Find Out How Much Broken Tibia And Fibula Compensation You Could Be Eligible To Claim

Were you involved in an accident that was not your fault? Did this result in a broken leg? If so, this guide will explain how you can claim broken tibia and fibula compensation in the UK and how much compensation you may be awarded.

You may have suffered your injury on the road, at work, or in a public place, so we will discuss the common causes of tibia and fibula injuries. We will tell you how to start a claim and how a specialist solicitor from our panel can help you on a No Win No Fee basis.

To begin your claim, get in touch with our advisors:

A man in a wheelchair with a broken tibia and fibular.

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How Much Compensation Could I Get For A Broken Tibia Or Fibula?

There is no set figure for the compensation you may be awarded for a broken leg. This depends on the circumstances of your claim and what you are claiming compensation for in addition to your injuries.

Compensation can be made up of two heads of loss. One is called general damages, and the other is special damages. General damages compensate you for the injuries that you suffered, and special damages for financial losses caused by your accident and injury.

Factors That Could Affect My Claim

There are a number of factors that may affect how much compensation you are awarded. These can include:

  • Whether the party you are claiming against accepts fault
  • How severe your injuries are
  • The prognosis for the future
  • Financial losses that you wish to claim in addition to your injuries

To help estimate the general damages that you might get, your legal advisor may use a document called the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG). The JCG contains injuries, including those affecting the legs, and gives a guideline compensation bracket for them. Below is a table with some entries from the JCG (apart from the top line) and the suggested compensation bracket. This is just as an illustration and no compensation is guaranteed.

Injuries Compensation
Very Serious Injuries and Significant Financial LossesUp to £1 million plus
Below-Knee Amputation of One Leg£199,570 to £162,290
Serious Injuries Short of Amputation£117,460 to £165,860
Very Serious Leg Injuries£66,920 to £109,290
Serious Leg Injuries£47,840 to £66,920
Moderate Leg Injuries£33,880 to £47,840
Incomplete Recovery of Fractures or Serious Soft Tissue Damage £21,920 to £33,880
Femur Simple Fracture With No Damage to Articular Surfaces£11,120 to £17,180
Tibia or Fibula Simple Fractures Soft Tissue InjuriesUp to £14,450

If your accident resulted in you incurring financial losses, you may claim this back through special damages. However, you can only claim this if you have suffered from injuries and you have evidence of your financial losses.

Some examples of financial losses include:

  • Loss of income
  • Loss of work benefits
  • Medical/travel costs
  • Special equipment costs

You can show evidence of financial losses through:

  • Documents stating your wages
  • Bank statements
  • Medical documents
  • Receipts

Can I Claim For The Psychological Impact Of My Injury?

You may be eligible to claim for psychological suffering caused by your accident. If you are awarded compensation for this, it will go towards your general damages. This could be in the form of psychological damage generally or something like post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Using A Tibia And Fibula Compensation Calculator

If you want an estimate of how much compensation you may be awarded for a broken leg, you can use our compensation calculator. Although this will not provide you with a guaranteed figure, it can produce an estimate.

By choosing to work with one of the experienced solicitors from our panel, they can progress your case and give you an accurate assessment of any compensation that is owed to you. Get in touch with our team today to see if you are eligible.

A person with a broken leg stands with crutches. They have a plaster cast on their right leg.

Common Causes of Tibia And Fibula Fractures

To bring a compensation claim, you must meet the eligibility criteria, which are:

  • A duty of care is owed to you by a third party
  • This duty is breached
  • You suffer an injury because of the breach

Tibia and fibula fractures are common and can be caused in many types of situations. Some examples that could lead to a claim for broken tibia and fibula compensation in the UK include:

Road Traffic Accidents

All road users owe others a duty of care to use their vehicles in such a way that does not cause others harm. To meet this duty, they must follow the rules set out in the Highway Code and the Road Traffic Act 1988.

Examples of how you could break your leg in a road traffic accident include:

  • A pedestrian who is established on a zebra crossing is knocked over by a driver who is distracted by their phone.
  • A car fails to stop at a giveway junction and hits a cyclist.
  • There is a significant crash on the motorway when a vehicle changes lanes when it is unsafe to do so.

Accidents At Work

Employers owe a duty to their employees to take reasonable steps to keep them safe at work under the Health and Safety At Work etc. Act 1974. Meeting this duty can include things like providing training, suitable equipment and risk-assessing tasks to identify steps that could reduce the chances of injury.

A person could break either their tibia or fibula in the following injury at work scenarios:

  • Scaffolding is defective and not inspected after installation. Whilst working at height, it collapses, and a worker falls to the ground.
  • A forklift truck (FLT) driver is not given the proper training and loses control of the FLT, hitting a co-worker in the leg.
  • A lifting task is not risk assessed correctly, and whilst trying to carry something too heavy down a flight of stairs, an employee falls, breaking their leg.

Public Place Accidents

Those who control (or occupy) public spaces owe visitors a duty of care. Under the Occupiers’ Liability Act 1957 (OLA 1957), they must take reasonable steps to keep visitors safe. This could include fixing defects in the premises that they are aware of or providing a warning of the danger. 

Someone could suffer a broken leg in a public place by:

  • The council failed to fix a reported raised paving stone that caused someone to trip and fall.
  • A handrail in a restaurant is known to be broken. When a customer puts their hand on it to go down the stairs to the bathroom, it breaks, and they fall heavily.
  • A waitress sees a spillage in a restaurant and neglects to clean it up or place down a warning sign. A customer slips over and falls awkwardly on their leg, causing it to break.

If you have suffered from a tibia or fibula fracture, and you think it was the fault of someone else, begin your claim today with our advisors. We offer a free case assessment, and you have nothing to lose as there is no obligation to proceed.

Can I Claim If The Accident Was Partly My Fault?

If you are partly at fault for the accident, you still may be eligible for compensation if you and the defendant agree to split liability and both admit to contributing to the cause of the accident.

An example could be that there is an accident between a car and a motorbike on the motorway when both vehicles change lanes when it is unsafe to do so. They would both be partly to blame for the collision, and liability (fault) could be split between them.

Liability can be split in any proportion that adds up to 100%, e.g. 50:50 or 70:30. If this happens, you would receive a percentage of the damages, e.g. both parties are 50% at fault, and you would get half of the compensation.

How To Start A Claim

To start a claim for broken tibia and fibula compensation in the UK, you will need to meet the eligibility criteria mentioned earlier in the guide.

There are also some practical considerations such as what evidence is needed, what is the time limit to bring a claim, and whether you need the help of a solicitor. We will discuss these next.

What Evidence Will I Need?

In personal injury claims, you must provide evidence that the third party is responsible for your accident and that you are injured. Some examples of evidence that may support your claim include:

  • CCTV and/or dashcam footage of your injury
  • A copy of an accident report book
  • A copy of medical records that state your injuries
  • Witness contact details (so a statement can be taken later)

Time Limits For Filing A Tibia And Fibula Injury Claim In The UK

Under the Limitation Act 1980, you have three years from the date of the accident to start your claim. There are some exceptions to this general rule:

  • If the injured person lacks the mental capacity in accordance with the Mental Capacity Act 2005. The time limit is paused in this case and only begins to run if capacity is recovered. A claim should be started within three years from when capacity is regained.
  • If the injured person is under the age of eighteen (i.e. a minor). Minors cannot start a claim themselves but can do so once they turn 18. The three-year time limit runs from then until their 21st birthday.

In both these scenarios, whilst the time limit is paused, a claim can be brought upon the injured person’s behalf by a litigation friend. This is a responsible adult who is approved by the court and will conduct the claim in the best interest of the injured party.

Choosing The Right Solicitor

You do not need to use the services of a solicitor but it could be in your interests to do so. An experienced personal injury specialist will be able to help you with many aspects of the case, which can let you focus on your recovery.

The solicitors on our panel have years of dedicated expertise handling a wide range of personal injury claims. They can help you by:

  • Gathering the evidence needed to strengthen your case
  • Completing legal paperwork and court documents
  • Negotiating with the third party (or their insurance company)
  • Making sure all the damages that you can claim are included in your case

Our panel operate on a No Win No Fee basis, which may suit you as you can start your claim with a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA). Under a CFA:

  • You pay no upfront or ongoing solicitors fees.
  • If your case is not successful, you do not pay your solicitor’s fees.
  • If you win your case, then a success fee is paid to the solicitor from the compensation. This is on a percentage basis, and the percentage size has a legal cap, which means you keep the bulk of the damages.

To begin your claim now, get in touch with our advisors:

A solicitor discusses broken tibia and fibula compensation in the UK with a client.

More Information

Here, you can access additional information on personal injury claims:

References:

We thank you for taking the time to read this guide on how you can claim broken tibia and fibula compensation in the UK.