A Guide To Hand Injury Claims

This is a guide on hand injury claims. It will discuss when you could be eligible to seek personal injury compensation, the evidence you could gather to support your case and how long you have to initiate legal proceedings.

Additionally, we look at the duty of care owed to you while you’re on the road, at work, or in a public place as well as who owes the duty of care, and how it could cause an accident leading to a hand injury if it’s breached.

Later in our guide, we look at the compensation payout that could be awarded following a successful personal injury claim.

Lastly, we conclude with an explanation of how a No Win No Fee personal injury solicitor could assist you in seeking compensation for your injury.

For more information, please contact an advisor. They can provide advice on your potential claim for free and answer any questions you may have before or after reading our guide. To get in touch, you can:

Call on 0800 408 7826
Request a call-back via our contact form.
Use the live chat feature below.

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Am I Eligible To Make A Hand Injury Compensation Claim?
What Could You Claim In Compensation For Hand Injury Claims?
What Evidence Should Be Gathered For A Claim?
Are There Time Limits For Hand Injury Claims?
Claiming With A Solicitor On A No Win No Fee Basis
Read More About Hand Injury Claims

Am I Eligible To Make A Hand Injury Compensation Claim?

In order to have valid grounds to pursue a personal injury claim for a hand injury, you need to prove the following:

A duty of care was owed to you by a third party.
This duty was breached.
Due to the breach, you experienced an injury.

The eligibility criteria above lays the basis of negligence in claims for a personal injury. If you you can prove that negligence took place, it may be possible for you to make a hand injury claim.

Below, we have included an overview of the duty of care owed to you by different parties including employers, road users, and occupiers. There are also examples of how a breach of this duty could lead to an accident at work, road traffic accident, or accident in a public place.

Accidents At Work

The Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 outlines the requirement for employers to take actions that are reasonable and practicable to ensure employee safety at work and as they perform their work-related tasks. This is the duty of care they owe.

If they failed to uphold this duty, it could lead to an accident in which an employee sustains an injury at work. For example:

An employer fails to ensure machinery is safe for use. As a result, an employee uses a faulty piece of equipment and sustains a crushed hand injury as a result.

Accidents In A Public Place

Under the Occupiers’ Liability Act 1957, those in control of a public space have a duty of care to take steps to ensure the reasonable safety of visitors using the space for its intended purpose. They can uphold their duty by ensuring they regularly inspect the premises for risks to safety and promptly attend to any issues.

A failure to do so could lead to a member of the public sustaining an injured hand in a public place accident. For example:

A broken handrail on the stairwell in a restaurant is reported but no steps are taken to reduce the potential risks posed by the hazard. As a result, a customer falls down the stairs after the broken handrail gives way and they sustain a laceration to their hand as well as a fractured wrist injury.

Accidents On The Road

The Road Traffic Act 1988 and the Highway Code contain rules that road users must follow. In doing so, they can uphold their duty of care which is to use the roads in a way that avoids harm, as well as damage, to one another. If there is a failure to do so, it could lead to a road user sustaining a hand injury in a road traffic accident. For example:

A driver fails to check their mirrors before moving back into the left-hand lane after overtaking. As a result, they hit another vehicle from the side causing the other driver to sustain a broken hand, as well as other injuries including a head injury and broken leg.

To discuss the specific circumstances surrounding your accident and injury, please call our team. They can provide further guidance on the eligibility criteria for hand injury claims.

What Could You Claim In Compensation For Hand Injury Claims?

Settlements for successful hand injury claims can comprise two heads of loss. The first is general damages which seek to compensate for the emotional pain and physical suffering caused by your injury.

In the table below, we offer an excerpt from a publication called the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG). Legal professionals use the guideline compensation brackets from this document to help them calculate the value of general damages. However, please keep in mind, they are not guaranteed compensation amounts as each claim is assessed on a case-by-case basis.

Award Bracket Guidelines

Type of Injury	Severity	Award Bracket Guidelines	Notes
Hand	Total or Effective Loss of Both Hands	£140,660 to £201,490	Serious injury causing damage to both hands that is extensive and leaves them little more than useless.
	Total or Effective Loss of One Hand	£96,160 to £109,650	Cases where a hand was crushed and later required surgical amputation.
	Amputation of Index and Middle and/or Ring Fingers	£61,910 to £90,750	The hand is left with very little use and any grip that remains becomes exceedingly weak.
	Serious Damage to Both Hands	£55,820 to £84,570	Injuries have resulted in permanent cosmetic disability and significant function loss.
	Serious	£29,000 to £61,910	The hand has been reduced to about 50% capacity.
	Severe Fractures to Fingers	Up to £36,740	Injuries may lead to partial amputations as well as deformity and grip impairment.
	Less Serious	£14,450 to £29,000	A severe crush injury that leads to significant function impairment without the need for future surgery.
	Moderate	£5,720 to £13,280	This bracket covers crush injuries, penetrating wounds, lacerations and soft tissue damage.

Special Damages In Hand Injury Claims

Special damages are the head of the loss that compensate for the financial losses caused by the injury. Examples of the costs you could claim back include:

Loss of earnings.
Medical expenses, such as the costs of physiotherapy.
Domestic care costs.
The cost of adaptations to vehicles or modifications in your home.

Evidence, such as receipts, payslips, or invoices, can help prove any monetary losses.

Call our team to get a free valuation of your claim and understand how personal injury compensation is calculated.

What Evidence Should Be Gathered For A Claim?

Evidence can be used to support hand injury claims. It can show that a breach of duty occurred, and that this caused you to sustain an injury. With that in mind, you may benefit from gathering:

CCTV and dashcam footage that shows the incident.
A diary of your symptoms and key treatments needed.
Copies of your medical records, such as doctor’s and specialists’ reports and X-rays.
Photos of the injuries and the accident scene.
Contact details of any witnesses.

If you would like assistance gathering evidence and building your case, you may benefit from seeking legal representation. The solicitors on our panel could offer their services to help you through the claims process. Learn whether they could begin working on your case by calling an advisor on the number above.

Are There Time Limits For Hand Injury Claims?

You may be wondering whether there is a time limit for hand injury claims. As per the Limitation Act 1980, you typically have three years to begin a personal injury claim from the accident date. However, some exceptions can apply. For example:

If the injured person is under the age of 18, a pause is placed on the time limit until their 18th birthday. In the meantime, a court-appointed litigation friend can start the claim on the child’s behalf. However, if this isn’t done, the child will have three years from their 18th birthday to start their own claim.
If the injured person has a reduced mental capacity, an indefinite pause applies to the time limit. Whilst this pause is ongoing, a suitable adult could apply to act as a litigation friend and bring forward the claim on the person’s behalf. However, if this isn’t done, and the person recovers their capacity, they will have three years from the recovery date to start their own claim.

For more information on the time limits for personal injury claims, please contact an advisor on the number above. They can advise how long you have to initiate legal proceedings.

Claiming With A Solicitor On A No Win No Fee Basis

The solicitors from our panel have experience with hand injury claims and could represent your case under the terms of a No Win No Fee contract. Although there are different variations, the one a solicitor on our panel could offer is called a Conditional Fee Agreement. Typically, accessing a solicitor’s services in this way means no upfront or ongoing fees to pay for their work. You also won’t need to pay for their work if the case fails.

If the claim has a successful outcome and you are awarded compensation, a percentage of this will go to your solicitor. However, the percentage that can be taken has a legal cap ensuring you keep the majority of your settlement.

For more information on working with a No Win No Fee solicitor from our panel, please contact an advisor. To do so, you can:

Call on 0800 408 7826
Request a call-back via our contact form.
Use the live chat feature below.

How Much Compensation Could I Claim For A Hand Injury?

No Win No Fee Claims