Hand Injury Accident Claims – How Much Can I Claim?
By Danielle Jordan. Last Updated 21st September 2023. If you have suffered a hand injury due to a relevant third party breaching their duty of care, you may be eligible to make a personal injury claim.
There are various situations in which you are owed a duty of care. These include while using the roads, in the workplace and in public spaces. In this guide, we will look in more depth at the duty of care you are owed in these various incidents.
We also take a look at the criteria you must meet to be eligible to make a claim for compensation, as well as what evidence you could use to support your case. Furthermore, we will look at the benefits of making a claim with a No Win No Fee solicitor.
Our advisors are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, with free advice. If you have any questions regarding hand injury claims or if you would like help with starting a claim, please get in touch with our advisors.
To speak to an advisor:
- Call 0800 073 8804
- Start your claim online.
- Ask a question in our live chat.
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Select a Section
- What Are The Eligibility Criteria For Hand Injury Claims?
- Hand Injury Claims Time Limits
- What To Do If You Are In An Accident Causing A Hand Injury
- What Can Be Claimed For After An Accident Causing A Hand Injury?
- Hand Injury Compensation Amounts In The UK
- Make A No Win No Fee Hand Injury Claim
What Are The Eligibility Criteria For Hand Injury Claims?
There are various day-to-day situations where you could suffer a hand injury. However, to make a claim you need to satisfy some criteria. Let’s take a look at these in more detail:
- An accident at work. Under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 (HASAWA), your employer owes you a duty of care. This means that they must take all reasonable and practicable steps to ensure the health, safety and welfare of their staff. Should they fail to adhere to the health and safety legislation that applies to them and this causes an injury, you might be able to make a workplace accident claim.
- A public liability accident. While you are in a public space, such as a supermarket, a park or even at the hairdresser, the organisation or individual in control of that space owes you a duty of care under the Occupiers’ Liability Act 1957. This means that they must ensure your reasonable safety. If they breach this duty of care and you suffer an injury as a result, you could be eligible for compensation.
- A road traffic accident. Road users owe each other a duty of care to navigate in a way that prevents injury and damage to themselves and others. As part of this duty, they should adhere to the Road Traffic Act 1988 and the Highway Code. If this duty is breached and you suffer an injury, you could make a claim.
In order to have valid grounds to seek hand injury compensation, you must be able to prove that you suffered your injury as a result of a liable party breaching the duty of care that they owed to you.
Our advisors can answer any questions you have about hand injury claims. Get in touch using the details at the top of the screen.
Hand Injury Claims Time Limits
Personal injury claims must be started within the time limit set out in the Limitation Act 1980. Generally, this is 3 years from the date of the accident that caused your injury.
However, in certain circumstances, there are exceptions to the limitation period. These include:
- Those who lack the mental capacity to make a claim for themselves will have the limitation period suspended indefinitely. During this time, a court-appointed litigation friend could start the claiming process on their behalf. However, if the injured party regains the capacity to claim, they will have 3 years from that date to begin legal proceedings if a litigation friend did not act on their behalf.
- Those under the age of 18 will have the time limit paused until they turn 18. Before this date, a litigation friend could act on their behalf. Once they turn 18, they will have 3 years from that date to start a claim if one was not started for them.
If you have any questions about the personal injury claim time limit or hand injury compensation amounts, please get in touch with our advisors.
What To Do If You Are In An Accident Causing A Hand Injury
If you have been caught up in an accident that has resulted in a hand injury, then it is imperative that you follow the correct procedure to help you create a good case. For claims for hand injuries, this procedure should include the following steps:
- Get medical attention – It is important that your injuries are assessed by a doctor and that the appropriate hand injury treatment is started as soon as possible. A doctor will be able to produce a report based on the injuries you have sustained. This could be very important when it comes to establishing the claim amount you receive. Should you need any assistance we can help you to arrange a local medical.
- Collect witness contact information – Getting contact details from anyone who was a witness to your accident could really help to support your claim in the event that witness statements are required.
- Make a record of the events that happened – Once you are in a position to write things down try and remember as many details as possible. This will ensure that those important bits of information do not escape you later on.
- Keep paperwork relating to expenses – Any costs that you incur as a direct result of your injuries might be claimable, these are called special damages. Make sure that you keep any paperwork and receipts you are given as you will need to be able to provide proof of any expenses you have had to payout.
What Can Be Claimed For After An Accident Causing A Hand Injury?
When it comes to making a claim for a hand injury following an accident that has resulted in a hand injury there are several things that you may be able to claim for:
- General damages – this is any amount of compensation that you may be able to claim as a consequence of any pain or injury that results from your accident.
- Care claim – If you need assistance in your home whilst you are recovering from your hand injury then the person who looks after you can file a care claim.
- Loss of earnings – If as a result of your hand injury you are not able to return to the workplace for an extensive length of time then you should be able to claim for your future loss of earnings.
- Travel expenses – If you have suffered from a hand injury that has affected your ability to drive then you may have to use other forms of transport, for example, taxis. You might be entitled to make a claim for this.
- Medical bills – If as a result of your hand injury you have incurred and cost relating to the medical bills, such as prescription fees or hospital bill then you might be entitled to claim for these expenses.
In exceptional situations, your solicitor may be able to arrange a provisional payment before your claim is completed. However, this is not always possible. If you would like to discuss this in more detail, please do give us a call.
Hand Injury Compensation Amounts In The UK
The severity of your injury, and the effect your injury has had on your life, will influence how much you are awarded in compensation.
To assess an amount for compensation, your injury and its effects would be assessed against two heads of claim; general damages and special damages. General damages looks at the severity of your injury and is the amount of compensation for the pain and distress it may have caused you.
We have created a table below of example awards for general damages for a hand injury. The figures in our table come from the 2022 edition of the Judicial College Guidelines, which uses payouts awarded in court settlements to create compensation brackets for injuries. They are merely examples but can give you a rough idea of hand injury compensation amounts in the UK.
| Compensation reason | Typical Amount of Award | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Hand Injury – Loss Of One Hand | £96,160 to £109,650 | This applies to a hand which has been amputated. The higher amounts in this category are for dominant hand loss. |
| Hand Injury – Serious | £29,000 to £61,910 | The use of the hand will be severely restricted to around 50 percent capacity, with loss of grip and/or dexterity. |
| Hand Injury – Less Serious | £14,450 to £29,000 | Crush injuries are often found here. Function will be impaired, often despite treatment. |
| Hand Injury – Moderate | £5,720 to £13,280 | Soft tissue injuries, penetrating wounds, and deep cuts. If surgery has not fixed the issue and there is residual disability it is often an award at the top end of this bracket. |
| Severe Finger Fractures | Up to £36,740 | Injuries with long term effects on a person’s ability to use their fingers |
| Wrist Injury | £47,620 to £59,860 | Complete loss of function in the wrist. |
| Wrist Injury | £24,500 to £39,170 | Significant, permanent disability, but some movement remains. |
| Wrist Injury | £12,590 to £24,500 | Permanent disability with a degree of residual pain and stiffness. |
| Wrist Injury | £6,080 to £10,350 | Recovery from fracture or soft tissue injury takes longer but is complete. |
| Wrist Injury | In the region of £7,430 | Uncomplicated Colles’ fracture. |
| Wrist Injury | £3,530 to £4,740 | Minor, undisplaced fractures or soft tissue injuries. Require bandages, plasters and the like with full recovery within 1 year. |
If you had suffered financial losses because of your injury, you could then seek special damages along with the amount for general damages. Compensation for a hand injury at work, for example, can take into account the effect your injury could have had on your ability to work. The compensation you are awarded could then see you reimbursed for any reduction in pay, or loss of pay.
We give you more information about special damages and the types of losses you can include in your claim below. However, if you are looking for information about suffering an injury at work, or compensation for a hand injury, please speak with one of our advisors. They can directly answer any questions you have.
Make A No Win No Fee Hand Injury Claim
If you are making a personal injury claim, you may like to have the support of a solicitor. One of our solicitors could assist you with your case. They have experience with various types of personal injury claims, including those for hand injuries.
Our solicitors generally offer their services under the terms of a type of No Win No Fee agreement called a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA).
When your solicitor provides their services under this type of arrangement, they won’t ask for any upfront or ongoing fees for their services. Furthermore, if your claim is not successful, you won’t be asked to pay them for the work they have done on your case.
If your claim has a positive outcome, they will take a success fee from your compensation award. The percentage that a solicitor can take as a success fee is limited by the law.
Please get in touch with our advisors if you have any questions. They can assess whether you have valid grounds for a claim, and if you do, you could be connected to one of our solicitors.
To speak to an advisor:
- Call 0800 073 8804
- Start your claim online.
- your questions in our live chat.
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Learn More About Hand Injury Claims
Below, you can find more useful information on hand injury claims.
- NHS tendon damage advice – This link discusses Tendons and the damage that can happen to them, including hand injuries pictures, together with the surgical treatments that might be required to correct them.
- Our accident at work claims guide – If your accident has occurred at work this link contains a rough guide to the compensation amounts that could be paid out for sometimes of compensation claims.
- NHS advice on hand pain – This is a useful guide to hand injuries, NHS pages have some very useful information on some of the main types of hand pain, hand injury symptoms and possible treatments.
- Hand Amputation Compensation Amounts – If you have suffered from a hand amputation injury find out how much compensation you can claim.
