By Lewis Smalls. Last updated 14th December 2022. Are you suffering from a broken ankle injury due to an accident that wasn’t your fault? Are you considering making a personal injury claim and wondering how much compensation for a broken ankle might be awarded?
This article will provide you with all the information you need regarding how to make a personal injury claim and how to find the best personal injury solicitor for you and your needs. It will also include guidance to help you estimate how much compensation for a broken ankle you could receive.
If you need more advice as you read through this article, you can get in touch with our team of advisors on 0800 408 7826, who are available 24/7 to offer free legal advice whenever you need it. After discussing the details of your particular case, our team can then connect you with our panel of personal injury solicitors.
About Ankle Fracture Injuries
- A Guide: How Much Compensation For A Broken Ankle Injury?
- What Are Broken Ankle Injuries?
- Fractured And Broken Ankle Injuries In Public Places
- How To Get Free Legal Advice On How Much Compensation You Could Claim
- Case Study: How Much Compensation For A Broken Ankle Could Someone Be Awarded— £30,000?
- Calculating How Much Compensation You Could Claim For A Broken Ankle
- Broken Ankle Compensation – How Long Do I Have To Claim?
- No Win No Fee Fractured Ankle Compensation Claims
- Get In Touch For Free Legal Advice
- Related Resources
- Frequently Asked Questions On Fractured Ankles
A Guide: How Much Compensation For A Broken Ankle Injury?
Before you start the claims process, there are some questions you may be wondering:
- Who was responsible for the negligence that caused my broken ankle injury?
- In what way did they breach their duty of care?
- Did my injury occur due to their negligence?
This article will provide you with an illustrative case study to portray how the claims process for a broken ankle injury works and how much compensation for a broken ankle the individual received.
We will also explore the law that exists to safeguard and protect us within public spaces, such as streets, supermarkets, shopping centres, and leisure centres (essentially, anywhere that’s accessible to the public).
Many people who make public injury claims can have difficulty figuring out who owed the duty of care. Many of those who make public liability claims hold the local council accountable for breaching their duty of care to keep the public safe. Others may find that another local authority or private landlord was negligent.
Breaching this duty of care can cause an injury, which could therefore make the local council, authority or landlord (for example) liable for negligence claims. Additionally, we will explore the depths of a No Win No Fee claim and let you know how to get in touch with our expert team who can give you free legal advice.
What Are Broken Ankle Injuries?
A broken ankle can leave you unable to complete day-to-day tasks for a significant amount of time, possibly even leaving you unable to work and gain financial income. The NHS states that if your ankle is painful, bruised, swollen, hurts when you apply your weight, or feels hard to move, you could be suffering from a broken ankle injury. You should also seek immediate medical advice if your ankle is in severe pain or your ankle bone is popping out.
To diagnose a broken ankle injury, the doctor may perform an X-ray. For a minor break, your ankle will often be left to heal on its own. On the other hand, if the broken ankle injury is more severe, you may be given a medical boot to support your ankle. Or, in more severe cases, you could undergo surgery.
According to the NHS, you should follow the advice from your doctor regarding how to care for your broken ankle, such as how long you’ll be wearing the boot and how to refrain from putting too much weight on your ankle. The recovery time shouldn’t take longer than 6 to 8 weeks. In some cases, however, recovery from a broken ankle injury can take longer.
Broken Ankle Accident Statistics
According to a 2018 publication from the Royal College of Surgeons, between 2004 and 2014 there were 2,489,052 fracture hospital admissions in England alone. Ankle fractures were the third most common of these and accounted for 10% of hospital bed days. This conveys the severity of some broken ankle injuries, and you could have to miss work for over a week if your ankle injury is particularly bad.
Though up-to-date statistics on public accidents that result in broken ankles are not necessarily easily accessible, we can give you an idea of how prevalent ankle injuries are in the workplace. Our graph below demonstrates this using data from the Health and Safety Executive.
Fractured And Broken Ankle Injuries In Public Places
If you have an accident in a public place that causes your broken ankle injury, you could make a public liability claim against whoever is responsible for breaching the duty of care. This could be the local council, shops, or supermarkets, depending on where the accident takes place.
Occupiers’ duty of care and liability
Those who occupy public places need to ensure, to the best of their ability, that their premises are safe. This can be done by:
- Minimising hazards
- Considering the safety of all passersby to ensure the risk of injury is as low as possible
Essentially, anyone who has control over property, premises or land the public has access to has a duty of care to ensure the space is as safe as reasonably possible for you. The occupier should be aware of the duty of care legislation and how to follow it correctly. They should also understand why it has to be followed.
How could occupiers breach their duty of care?
The Occupiers’ Liability Act 1957 states that the person(s) responsible for the public space must take reasonable steps to protect the health and safety of any visitors (whether invited or not). They could do this by carrying out a system of inspection regularly to ensure that there is nothing that can cause harm to visitors such as a manhole that someone could fall into. If the occupier fails to carry out these inspections and someone suffers an injury because of that, they have breached their duty of care and could be liable.
Common examples of health and safety hazards in public places are:
- Unmarked fire exits, for example in a supermarket or nightclub
- Lack of crowd control in busy places
- Bad hygiene in pubs and restaurants
- Sharp edges on shelves in shops or supermarkets
- Broken pavements, such as potholes, that could cause someone to fall
- No wet floor signs near a spillage that could cause slips, trips, and falls
How To Get Free Legal Advice On How Much Compensation You Could Claim
The amount of awarded compensation for a broken ankle injury can depend on the severity of the injury. For example, how much time it causes you to take off work and the cost of travel to and from your medical appointments could impact your claim.
When you speak to our advisers, they will discuss the case regarding your broken ankle injury. They can then put you in contact with our panel of personal injury solicitors.
There is a three-year time limit for when you can pursue a personal injury claim, so make sure you contact us as soon as possible. A lawyer from our panel can then start the personal injury claim process and seek the compensation you deserve.
Case Study: How Much Compensation For A Broken Ankle Could Someone Be Awarded—£30,000?
For this article, we have compiled evidence from past broken ankle personal injury claims to create our own illustrative case study. This shows you how much compensation for a broken ankle you could receive.
Miss Browne was walking the high street when she tripped and fell into a manhole. This caused her to fall on the side of her foot, resulting in a broken ankle injury.
After falling down the manhole, she became angry. She complained to the council and found that the manhole cover had been reported as broken, but they hadn’t acted in time. They breached their duty of care and now she had to wait two months for her ankle to heal.
This meant she had to take over a month’s sick leave from her team leader supermarket job, as she was unable to walk around the store and serve customers. She didn’t have access to fully paid sick leave during that time, so you can only imagine the amount of money Miss Browne lost due to this easily preventable accident.
She then spoke to a No Win No Fee lawyer after realising how severely the broken ankle injury had affected her life, and together they decided she had a strong enough case against the local council for not ensuring the manhole was covered and fixed.
Miss Browne’s lawyer calculated her possible personal accident claim compensation. The personal injury solicitor was then able to gather the evidence from the case and use it against the defendant.
What compensation payout were they awarded?
She was awarded a total of £24,950 in general damages because her fractures were serious enough to give rise to some permanent difficulty in walking on uneven ground. She recovered £5,200 in special damages. You can see the breakdown of special damages below.
Breaking down their compensation settlement
| Type of Special Damages: | Includes: | How Much?: |
|---|---|---|
| Loss of Earnings | Miss Browne had to take time off work as she couldn’t walk and serve customers. | £1000 |
| Travel Expenses | Money spent for travelling to and from hospital and doctor's appointments. | £200 |
| Partner’s Loss of Earnings | Miss Browne’s partner had to care for her, which included taking time off work. | £1000 |
| Dependent Care Costs | Miss Browne visited and cared for her mother but was unable to while her ankle was broken so hired help. | £2000 |
| Childcare Costs | Miss Browne and her husband initially needed support to help them with childcare. | £200 |
| Other Financial Losses | Lost family holiday deposit. | £1000 |
Purely for use as an example, Miss Browne’s case study is fictional but based on our understanding of the handling and valuing of claims.
Calculating How Much Compensation You Could Claim For A Broken Ankle
General damages compensate you for the injury itself and any physical or mental suffering it causes you.
Special damages compensate for what financial aspects of someone’s life have been significantly impacted by an injury. The special damages in Miss Browne’s case are loss of earnings, partner’s loss of earnings, and other financial losses.
To receive special damages from a personal injury claim, you have to provide evidence. Bus tickets, for example, can prove that you travelled.
How much compensation you could claim for a broken ankle depends on the general and special damages you receive. We’ve spoken about special damages, but general damages are slightly different. General damages in a personal injury claim cover the physical damages, psychological suffering, and the general impact the injury has on your quality of life.
Some articles use a personal injury calculator, but we find them to be misleading and, in this case, it’s unlikely it would give an accurate representation of how much compensation for a broken ankle you could receive.
The quickest way to discuss your personal accident claim is to give us a call. Alternatively, use the pop-up chat box to get in touch with a member of our expert team instantly. Our advisors can give you a free estimate of what you could claim and you’re not obliged to proceed with the services of our panel of personal injury solicitors. However, if you like and you have a valid claim, once you have spoken to a member of our team, they can put you in touch with our panel of lawyers. They can also help calculate how much compensation for a broken ankle you could receive.
Broken Ankle Compensation – How Long Do I Have To Claim?
When seeking broken ankle compensation, you must begin your claim within the relevant time frame. The Limitation Act 1980 sets out the time you have to start a personal injury claim as three years from the date of the accident, or three years from the date you became aware that you became aware of negligence.
It’s worth noting that when making a claim for ankle injury compensation amounts, you should take action as soon as possible to ensure you are within the time limit.
However, there are exceptions to the time limit when starting a claim for compensation for a broken ankle or other type of foot injury. For example:
- Children – If an injury was sustained by someone who is under 18, the time limit would not begin until their 18th birthday. However, a litigation friend, which is usually appointed by the courts and can be a parent or guardian, may claim on their behalf before they turn 18. If no claim has been made on their behalf before this point, they will have until their 21st birthday to start a claim.
- Someone who lacks the mental capacity – In these instances, the time limit is suspended indefinitely. During this time, a litigation friend can put forward the claim on their behalf. If no claim is made, they will have three years from the date of their recovery to start their own claim.
Speak to our advisors for free non-obligation legal advice after suffering a broken ankle. They are available to talk to 7 days a week and may be able to connect you with an expert solicitor from our panel to help you seek a broken ankle compensation payout.
No Win No Fee Fractured Ankle Compensation Claims
A No Win No Fee agreement is a contract between you and your lawyer. This is also known as a Conditional Fee Agreement. No Win No Fee agreements mean no fees to pay upfront to your lawyer or during the claim.
If the case fails, you don’t have to pay the fees the solicitors have worked for. On the other hand, if the claim succeeds, the solicitor can take a small, legally capped percentage of your compensation.
No Win No Fee agreements are popular as the lawyer’s fees only cost the claimant money if they win the case. This means there isn’t much to lose if you decide to put a claim forward.
Contact us to discuss how much compensation for a broken ankle injury you could receive and we’ll put you through to our panel of lawyers. They can then discuss your claim further, exploring No Win No Fee agreements.
Get In Touch For Free Legal Advice
We hope you have gained clarity from this article that your broken ankle injury might not be your fault.
Have you decided you’d like to speak to a personal accident solicitor? Do you want to pursue a public accident claim? Why wait? We can put you through to our panel of public injury lawyers to begin the process.
Get in touch with us today. We recommend you:
- Call us on 0800 408 7826.
- Speak to a member of our expert team through our live support chat.
- Write to us about your claim through our contact page. We will get back to you at your earliest convenience.
Related Resources
How do I know if I have a broken bone?: NHS advice on identifying your injuries.
Report a problem with a pavement: You can report damaged pavements to the local council.
Advice after an ankle fracture: Royal United Hospitals Bath gives detailed advice on how to recover from your fractured ankle injury.
Check out more of our personal injury claims guides below:
- Personal injury claims
- How Much Compensation for a Back Injury
- Compensation Claims for a broken arm
- How much compensation for a broken foot in a public place
- Compensation for a broken foot
- How much compensation for a broken forearm
- Payout examples for a broken leg in a public place
- Compensation Claims for a broken leg
- How much compensation for a broken thumb case study and guide on broken thumb claims
- Payout awards for a broken wrist
- How much compensation for a crushed ankle injury
- Compensation Claims for a facial scar
- How much compensation for a foot injury
- Compensation amounts for a fractured jaw case study and guide on fractured jaw claims
- How much compensation for a fractured leg
- Payout amounts for a torn Achilles tendon
- How much compensation for a wrist injury
Frequently Asked Questions On Fractured Ankles
Can you walk on a fractured ankle?
According to the NHS, you can walk on a minor to moderate fractured ankle if you wear your medical boot and often crutches.
A posterior malleolus fracture (the back of the tibia where the ankle joint is) will be difficult to walk on. If you do walk, it will cause severe pain.
Similarly, a fractured lateral malleolus (the bone outside of your ankle joint) is difficult to walk on. This is part of the fibula, a bone in the lower leg.
How long does it take a fractured ankle to heal?
The NHS states that the healing time for a fractured ankle is usually up to 6 weeks.
In particular, a medial malleolus fracture is a moderate injury that is usually possible to walk on with crutches. This takes up to 6 weeks to heal as it is not as severe as some other ankle fractures.
A more severe ankle fracture, such as a talus fracture, may cause walking problems if it doesn’t heal properly.
How painful is a fractured ankle?
Fractured ankles tend to feel stiff whilst being difficult to move. They also tend to feel painful when you put weight on them.
Do you need a cast for a fractured ankle?
For a minor ankle fracture, you are unlikely to need any treatment at all. However, for a more moderate to severe ankle fracture, you may need a cast to hold the ankle in place.
In severe cases, a fractured ankle may need surgery to fix the broken bones. If you speak to our team, they can put you in contact with our personal injury lawyers. They can then help calculate your broken ankle surgery compensation.
Written by IE
Checked by TH