On this page, we will present a hypothetical case study that shows that if you were to suffer a broken rib at work, you could be able to claim £25,000 in compensation, or even more. We also provide information on the legal process of making a claim for compensation for a broken rib at work, and look at some of the ways that a fractured rib can be caused.
If, when you have finished reading the information on this page, you have questions that remain unanswered about your own potential claim, then please speak to our team on 0333 000 0729. One of our expert advisors will discuss your claim with you, and then offer you some free legal advice on how to proceed with a claim.
Jump To A Section:
- Crush Accidents Work Leading To Broken Ribs
- Anatomy Of The Rib Cage And Chest Cavity
- Kinds Of Crush Accidents At Work
- 6 Ways You Could Suffer A Fractured Rib At Work
- Case Study: £25,000 Payout For A Broken Rib Accident At Work
- Broken Rib At Work Personal Injury Claims Calculator
- No Win No Fee Compensation For A Broken Rib At Work
- How Do I Make A Claim For My Broken Or Fractured Rib?
- Speak To Legal Helpline’s Experts Today
- Related Claims Guides
Crush Accidents at Work Leading To Broken Ribs
A broken rib, even a hairline fracture to a rib, can be a very painful injury indeed. More serious injuries such as a rib crush injury fracturing several ribs will result in severe pain.
Rib injury
The rib cage protects the lungs and the heart, two of the most important organs in the human body. Loss of function of either of these organs will result in a rapid death. Therefore, the rib cage is very strong (more on this in the next section) in order to provide good protection, yet are meant to flex, and they do.
However, when a heavy weight is applied to the rib cage, such as in a crush injury, one or more ribs can be fractured. What this means is, that with every breath, the broken ribs will flex, causing pain, sometimes extreme pain.
If you were to suffer one or more fractured ribs in a workplace accident, and you can prove that your employer was at fault, then a personal injury lawyer could be able to help you to make a personal injury claim.
Anatomy Of The Rib Cage And Chest Cavity
The rib cage is made up of bones, cartilage, and tendons that create a frame to protect the chest cavity. There are typically 24 ribs in a human rib cage, starting with the first rib, which is the smallest and counting upwards in pairs.
The ribs are arranged to loosely attach to the sternum and the vertebral column, as well as the thorax. The rib cage is semi-rigid and is supposed to flex to some extent, and protect the lungs and heart.
However, crush injuries in the workplace can result in serious injuries such as fractured ribs, and also in severe cases damage to the organs the rib cage protects. In cases where it can be proven that the employer was the root cause of the injury, then personal injury claims could be possible.
Kinds Of Crush Accidents At Work
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has published statistics and information related to the most common workplace injuries. All of these kinds of accidents could result in a crush injury at work, such as a rib fracture or some other kind of chest injury. These common types of workplace accidents are:
- Slips, falls or slips at work.
- Accidents that are related to lifting and manual handling.
- Suffering a fall from a height.
- Being hit by a vehicle that is moving.
- Being hit by a falling or moving object.
- Being trapped under a collapse of some kind.
- Being hit by moving machinery.
We will take a look at some of these common accident types in the next section, and show how an accident at work could result in a fractured rib or other damage to the chest. If the employer was clearly to blame and this can be proven, then a personal injury solicitor could be able to process a claim on behalf of the victim.
6 Ways You Could Suffer A Fractured Rib At Work
In this section, we will give 6 hypothetical examples of how one of the common kinds of workplace accidents could result in an injury at work such as a broken rib. These examples are based on the information provided by the HSE that was referenced in the previous section.
- A warehouse worker falls while they are carrying a heavy box, the box lands on top of them, crushing their chest and fracturing a rib.
- A person working in a factor is crushed by heavy machinery that had become faulty, breaking several ribs.
- A person working in a garage is crushed by a lorry that is reversing into an inspection bay, fracturing several ribs.
- A construction worker carrying bricks up a ladder, falls and the bricks land on top of them, breaking one or more ribs.
- A person working in the stock room of a retail store, is crushed under a pile of boxes that fall from shelving due to being stacked too high, fracturing a number of ribs.
- A person working on road repairs suffers blunt trauma due to their chest when a jackhammer becomes faulty, fracturing a rib.
In each of these examples, if it could be proven that the employee is either directly or indirectly to blame, a valid claim might exist. The compensation payouts involved will be driven by the severity of the injuries suffered, and the level of pain and suffering the victim had to go through.
Case Study: £25,000 Payout For A Broken Rib Accident At Work
In this section, we are going to put forward a completely hypothetical case study that will demonstrate how a successful workplace accident claim could be made for a rib bone fracture at work. In this case, the claimant was a young lorry driver, who suffered a crush injury to the chest when they were involved in a road traffic accident, and their seatbelt failed. The claimant was thrown onto the steering wheel of the lorry, crushing their chest and breaking several ribs.
The lorry had collided with a tractor that was not showing any running lights in the late evening, making it hard for the lorry driver to see. The claimant was trapped in the cab of their lorry for over an hour, as emergency services were called, and he was cut free of the wrecked cab.
The claimant was taken to the hospital for broken rib treatment, and they were also examined to check whether there was an internal injury. The claimant had fractured 4 ribs and was in considerable pain. He was prescribed painkillers and his chest was strapped to try and immobilise the ribs.
The victim was in severe pain for weeks, and then some level of constant pain for several more months. During this time, they missed work, and lost out on their wages.
A compensation claim was made against the victim’s employer, as it was proven that the lorry had not been checked and maintained properly. The case went to court and the victim was awarded a total of £25,000 for multiple injuries, pain and suffering they suffered, and also to make up for the loss of earnings.
If you were to be injured in a similar kind of accident at work, and fracture one or more ribs, then you could be able to make a compensation claim for the harm you have suffered. In order to do so, you will need to prove that your employer was the root cause of your accident.
Broken Rib At Work Personal Injury Claims Calculator
You may be able to find an online broken rib compensation calculator that will give you a general idea of the level of compensation you could be able to claim. You may also be able to use this table below, to look up your injury and find out the range of compensation that could be available.
| Injury | Severity | Notes | Compensation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chest Injury | Grade G | Soft tissue injuries and minor rib fractures that will heal within a few weeks, but manifest serious pain until healing is complete. | Up to £3,710 |
| Chest Injury | Grade F | All injuries that result in a lung collapsing, but a full recovery is made in time. | £2,060 to £5,000 |
| Chest Injury | Grade E | Lung damage causing by the inhalation of toxic chemicals, smoke, etc. The victim will eventually recover fully. | £5,000 to £11,820 |
| Chest Injury | Grade D | Simple injuries such as a penetrating wound that will damage the lung, and result in some permanent loss of function but with no significant effect on the victim in the future. | £11,820 to £16,860 |
| Chest Injury | Grade C | Injuries to the lungs and/or chest that will result in some level of long-term loss of function. | £29,380 to £51,460 |
| Chest Injury | Grade B | A serious injury to the chest and lungs, and possibly the heart, that will result in a very serious long-term disability, loss of function and physical impairment, as a reduced life expectancy. | £61,710 to £94,470 |
| Chest Injury | Grade A | Severe injuries to the heart, lungs and chest that will leave the victim permanently disabled, with significant levels of pain and suffering and with a vastly reduced life expectancy. | £94,470 to £140,870 |
If you can’t find a personal injury claims calculator to get a rough estimate, you can talk to our team about compensation amounts. They might be able to give you an estimate of how much compensation you could be able to claim.
No Win No Fee Compensation For A Broken Rib At Work
When a lawyer takes on your claim under a No Win No Fee kind of deal, this will help to remove some of the financial risks associated with pursuing a claim. This is because you don’t pay anything until your claim has been won, and the solicitor has received a compensation payment for you. When they do receive a payment, they will collect their pre-agreed fee from this money, and you will receive the remainder.
You won’t pay a fee at the time the claim starts, or while the lawyer is processing it for you. If the claim isn’t a success, then you still pay no fee. If you would like more information about the way this kind of fee arrangement works, please speak to a member of our team.
How Do I Make A Claim For My Broken Or Fractured Rib?
If you have suffered the kind of injuries that we have discussed on this page. These are crush injuries and rib injuries such as a broken rib, the three steps below can get you the help you need to start a claim:
- Call our claims team on the number below, to have any questions you have answered.
- Talk to an expert advisor, who will go over your claim with you and offer some advice on what to do next.
- A solicitor could then process your claim for you.
These three basic steps can be the first steps in getting the compensation you are eligible for.
Speak To Legal Helpline’s Experts Today
Have you suffered a chest injury such as a fractured rib in an accident at work? Was the accident the fault of your employer? If so, you can speak to our team to get some free advice on how best to proceed. You can contact them on 0333 000 0729. They will also provide you with key information such as the personal injury claims time limit that is going to apply.
Related Claims Guides
These external pages could have some additional useful information:
NHS Information About Broken Ribs
HSE Information About Injuries At Work
Advice For Dealing With A Chest Injury
You can also read these other guides:
