How Much Compensation for a Broken Foot at Work?

Breaking a bone in any part of your body can be extremely painful and debilitating. For instance, a broken foot at work can stop you from walking, working and driving which, as you can imagine, will have an enormous impact on your daily life. If you suffer a broken foot at work and your employer is responsible, it may be possible to claim compensation for your suffering. As such, this guide explores when it might be possible to claim compensation for a broken foot at work, how the claims process works and what payout might be appropriate.

We can help if you’re thinking about claiming broken foot compensation. To begin, we offer a no-obligation assessment of your case where free legal advice will be provided by one of our specialist advisors. If they suspect that your claim is feasible, they could partner you with one of our solicitors. They’ll provide a No Win, No Fee service if you both agree to work together which should reduce the level of stress involved in claiming against your employer.

If you’d like to find out if you have grounds to claim for a broken foot injury at work, you can:

• Call our legal advisors on 0333 241 2519.
• Connect to our live chat service 24 hours a day.

You’ll find plenty of useful information about broken foot injury claims in this guide but please contact us if you require any further information.

What Types of Broken Foot Can We Help With?

A broken foot involves fractures to any of the bones in the foot. Some common bones in the feet that can be broken include the cuboid, calcaneus, navicular and cuneiform bones.

The most common types of broken foot injuries sustained in accidents are:

• Metatarsal Fractures: The five metatarsal bones run from the arch of your foot up to the toes. Fractures here can be stress fractures (small cracks from overuse) or acute fractures from direct trauma.
• Lisfranc Fracture: This type of fracture occurs in the middle of the foot where the metatarsal bones and the tarsal bones connect and can be difficult to diagnose.
• Calcaneus Fractures: Fractures of the heel bone, often caused by a heavy landing such as from a fall from a height.
• Talus Fractures: The talus is a small bone that sits between the heel bone (calcaneus) and the two bones of the lower leg (the tibia and fibula). Fractures here can affect ankle movement too.
• Navicular Fractures: Fractures of the navicular, a small bone on the top of the midfoot, often from impact or as a stress fracture.
• Cuboid Fractures: Fracture of the cuboid bone, located along the outer side of the foot.
• Phalangeal Fractures: Fractures of the phalanges, the bones in the toes. These can range from minor breaks to severe crush injuries at work.
• Compound Fractures: These fractures involve a break in the bone that leads to an open wound on the skin, increasing the risk of infection.
• Comminuted Fractures: Where the bone shatters into several pieces.

If your foot fracture is undisplaced, it may be possible to let it heal naturally but you may need a plaster cast fitted. Displaced fractures can be more serious and may require pins, plates, screws and rods to secure bone fragments in place while they heal.

Can I Make a Broken Foot at Work Claim?

If you’re to successfully claim compensation for a broken foot at work you will need to prove that your employer owed you a duty of care at the time of your accident. Generally, this is quite straightforward because all employers have to protect the well-being of their staff while they’re working because of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974. Other laws could also be relevant depending on the nature of your work.

Employers could take the following steps to uphold their health and safety obligations:

• Carry out regular risk assessments to identify potential hazards.
• Train staff on how to carry out their roles as safely as possible.
• Ensure all workplace equipment, tools and vehicles are properly maintained and in a good state of repair.
• Provide personal protective equipment (PPE) like steel toe-capped boots where required.

If your employer fails to meet their obligations and you’ve broken your foot at work as a result, you may have grounds to start a claim if:

• You can show that your employer owed you a duty of care; and
• That duty was breached because your employer was negligent; and
• That negligence led to an accident in the last three years in which your foot was broken.

If you believe that you should be compensated for a broken foot at work, please feel free to call the number above to discuss your case with a legal advisor.

What Types of Negligence Can Lead to a Broken Foot at Work Claim?

Here are a few examples of when employer negligence could result in a broken foot at work claim:

• You tripped on a floor tile that had been broken for some time and broke your foot as a result.
• While working on a farm, an untrained driver had a forklift accident and dropped a load and crushed your foot.
• You fell from a ladder in adverse weather conditions and broke your cuboid bone because you’d not been trained on safe working at height procedures.
• Your foot was crushed and broken in multiple places while clearing out a hopper in a factory that started working despite the emergency stop button being pressed.
• You dropped box files on your foot and broke it whilst working in an office because of a lack of manual handling training.

If you’ve sustained a broken foot at work in a different type of accident, please still let us know and we’ll assess the case for free.

What Should I Do If I Sustain a Broken Foot in the Workplace?

If you’re involved in an accident at work and your foot is broken, you should:

• First and foremost, seek medical attention to ensure that your injuries are correctly diagnosed and treated.
• Tell your employer (supervisor, manager etc) about the accident as soon as possible.
• Log the incident in the company accident report book.
• Participate in any Health and Safety Executive investigation (for more serious broken foot injuries).

These steps can make your employer adapt procedures so that similar incidents in your workplace don’t occur in the future. They can also provide you with some evidence that you’ll want to support a broken foot compensation claim if you go ahead with starting one.

What Evidence Can Be Used for Broken Foot Compensation Claims?

There is no doubt that you can significantly increase the strength of your broken foot at work claim if you have the right evidence to prove your case. Some examples of evidence that could be useful include:

• Photographs that show swelling, bruising, broken skin or other visible symptoms of your broken foot.
• A copy of the accident report form to help prove when and where your foot was broken.
• Medical records including doctor’s notes, MRI scans and X-rays to prove your diagnosis.
• Video footage and accident scene photographs (from CCTV cameras or mobile phones for instance).
• Details of any potential witnesses in case a statement is required to help prove your version of events.

Even if you don’t yet have all of the evidence to prove your claim, please don’t hesitate to get in touch. If one of our accident-at-work solicitors represents you, they could offer to collect any information needed as part of their service.

How Long Do I Have to Claim Broken Foot Compensation?

As you may have heard before, there is a 3-year time limit when making a personal injury at work claim. This is defined by the Limitation Act 1980. While there are some exceptions to this rule in certain circumstances, your 3-year time limit will normally begin on the date you broke your foot in an accident at work, but please contact our legal advisors for certainty.

Crucially, the Limitation Act enables claims to be rejected if they become statute-barred (i.e. made outside of the 3-year limitation period). As such, it is always worth seeking legal advice on your claim as soon as you can to try and avoid missing out on any compensation you’re entitled to.

How Much Compensation for a Broken Foot at Work?

Two main heads of loss will contribute to calculating any compensation you’re awarded for a broken foot at work.

General damages cover any suffering you’ve endured because of your broken foot. This includes any pain and discomfort caused by physical or emotional injuries as well as any loss of amenity.

To ensure the correct level of compensation is paid, the extent of your injuries will need to be proven by medical records (x-rays, scans, doctor’s notes etc) and independent medical assessments.

After this has been confirmed, your work injury solicitor is likely to check the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG) to calculate how much compensation you should get.

We’ve used JCG data to show potential settlements for broken or fractured feet. Please don’t rely on these figures as they cannot be guaranteed because each claim is unique.

• Compensation of up to £7,010 may be awarded for straightforward foot fractures that will heal completely.
• A simple fractured metatarsal with continuing symptoms might pay in the region of £7,010 – £13,740.
• A displaced metatarsal fracture which causes a permanent deformity plus continuing symptoms might be worth £13,740 – £24,990 compensation.
• A broken foot at work that is considered a serious to severe injury might see a settlement of £24,990 – £70,030.

The second head of loss, special damages, covers financial losses linked to your injury. Crucially, this could include compensation for any future losses. Therefore, your compensation could cover the following:

• The cost of a carer at home.
• Medical and rehabilitation costs.
• Loss of earnings along with future losses.
• Transport costs.
• The cost of adapting your home i.e. to make access easier if you now need to use a wheelchair.

Any costs that you wish to include in a broken foot compensation claim will need to be proven. As such, collect receipts, bank statements and other financial documents to help prove your case.

Can I Claim for a Broken Foot if I’m Not a Full-Time Worker?

If you are not a permanent member of staff, you should not discount the chances that you’ll be compensated for a broken foot at work. That’s because all employees, including temps, subcontractors, agency workers and zero-hours staff are owed the same duty of care by employers.

Therefore, if you can prove that your foot was broken at work because of your employer’s negligence, we could help you to start a claim. Call our legal advisors now for a free assessment of your options.

Do You Need a Solicitor to Make a Broken Foot Claim?

Taking on legal representation when claiming for a broken foot at work should make your claim easier to deal with and might result in a higher settlement than you might otherwise expect.

If one of our accident-at-work solicitors offers to represent you, they will deal with all aspects of the claims process on your behalf. That means you won’t need to answer any questions from your employer’s insurers or deal with any negotiations directly.

What’s more, your case will be managed on a No Win, No Fee basis if you sign a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA). This contract enables your solicitor to begin working on your behalf without you paying for their services upfront. In fact, the only time you will pay anything for their work is if a compensation payout is awarded.

If that happens, you’ll have a pre-agreed percentage of your settlement deducted as a success fee. Legally, the Conditional Fee Agreements Order 2013 caps this fee at 25 per cent for your protection.

To see if you could start a No Win, No Fee broken foot at work claim, please call our legal advisors now.

How Long Do Workplace Injury Claims Take?

The time it takes for work-related personal injury claims to be processed varies depending on the circumstances of your case.

For instance, if you broke your foot at work after a brick was dropped on it but have made a rapid and complete recovery, you might expect to be compensated in around 4 to 5 months.

However, if you sustained multiple fractures from it being crushed by faulty machinery, extra time might be needed to help ascertain how you’ll suffer in the long term. These cases could take a year or more in some cases. However, if liability for the accident and your injuries has been determined, some costs and expenses (loss of earnings, medical costs, care at home etc.) could be covered by interim payments before your case is fully settled.

Contacting Us About a Broken Foot at Work Compensation Claim

If you’ve decided to start a personal injury claim against your employer after breaking your foot at work, why not speak to a legal advisor now? To arrange a free initial consultation, you can:

• Call us immediately 0333 241 2519.
• Connect to our online chat service day or night.

When you get in touch, you’ll be under no obligation to act upon the information we provide. However, if you do decide to proceed with a broken foot at work claim and it’s accepted by a solicitor from our panel, it’s worth remembering that you’ll be represented on a No Win, No Fee basis.