have a potential ankle injury evaluated by a doctor as soon as possible if you have symptoms of an ankle injury. Your doctor will conduct the necessary x-rays and tests and draw up an independent medical report of your injuries. This report will be used by Free Legal Justice should you decide to institute an ankle injury compensation claim at a later stage.
What Should I Do After I Have Suffered An Ankle Injury?
The first thing to do is rest. It’s important to rest the ankle to prevent further damage and keep weight off of it.
Use Ice. Using ice will help slow or reduce the swelling and provide a numbing sensation that will ease the pain. You can apply an ice compress using a plastic freezer bag filled with ice cubes and water to mould to your ankle or use a frozen bag of veggies like corn or peas, and use a towel between your skin and the plastic bag.
Compression. Make sure too wrap the injured ankle with a bandage compression wrap to keep it immobile and supported. Be sure not to wrap the ankle too tightly. If your toes turn blue, get cold or lose sensation, then you know the wrap is way too tight.
Elevate your ankle. By elevating the injured ankle to at least the level of your heart, this will reduce swelling and pain.
It is important not to put any weight on the ankle until after it’s been evaluated by a doctor, which should be done as soon as possible. Fractures and sprains that are ignored or aren’t treated properly can lead to long-term chronic problems with the ankle, such as repeated injury, ankle weakness, and arthritis.
Do I Have An Ankle Injury Compensation Claim?
If your ankle injury has been caused as the result of another person’s actions or breach of a duty of care, you may have a valid claim for compensation against the person who caused you harm.
Ankle injury compensation claims can arise as a result of a workplace accident, an accident in a public place or a car accident. Free Legal Justice has dealt with each of these types of personal injury claims before, and we are well placed to advise you on your potential ankle injury compensation claim.
- Work-Related Foot and Ankle Injury Compensation Claims
A work accident is an occurrence during the course of work, which leads to some form of physical or mental occupational injury. Accidents at work are caused by a combination of unsafe behaviour and unsafe conditions. When accidents happen, it is crucial that an employer has adequate safety processes and policies in place to deal with the accident. If another person is to blame an accident at work that has caused your ankle injury, it is likely that you are entitled to make an ankle injury compensation claim against your employer. This will be a claim for compensation for the injuries you have sustained and pain and suffering you have endured as a result of the accident.
Foot and ankle injuries can occur as a result of a single incident, from extreme wear and tear or severe strain. Some common causes include:
- Slip and Fall Accidents
- Overexertion
- Fall from height
- Being caught in heavy machinery
- Walking or standing for longs periods of time
- Repetitive motion
- Stepping on sharp objects
While any worker is at risk when of suffering a work-related foot or ankle injury, some employees are more likely to suffer these injuries than others. This includes people working in hospitals or other care workers, those working in manufacturing and construction industries, as well as those in the retail industry including waiters, cashiers, chefs, shop assistants and bar staff.
It is not always obvious who caused the accident at work, or who is responsible for whatever caused the ankle injury. In most cases your employer is ultimately liable for the harm you have suffered, and will have beached the duty of care that they have towards you because they failed to ensure your health and safety at work. If an employer does not comply with this duty, and their failure to do so results in an accident or injury at work, there will be sufficient grounds for the employee to make an ankle injury compensation claim.
If your ankle injury was caused by the negligence of another employee, you should not worry that this person will be personally liable to pay you ankle injury compensation. As a result of a principle known as vicarious liability, your employer will be responsible for all actions of their employees, whether negligent or otherwise. This means that an employer will be liable for the ankle injury that an employee has suffered at work. Employers are required by law to take out liability insurance to cover claims by employees that have suffered injuries at work.
Common Work-Related Ankle Injury Compensation Claims
Free Legal Justice handles numerous accidents at work which result in our clients instituting ankle injury compensation claims against their employers. The list of variations of ankle injury compensation claims is extremely long. Some of the more common reported injuries that Free Legal has dealt with over the years include:
- Bone fractures of the ankle
Feet, ankles and toes all have tiny bones that can easily be broken because of an accident in the workplace. If an employee is caught between parts of dangerous equipment or is crushed under the moving parts of defective machinery, they can sustain a serious ankle injury. If an employee is injured because of a car or other workplace vehicle, he/she can suffer multiple fractures in one accident.
Some ankle fractures may require surgery for treatment of the injury. Depending on the nature and severity of an ankle injury, it can take as long as two years to completely recover fully from the pain, and to revert to your full motion range and strength of the ankle joint. In other cases, people are able to resume their normal daily routine within three to four months.
- Puncture wounds to the ankle
An ankle could be damaged by means of a puncture wound, caused by stepping on a sharp object in the workplace or by a power tool or dangerous machinery making contact with some part of the ankle. A puncture wound can limit the employee’s ability to walk and stand.
- Sprains and strains of the ankle:
An employee can easily twist his or her ankle in the workplace. A twisted ankle can result in a strain or a sprain. Naturally, the severity of your ankle injury will determine your recovery period. Generally, the initial treatment of an ankle sprain includes resting and protecting the ankle for at least a week until swelling goes down. This is followed by a period of one to two weeks of light exercise rehabilitation to restore range of motion, strength, and flexibility. In serious ankle injury cases surgery may be required, and it can take several more weeks to several months for your life to return to normal.
- Chemical spills and burns
Harmful substances and fire can cause serious burn injuries to the internal and external parts of your body, including your ankle. Employees in the health, science and manufacturing industries are at risk of harmful substances and employers should take careful health and safety measures to ensure that accidents of this nature are prevented in the workplace.
- Cartilage damage to the ankle
When an employee suffers a serious fracture or sprain, they could injure their cartilage as well.
- Amputation around ankle
Amputations are disastrous, and can occur if an employee’s foot is caught in heavy machinery or dangerous equipment, or if they are injured in an accident involving a moving vehicle at work. If the accident is severe and results in multiple fractures or crushed foot and ankle area, injuries can necessitate medical amputation.
- Car Accident Foot And Ankle Injury Compensation Claims
It isn’t just drivers who can claim for injuries sustained on the road – car accidents can cause injuries to all sorts of people, including passengers, drivers, and innocent bystanders. All of these people may have been affected by the car accident in some way, and may have a potential compensation claim.
If you have been involved in a car accident, there are many possible ankle injuries that you could suffer as a result. Ankle and foot injuries are extremely common in car accidents, as these incidents can be hard-hitting on the lower part of the body, especially for the driver of the vehicle. There are around 60 different bones in the feet, knees, and ankles that could potentially be injured as a result of a car accident. It is not just the bones that you have to worry about though – the ankle and lower leg contain many types of muscles, tendons, ligaments, and other soft tissues that could be damaged in a car accident. These tissues are there to provide support and hole the rest of your lower body together, giving you your flexibility and mobility. An ankle injury involving these tissues could result in severe impairment for the victim of a car accident.
If you are the driver of a vehicle, your knees are usually close to the steering wheel, the dashboard and the pedals. If a car accident ensues, the legs of the driver or a front passenger could easily crash into or buckle under the dashboard upon impact, leading to an array of lower leg and ankle injuries. Even if the crash happens at a slow speed, a car accident can still exert a huge amount of force on those inside the vehicle. Even a low impact can be enough to seriously injure most people’s ankles and feet.
Another way that you can be harmed in a car accident is through banging your feet on the floor as you brace for impact. This is a natural reaction, and we find that the majority of people will bang their feet on the floor at the moment of impact in a car accident. This is just a reflex action as people brace themselves for the impact. However, this reflex action increases the potential and likelihood of a foot or ankle injury, as the pressure makes it easier to be able to tear or stretch the soft tissues or even fracture the bones in the ankle.
If you have been in a car accident and have experienced an ankle injury, you should consider getting in touch with a friendly Free Legal Justice claims handler today, to find out more about your ankle injury compensation claim. At the end of the day, if the car accident was not your fault, then you should not have to pay for your physical injuries or for the financial consequences of such injury.
Common Car Accident Related Ankle Injury Compensation Claims
There are certain injuries that are more common than others in the ankles and feet when it comes to car crashes.
- Ankle Fracture Due To A Car Accident
Possibly the most common type of injury resulting from a car accident is a broken bone. This type of injury commonly occurs in head-on collisions and rear-end collisions. Foot fractures are particularly common because of the reflex that most people have to extend their feet when they are bracing for the impending impact of a crash, but fractures to the ankle bones are just as likely.
- Sprains and Strains
Sprains and strains are also very common ankle injuries resulting from car accidents. A sprain typically means that ligaments have been torn or stretched, and a strain entails the tearing or stretching of tendons or muscles. The bits of soft tissue around your feet and ankles are susceptible to these types of injuries if you are in a car accident.
- Amputation around ankle
Amputations are devastating to any victim of an accident. If a foot or ankle is caught in an accident or crushed by a moving car, this can have severe consequences for the victim. Where a car accident results in multiple fractures or crushed foot and ankle area, injuries can necessitate medical amputation.
Whether you land up with a broken bone or a sprained tendon in your foot and ankle, your day to day life will be affected for a certain period of time as a result of the car accident. Your ankles and feet are a crucial part of the human body, and you need them to move around and do simple daily tasks. As a result of an ankle injury, you may not be able to move around in the same way as before, which could result in a variety of financial losses, including taking time off of work. If you have found yourself in this situation after a car accident, it is important that you speak to Free Legal Justice as soon as possible. Our experienced legal team will guide you and help evaluate your ankle injury compensation you are entitled to.
- Public Place Foot And Ankle Injury Compensation Claims
Free Legal Justice is highly experienced in handling personal injury compensation claims which have happened in a wide range of public places, including theme parks, shopping malls, restaurants and bars, parks, schools, theatres, carnivals and music concerts.
If you have suffered a personal injury whilst in a public place and you believe it was due to negligence of another individual or body, you may be able to claim compensation for your injuries. Councils, shop owners, businesses and public bodies all have a duty to take reasonable measures to prevent the public from being injured on the premises under their control.
If your accident was on a council owned property, such as a public walkway or a council house rented out to a member of the public, then you may be able to make a personal injury compensation claim against the local authority if the accident was due to their negligence. When we look at injuries occurring in public spaces, the accident generally involves a slip or a trip on a road or a pavement, which means that the local council will be responsible.
When instituting a claim against a Local Authority for not maintaining a road or sidewalk, the claimant will need to prove that the local council was negligent in their duty to the public by failing to keep the pavement safe. This involves proving that, based on the circumstances of the case, it was not reasonable for the local council to let the public space to fall into a state of disrepair that it could result in a person being injured.
How Much Will I Receive As Ankle Injury Compensation?
Ankle injury compensation pay-outs typically comprise of amounts awarded for general and special damages. General damages refer to compensation for personal injuries suffered by the innocent person, while special damages refer to compensation awarded as a reimbursement of additional expenses incurred as a result of the ankle injury. One of our personal injury compensation experts at Free Legal Justice will explain in detail what will form part of your general and special damages claim, once you provide us with the details of your ankle injury compensation claim.
The general damages part of your accident claim is calculated by comparing your independent medical report with the official Judicial Board Guidelines for the Assessment of General Damages in Personal Injury Cases. This guideline estimates how much general damages can be claimed for different types of injuries. The Court will consider aspects such as how serious your injury was, complicating factors surrounding the injury, as well as the length of the recovery period.
The figures below should give you a general idea of the ankle injury compensation you might be eligible to receive.
Estimated Ankle Injury Compensation Value:
Severe ankle injuries Between £25 200 and £59 115
Moderate ankle injuries Between £11 100 and £22 575
Minor ankle injuries Up to £11 655
Please note that these figures are for guidance only. For a more tailored estimate of your ankle injury compensation, contact the Free Legal Justice team today. Our injury compensation team is available to give you completely free legal advice 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and is ready answer any questions you might have about the calculation of your general and special damages. Please get in touch with us by filling out the online form, or by calling us on 0800 567 7074 today. If you are unable to get to one of the Free Legal Justice offices, one of our friendly personal injury solicitors will be happy to conduct a home visit, to talk over your claim from the comfort of your own home.
What Will It Cost Me To Make An Ankle Injury Compensation Claim?
Many potential claimants worry about the cost of legal assistance when making their ankle injury compensation claim. We have good news. At Free Legal Justice, the vast majority of cases we work on are taken on a no win no fee basis, so there is no financial risk to you.
No Win No Fee Agreements
A No Win No Fee agreement lets you continue with your ankle injury compensation claim on the condition that if the claim is not successful, you won’t owe the Free Legal Justice team any money. Put simply, it is a way for you to take the necessary legal steps to claim rightful compensation for your ankle injury, without any financial risks weighing over your head. Our highly skilled lawyers are happy to offer No Win No Fee agreements to clients seeking rightful compensation for personal injuries, because they are extremely confident in their legal skills and have a track record of successful claims behind them.
A No Win No Fee agreement is a stress-free, financially-savvy way to make your claim for compensation. Once you have discussed the details of your case with a member of the Free Legal Justice team, and have agreed for us to continue with your compensation claim on a No Win No Fee basis, your work on the case is essentially finished. You can sit back, relax, and let your dedicated lawyer do the rest of the hard work for you!
How Much Will I Be Charged If My Ankle Injury Compensation Claim Is Successful?
One of the best things about a No Win No Fee agreement is that you will never need to pay us legal fees in advance. A No Win No Fee agreement means that we will only get paid after the fact, if your compensation claim is successful.
Our personal injury lawyers work on an average success fee of 25% of the total compensation received for your claim. Your designated lawyer will make sure to discuss the success fee upfront, and this success fee will be agreed in writing between the parties before you make your ankle injury compensation claim. If Free Legal Justice helps you to win your case, we will receive the success fee as payment for our legal fees. Your experienced personal injury lawyer will be able to answer any questions that you might have regarding the success fee once you have agreed to continue with your ankle injury compensation claim.
What Happens If My Ankle Injury Compensation Claim Is Unsuccessful?
Free Legal Justice holds the risk of your claim being unsuccessful. In the unlikely event that we can’t assist you to win your compensation claim, Free Legal Justice will not charge you any legal fees for the work done by your designated accident claims lawyer. That means that you will not need to pay Free Legal Justice a thing if your claim is not successful.
To ensure that you are fully protected and have peace of mind over your financial risks, our team can help you to secure ‘After the Event’ insurance. This insurance covers you in the event that you are unsuccessful with your claim, and in case the court orders you to pay a part of your opponent’s legal costs.
What Information Will My Lawyer Need To Make My Compensation Claim?
Generally, to be able to assist you on your ankle injury compensation claim, we will need to know:
- how you sustained the ankle injury,
- where you were at the time of the incident, be it on the road, at work or in a public place.
- Who else was present when you suffered the ankle injury, either as witnesses or as individuals involved in the accident; and
- We’ll need the details of your injuries, any medical diagnosis and the impact that this has had on your life both physically and financially.
Based on the information you give us, a member of the Free Legal Justice team will be able to assess your ankle injury compensation claim and advise you on the merits of your case. If we think you have a valid claim, we will also be able to give you an estimated value and advise you on the next stages in the process.
How Long Do I Have to Make My Ankle Injury Compensation Claim?
Generally, you need to make a claim for ankle injury compensation within three years of the date of the accident, or of the date of diagnosis of your injuries. There are exceptions to this rule, for example you may be allowed a longer time period if you are claiming on behalf of a child or protected person. On the other hand, if the accident was the result of criminal activity such as a hit and run, time limits may vary.
Contact Free Legal Justice at any time of day, on any day of the week, by filling out the short online form and waiting for us to call you back for free, or by calling one of our friendly personal injury claims handlers on 0800 567 7074. If you would like to discuss your case from the comfort of your own home, please request a complimentary home visit from one of our friendly accident claims handlers, so that we can start your ankle injury compensation claim without delay.
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