By Lewis Winehouse. Last Updated 26th May 2023. When you’re involved in an accident at work, you could be entitled to claim compensation from your employer if it can be proven that their negligence caused the accident to occur. You could claim for any type of injury but in this guide, we’re looking at claims for a broken shoulder. Therefore, we’ll explain the types of accident that could cause a fractured shoulder and when your employer could be liable. We’ll also provide a personal injury compensation calculator to help you work out what your claim might be worth.
Here at Legal Helpline, we offer a no obligation assessment of any claim. Our advisors can also provide free legal advice about your options. Should your case look strong enough, they could connect you with one of our panel of no win no fee solicitors. If you’d like to discuss starting your claim today, please call us on 0333 000 0729 right away.
If you’d rather learn more about broken shoulder compensation payouts before calling, please carry on reading.
Jump To A Section
- Work Related Shoulder Injuries
- Shoulder Joint And Bone Anatomy
- Work Related Shoulder Injuries By Type Of Accident
- 4 Causes Of A Broken Shoulder At Work
- Case Study: £35,000 Payout For A Broken Shoulder In A Workplace Accident
- Shoulder Injury Compensation Payouts – How Long Do I Have To Claim?
- Fractured And Broken Shoulder Compensation Calculator
- No Win No Fee Fractured And Broken Shoulder Claims
- How You Could Claim Compensation For A Broken Shoulder
- Talk To Legal Helpline About Your Case
- Supporting Resources
Work Related Shoulder Injuries
There are many ways in which a broken shoulder could be sustained as the result of an accident at work. If you suspect that your shoulder has been broken, you should visit A&E immediately. The main symptoms to look for include:
- Pain in the shoulder area even when you’re not moving it.
- Tenderness and swelling.
- A bump at the side of the fracture.
- Being unable to move the arm without pain.
- Discolouration of the upper arm.
Broken shoulder injury claims
When you visit the hospital, a doctor will assess you. If they suspect a fracture, they’ll arrange for an X-ray to be conducted. Your treatment will depend on the result of the X-ray.
According to this NHS guide, if the fracture is diagnosed but the bones are still well aligned or it’s a small fracture, you might not need surgery and the bone will heal overtime with the aid of a sling. However, if there are multiple fractures and the bones are displaced, surgery may be required. This usually involves plates, pins and screws being used to secure the bones in place so that they can heal. Painkillers will probably be prescribed to help manage the pain while the bones heal.
If you’re considering a claim, then you should be aware of the personal injury claims time limit. This is usually 3-years from the date your accident took place.
Shoulder Joint And Bone Anatomy
The shoulder joint is a ball and socket arrangement. The humerus (arm bone) is forms the ball and the scapula (shoulder blade) is the socket. It is actually one of th most complex and largest joints in the body. Other bones in the shoulder region include the coracoid process (a bony joint from the scapula) and the acromion (a projection from the scapula.
Work Related Shoulder Injuries By Type Of Accident
In the next section of our guide, we’re going to provide some specific scenarios of an accident at work that could result in a broken shoulder injury. Before we do so, we’re going to look at some statistics provided by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). These show the most common types of non-fatal workplace accidents reported to them in 2018 were:
- A slip, trip or fall on the same level (i.e. not from height) – 29%.
- Injuries caused by carrying, manual handling or lifting – 20%.
- Where the victim is struck by a moving object – 10%.
- Violent acts against staff – 8%.
- Falling from ladders, platforms or scaffolding – 8%.
4 Causes Of A Broken Shoulder At Work
Now here are the more specific examples of when an accident at work could lead to a broken shoulder. We’ll also try to highlight how your employer might be liable for the accident.
- Falls from a height.
Falling from height is an obvious candidate for causing a broken shoulder. If the accident occurred because of a faulty piece of equipment, lack of training or missing safety harness, then your employer might be liable, and you could claim against them. - Falls with trauma to the shoulder or with an outstretched arm.
The natural reaction when falling is to place your hands out in front of you to break your fall. This could lead to broken hands, wrists and, believe it or not, the shoulder. That’s because the pressure from the impact shoots up the arm and can either dislocate or fracture bones in the shoulder. This is fairly common when slipping or tripping rather than falling from height. - Direct / blunt trauma to the shoulder.
Another cause of a broken shoulder is one something impacts directly with it. This doesn’t always have to be a high-speed impact, even at a low speed a fracture could happen. One cause of this type of injury could be where broken machinery causes a direct impact with the shoulder region. - Vehicle accidents.
Finally, if you use, or work near, a vehicle there is the chance of injury if there’s a collision. If your driving the vehicle, a collision can cause the seatbelt to restrain you for your safety but at the same time it can lead to injuries like whiplash and a fractured shoulder. If you’re hit by a vehicle and knocked to the ground, a broken shoulder is also possible.
Case Study: £35,000 Payout For A Broken Shoulder In A Workplace Accident
In this section, we’re going to use a fictitious case study to show how an accident at work which resulted in a broken shoulder could lead to a £35,000 compensation payment.
In this scenario, Mrs Ali was working in a print finishing factory when her book binding machine developed a fault. She pressed the emergency stop button to investigate the fault. When she was looking inside a service hatch, a colleague released the emergency stop as he wasn’t aware Mrs Ali was trying to fix a problem. The machine started up again and Mrs Ali was hit by a part of the machine forcing her to fall backwards.
She was taken to hospital by ambulance where it was discovered she’d suffered concussion, a bruised back and also a broken shoulder. Mrs Ali decided to claim on the basis that she had never been trained on the safety procedures for the machine. After an internal investigation it was found that no one other than the supervisor knew the correct method for dealing with faults and the company accepted liability.
In total, Mrs Ali received £35,000 compensation. This was made up of general damages for her injuries as well as special damages for financial losses. A large part loss in this category was lost earnings due to the amount of time off work that was needed to recover from her injuries. The compensation also took into account the fact that she’ll have a plate in her shoulder for the rest of her life which is likely to cause some ongoing discomfort.
Shoulder Injury Compensation Payouts – How Long Do I Have To Claim?
If you are eligible to make a personal injury claim for a broken shoulder, you must ensure that you start your claim within the relevant time limit. Under the Limitation Act 1980, you generally have three years to start your claim from the date of the accident.
However, there are certain exceptions to this time limit. For example, the limitation period is paused for those under the age of 18. From their 18th birthday, they will have three years to start a claim. Prior to this date, a court-appointed litigation friend could make a claim on their behalf.
Furthermore, the time limit is suspended indefinitely for those who lack the mental capacity to make their own claim. During this time, a litigation friend could claim on their behalf. If they were to regain this mental capacity, they will have three years to start a claim from the date of recovery if one has not already been made.
If you have any questions about the time limits for personal injury claims or shoulder injury compensation payouts, our advisors are available 24/7.
Fractured And Broken Shoulder Compensation Calculator
You’re probably interested in the amount of compensation that could be receive as a work shoulder injury settlement. While we can’t tell you exact amounts, the broken shoulder compensation calculator table below shows some example compensation figures.
| Injury | Severity | Compensation Range | Details |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shoulder | Severe | £19,200 to £48,030 | These are the most severe shoulder injuries often linked to neck injuries. They'll cause a signifcant disability and injuries to the brachial plexus. |
| Shoulder | Serious | £12,770 to £19,200 | Includes damage to the bottom of the brachial plexus and a dislocated shoulder. Injuries will cause pain in the neck, shoulder, elbow or sensory symptoms in the forearm. |
| Shoulder | Moderate | £7,890 to £12,770 | Injuries such as frozen shoulder causing limited movement and discomfort for around 2 years. |
| Shoulder | Minor (i) | £4,350 to £7,890 | Soft tissue damage with complete recovery within 2 years. |
| Shoulder | Minor (ii) | £2,450 to £4,350 | Soft tissue damage with complete recovery within a year. |
| Shoulder | Minor (iii) | Up to £2,450 | Soft tissue damage with complete recovery within 3 months. |
It’s important to note that these figures cover the pain and suffering caused by an injury. They don’t include any financial losses you might’ve incurred which could also be claimed back. Therefore the broken shoulder compensation amounts that are actually paid could differ to those shown.
No Win No Fee Fractured And Broken Shoulder Claims
When making a claim for a work-related shoulder injury, it’s quite common to worry about the costs involved. That’s the reason our panel of solicitors offer to work on a no win no fee basis.
After they’ve agreed to take on your claim, and when you’re happy, they’ll give you a conditional fee agreement to sign (or CFA). This is the technical term for no win no fee agreements.
The CFA will state that there are no solicitor’s fees to pay unless you receive compensation. Also, it will explain that there’s a success fee to pay if you are compensated. The success fee is calculated as a percentage of your compensation.
To make things easier, rather than you having to send any funds to the solicitor, they deduct the success fee from your compensation before it’s paid to you.
No win no fee is a great way to allow more people to make a claim against their employer. As the financial risks involved with claiming are lowered, so are the stress levels.
How You Could Claim Compensation For A Broken Shoulder
To make a shoulder injury at work claim, you’ll need to provide as much evidence as possible. The evidence you supply will need to prove what injuries you sustained, how the accident occurred and who was to blame. Therefore, following any accident at work, we advise that you:
- Ensure the accident is logged in the company accident report book.
- Receive treatment for your injuries at a hospital or GP surgery.
- Try to photograph the cause of the accident.
- Ask witnesses for their details.
- See if there is any CCTV footage of the accident taking place.
- Take photographs of your visible injuries.
Then, when you’ve done as much of that as possible, you could contact our team of advisors. They’ll look at the evidence you have and see if it’s enough to pursue a claim. If it is, they could introduce you to one of our panel of solicitors. They understand how stressful a claim can be so they’ll:
- Provide you with regular updates.
- Try to work as efficiently as possible so the claim doesn’t drag on.
- Try to ensure that any settlement for a shoulder injury at work is full and fair.
Talk To Legal Helpline About Your Case
We hope that you’re now ready to claim compensation for a broken shoulder at work. Also, we hope you’d like Legal Helpline to help you begin your claim. If so, here’s how you can contact us:
- Call our specialist advisers for free advice on 0333 000 0729
- Connect with our staff by using our live chat facility.
- Or, finally, you could ask us to call you back by completing this online claims form.
You can begin your claim 7-days a week, 24-hours a day. Our advisors will always provide free advice about your claim and will assess it on a no obligation basis. Should your claim be strong enough, they could introduce you to one of our panel of personal injury solicitors. Should they do so, the case will be handled on a no win no fee basis.
There’s no pressure placed on you when you call and there’s no obligation either. Therefore, you’ve got nothing to lose by discussing your claim today.
Supporting Resources
Now that you’ve read our guide about making a personal injury claim for a shoulder injury at work, here are some more guides you might find useful:
Accident At Work Claims – A guide that explains when you could claim for any type of injury at work, not just shoulder injuries.
Collarbone Injuries – This guide explains what type of collarbone (clavicle) injuries can lead to personal injury claims.
Broken Wrist Claims – A similar guide that explains how to use a personal injury lawyer to help claim for a broken wrist at work.
Trusted External Resources
Finally, here is some external information that might help with you broken shoulder accident at work claim.
Fractured Shoulder Advice – This NHS leaflet provides a lot of advice following a fracture or break of the shoulder.
The Health And Safety At Work Act 1974 – If you’re going to claim for an accident at work, then this is the legislation your case is likely to be based on.
NHS Service Locator – This NHS tool is useful as it lets you search your area for services such as GP surgeries, physiotherapists and hospitals.
