By Stephen Bishop. Last Updated 2nd June 2023. Welcome to our knee injury claims guide. If you have been involved in an incident or accident that was somebody else’s fault which resulted in you sustaining a knee injury, then you may be eligible to make a claim for compensation.
The knee is a complex part of our body made up of bone, muscle, ligaments, tendons and cartilage that all connects and works together to give movement that allows us to walk, run, sit, climb stairs and many, many other movements that we make on a daily basis without even thinking about it. Sustaining a knee injury can therefore have a huge impact on your lifestyle as the normal tasks we undertake each and every day can suddenly become very difficult or even impossible to do.
If you have suffered knee pain and knee problems after an accident or incident that wasn’t your fault, then contact Legal Helpline on 0333 000 0729 for help and advice on how to make a knee injury claim.
A guide to knee injury claims
Select a Section
- Common Knee Injuries
- What Evidence Can Support Knee Injury Claims?
- Accident At Work Knee Injury Claims
- Knee Injury Compensation – How Long Do I Have To Claim?
- Average Compensation Payout For Knee Injury In The UK
- Knee Injury Compensation – No Win No Fee Solicitors
- Useful Links and Resources
Common Knee Injuries
The knee is made up of a number of different parts that then all work together allowing us free movement of the knee joint. Generally speaking, until we suffer a knee injury, we don’t tend to give a second thought about how complex the knee joint actually is, as long as it’s working as it should, we don’t think about it. But the minute we sustain a knee injury that then prevents normal function of the knee, we are very aware of how important it is.
The knee joint is made up of the following parts:
Three bones that connect to make the joint:
- The tibia, more commonly known as the Shin Bone.
- The patella, which is the knee cap.
- The femur, known as the thigh bone.
In order to connect these bones and allow movement there are:
- Ligaments – These are what connects the bones together and gives us our stability.
- Tendons – These connect the muscles to the bones.
- Cruciate Ligaments – These are actually inside the knee joint and allow and control the backward and forward motion of the knee.
- Collateral Ligaments – These are on the sides of the knee and help to support the knee from unnatural movement and control any sidewards motion.
- Meniscus – Between the tibia and femur, there are two pieces of wedge-shaped cartilage that help to absorb the shocks between the bones. When someone complains they’ve torn their cartilage in their knee, this is what they are talking about.
- Articular Cartilage – This is situated at the ends of both the femur and tibia and behind the patella and allows smooth, gliding movements of the knee joint.
So as you can see, the knee joint is by no means ‘simple’ and when injured can be the cause of a lot of problems. Some of the most common injuries to the knee include:
- Fractures.
- Dislocation.
- Tears of the tendons.
- Tears of the meniscus.
- Injuries to the anterior cruciate ligaments.
- Injuries to the posterior cruciate ligaments.
- Injuries to the collateral ligaments.
What Evidence Can Support Knee Injury Claims?
An important step in the knee injury claims process is collecting evidence. Evidence can be relevant to a number of areas in your claim, such as liability, your injuries, and your losses. Because of this, collecting a range of evidence can be very beneficial in strengthening and supporting your claim.
Some examples of evidence that you could gather include:
- CCTV footage: Footage of your accident or of the negligent actions that lead to your injuries can help support your claim.
- Photographs: Photographs of your injuries or the accident site can also help support your claim.
- Medical records: Your medical records and any other official documentation of your injuries can help showcase the extent of the harm done.
- Witness contact details: Taking the contact details of any witnesses means their statements can be taken at a later date.
A solicitor from our panel could help you gather evidence and help strengthen your claim for knee injury compensation. To find out if you could be eligible to work with our panel, contact our team today. Alternatively, to learn about the average compensation payout for a knee injury in the UK, read on.
Accident At Work Knee Injury Claims
By UK law, all employers are expected to follow strict health and safety regulations in order to protect their employees from harm whilst carrying out their work duties and to provide and maintain a safe working environment at all times. If employers fail to uphold their health and safety responsibilities, then they will be in breach of their duty of care to their employees due to this negligence and so if someone were to be injured, indeed be found liable.
There are many ways in which employers may be negligent to their staff’s health and safety such as, failing to carry out relevant risk assessments, failing to act upon any problems found from a risk assessment that they have done, providing either inappropriate or inadequate training if any at all for certain machinery or equipment, failing to regularly maintain equipment to a safe usable standard, neglecting to have relevant health and safety policies and procedures in place or updated. These are just a few ways in which we have found employers to have been negligent in past knee injury compensation case studies that we have dealt with.
Another concern we have come across in the past is that some of our clients have been worried that if they make an accident at work claim against their employer, they may be given the sack. However, this really is something that you do not have to worry about. All employers are required by law in the UK to have liability insurance and so any claims made against them are covered by this. Also, your employer should realise that you are the one suffering due to their negligence and so deserve to be compensated. In the unlikely event that you were sacked because of making a claim against your employer, you would have the right to take them to court for unfair dismissal and then they could find that they are in a lot of trouble.
Knee Injury Compensation – How Long Do I Have To Claim?
You may be wondering how much time you actually have to file a personal injury claim for knee injury compensation. In order to successfully claim knee injury compensation amounts, a claim must generally be made within 3 years of the accident occurring or the claimant becoming aware the accident was caused by negligence. The Limitation Act 1980 sets out the time limit for making a claim.
There are a few exceptions to the UK’s three-year time limit for filing a personal injury claim. For example, if a child suffers a knee injury, they cannot represent themselves in legal proceedings until they turn 18. For this reason, the time limit is suspended until this date.
Similarly, for those with reduced mental capacity, they will not be able to represent themselves in a claim until they suitably recover, if this ever occurs. The time limit is also suspended.
However, in both cases, a litigation friend could potentially claim on their behalf during the suspended period.
It’s best to speak with an advisor as soon as you can if you’re unsure whether you are still within your time limit. They could also discuss average compensation payout for a knee injury.
Average Compensation Payout For Knee Injury In The UK
We cannot provide the average compensation payout for a knee injury in the UK, as various factors of your claim will affect how much you could receive.
If your personal injury claim is successful, your compensation settlement could include general and special damages.
General damages aims to compensate you for any of the physical and mental injuries you have suffered and the effect on your quality of life.
When trying to find out how much you could receive for a knee injury, a compensation calculator may be able to help. It could provide you with a rough estimation of how much your injury may be worth. However, these calculators generally only cover general damages and may not take financial loss into account.
Alternatively, you could also use the table we have created below. When valuing claims, many legal professionals will use a document called the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG) to help them. The JCG provides compensation brackets for different injuries at various severities and is used by legal professionals. Therefore, we have used the figures listed in the 16th edition of the JCG when creating this table. However, please only use it as a guide.
| Injury | Comments | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Knee Injury - Severe (i) | Where the joint has been seriously disrupted or osteoarthritis has developed. This can cause serious pain and loss of knee function. | £69,730 to £96,210 |
| Knee Injury - Severe (ii) | Leg fracture that has also affected the knee joint causing loss of function, limited movement, ongoing pain and possibility of developing osteoarthritis and risk of arthroplasty. | £52,120 to £69,730 |
| Knee Injury - Severe (iii) | Less severe knee injury that causes pain and discomfort with limited movement of the knee. | £26,190 to £43,460 |
| Knee Injury - Moderate (i) | Knee dislocation, torn meniscus or cartilage that causes wasting, weakness and minor instability. | £14,840 to £26,190 |
| Knee Injury - Moderate (ii) | Bruising, laceration and twisting injuries. This may cause continuous discomfort and aching. | Up to £13,740 |
| Leg Injuries - Severe (ii) Very Serious | The person will need mobility aids for the remainder of their life due permanent problems with mobility. | £54,830 to £87,890 |
| Leg Injury - Severe (iii) Serious | Injuries to the joints/ligaments or compound/comminuted fractures which will require prolonged treatment. | £39,200 to £54,830 |
| Leg Injury - Severe (iv) Moderate | Multiple or complicated fractures to a singular leg. Level of treatment, impact on employment and muscle wastage will affect how much is awarded. | £27,760 to £39,200 |
| Leg Injury - Less Serious (i) | A reasonable recovery from a fracture, but the person will be left with a limp, metal implant or defective gait. | £17,960 to £27,760 |
| Leg Injury - Less Serious (iii) | Fractures to the fibula or tibia with ongoing minor symptoms, that may require time in plaster. Also includes soft tissue injuries. | Up to £11,840 |
Special Damages For Knee Injury Claims
You may also be awarded special damages as part of your knee injury claim. Special damages compensate you for the financial losses you have suffered that have been caused by your knee injury.
Examples of the losses special damages could compensate you for include:
- Loss of earnings if you’ve had to take unpaid time off work to recover from your injury.
- Travel costs, such as taxi or bus fares to medical appointments.
- Medical expenses, such as paying for prescriptions.
You will need to provide evidence of these financial losses. Evidence could include receipts, invoices and payslips.
Contact our advisors on the phone or online today to see if you could be eligible to make a personal injury claim for knee injury compensation.
Knee Injury Compensation – No Win No Fee Solicitors
Unfortunately, we cannot provide the average compensation payout for a knee injury as every case is different. However, a solicitor can help you figure out if your knee injury compensation is the correct amount for your claim.
Funding the work of a solicitor could be done under the terms of a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA). A CFA is a type of No Win No Fee arrangement.
Broken down, a CFA means:
- Your personal injury solicitor is not going to request an upfront solicitor’s fee.
- You will be required to pay a success fee, but only if your knee injury compensation claim succeeds.
- This fee is taken directly from your compensation. It is capped by law.
- If your knee injury compensation claim fails, you will not have to pay your solicitor.
If you have any questions about No Win No Fee or knee injury compensation amounts, our advisors could help you. If they think your knee injury compensation claim seems eligible, they could put you in touch with our panel of No Win No Fee solicitors.
Here are a few ways you can get in touch for more information:
- Call our advisors today on 0333 000 0729.
- Fill in our online enquiry form.
- Type your question into the live chat on your screen.
Useful Links and Resources
Lots of useful and helpful information to be found here on the NHS website regarding knee injuries and problems.
If your knee injury was due to some form of medical negligence, you can find lots of helpful information on the Citizens Advice Bureau website on the next steps to take.
How Much Compensation You Could Earn Per Stitch In The UK
Your knee injury may require stitches. If so, the amount you’re awarded could depend on how many stitches you require.
If your knee injury has been caused by the council, this guide may help you understand how much your claim could be worth.
This case study gives one possible example of how much your claim could be worth.
Other Guides
- Defective Stair Lighting Led To An Accident – How To Claim
- Who Can Make A Fatal Accident Compensation Claim?
- Learn about forklift accident claims and find out if you could claim compensation for an accident at work.
- Our guide offers more information on ladder accident claims and provides more information on the compensation claims process.
- Advice on working with a lawyer after an injury at work. Read our guide to learn about how a solicitor could benefit your claim.
Thanks for reading our knee injury claims guide.
