Tendon Injury at Work Claim – A Guide to Claiming Compensation

A tendon injury can be very painful and have a massive impact on your normal routine and your ability to work. As such, they can lead to financial problems too. Therefore, if you sustain a tendon injury at work that can be linked to your employer’s negligence, you might want to begin a personal injury claim against them. In this guide, we’ll answer some common questions on tendon injury at work claims and explain your options.

In addition to this guide, we offer a free consultation to discuss tendon injury compensation claims. During the initial call, your entitlement to claim will be assessed by a legal advisor. Should a claim be feasible, you’ll be connected to an accident at work solicitor from our team. If they agree to help you claim, you’ll benefit from a No Win, No Fee service.

To talk with us about how you sustained a tendon injury at work, you can:

• Call now on 0333 241 2519 to speak with a specialist.
• Ask questions via our live chat service.

Please continue reading for more on how tendon injury claims work but feel free to call if you need any further information.

What Is a Tendon Injury?

Before considering what types of tendon injuries you could be entitled to claim for, it’s worth reviewing what an injured tendon is.

A tendon injury, also known as tendinopathy, refers to damage or inflammation of a tendon, which is the fibrous connective tissue that attaches muscle to bone. Tendons are vital for facilitating movement by transmitting the force from muscle contraction to the bones, allowing for bodily movements and stability.

There are around 4,000 tendons in the body and, because they are not all that stretchy, they can be torn, strained or damaged quite easily.

Can I Make a Tendon Injury at Work Claim?

In the UK, employers have a legal responsibility to protect your safety while you’re in the workplace. This is a legal duty of care that is detailed in the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. Some of how employers can comply with regulations while trying to prevent work-related tendon injuries include:

• Providing health and safety training (such as manual handling training) on a regular basis.
• Performing regular risk assessments of the workplace to try and identify and remove any obvious hazards.
• Issuing staff with free protective equipment where other risk reduction methods aren’t possible.
• Maintain all workplace machinery equipment so that it is safe to use.

You might be entitled to claim compensation for a work-related injury if:

• Legally, your employer had a duty of care towards your well-being at the point of an accident.
• Your accident occurred as a result of your employer’s negligence.
• Your tendon injury has been diagnosed in the last three years and can be directly linked to the accident.

If you’ve suffered tendon damage as a result of a workplace accident, please call our legal advisors now.

What Types of Tendon Injuries Can We Help With?

Some common examples of tendon injuries if caused by your employer’s negligence we can help with include:

• Torn Achilles tendons.
• Tendonitis.
• Rotator cuff tears.
• Tendon strains.
• Tendinosis.
• Tenosynovitis.

The symptoms of tendon injuries will vary depending on the type of injury but they may involve pain (especially when a joint is used) and swelling and you might feel a cracking or grating feeling when the tendon is moved.

What Types of Negligence Can Lead to a Tendon Injury at Work Claim?

Here are a few examples of negligence by employers that could result in a tendon injury at work claim:

• If you have been diagnosed with a Repetitive Strain Injury (RSI) such as golfers elbow because you had to carry out repetitive actions such as lifting for prolonged periods without rest breaks.
• Where your Achilles tendon was torn after a trip and fall caused by a raised floor tile in a factory that had been in situ for months but not repaired or cordoned off by your employer.
• If you fell off scaffolding on a construction site and ruptured tendons in your knee because you’d not received training on working at height.
• If you sustained a tendon tear in your ankle after having to jump out of the way of a works vehicle that was driving in a pedestrian-only area in a warehouse.

Don’t worry if we’ve not described how you sustained your tendon injury here. So long as you believe your employer was at fault, we’re happy to assess your options for free.

What Should I Do If I Injure a Tendon at Work?

There are some requirements regarding logging and reporting that you should carry out if you are involved in an accident at work. They include:

1. Telling your employer about your accident as soon as you’re able to.
2. Asking for the incident to be entered into the accident report book.
3. Visiting a GP or a hospital to have your tendon injury properly diagnosed.
4. Informing your employer about your injury.

Taking the steps above will help you get back to full fitness as soon as possible. They will also enable your employer to think about making changes that might stop similar accidents from occurring in the future.

What Evidence Can Be Used for Tendon Injury Claims?

Usually, a personal injury at work claim will be forwarded to your employer’s insurance provider. As such, you’ll have to convince them your tendon injury is legitimate, your employer was to blame and the extent of your suffering. If you can’t you might not be compensated or you’ll receive less than you should.

The types of evidence that can help in tendon injury claims include:

• Medical records including MRI scan results and x-rays.
• Video footage of the accident from CCTV cameras or mobile phones.
• Photos of any visible effects of the injury such as swelling or bruising plus photographs or videos of the accident scene.
• Details of any colleagues, customers or others who witnessed the accident.
• A copy of the accident report form relating to your incident.

As part of the free initial consultation we offer, your advisor will review any evidence you’ve already got. If your claim is accepted by one of our accident-at-work solicitors, they may offer to gather further evidence where possible.

How Long Do I Have to File a Tendon Injury at Work Claim?

In UK law, personal injury claims including those against employers have a 3-year time limit. For most tendon injury claims, this will start on the date the injury occurred.

However, the Limitation Act 1980 states that claims made outside of this period can become statute-barred. In essence, this means that you won’t be allowed to claim and you won’t receive any compensation that’s due.

So that you won’t run out of time, we would always suggest that you speak to one of our specialists at the earliest opportunity to give yourself the best chance of being compensated.

How Much Compensation for a Tendon Injury?

Any compensation awarded for a tendon injury at work will aim to cover the physical and emotional pain and suffering (general damages) it has caused plus any associated costs (special damages).

The value of general damages is effectively based on how badly you have suffered and how long your symptoms have or will last. To calculate this, your solicitor will first make a request for medical records from your GP or a hospital. Then they’ll ask an independent medical expert to report on your prognosis.

Once they have this evidence, they may look at previous comparable cases and compensation amounts listed in the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG) to help value your claim. To give you some idea of tendon injury compensation amounts for general damages, we’ve listed examples below. Please bear in mind that these are not guaranteed settlements.

• Compensation ranges from £2,200 – £23,130 for tenosynovitis.
• £9,670 – £12,590 for a moderate thumb tendon injury.
• Compensation might fall within £10,320 – £16,340 for a serious injury to ring or middle finger tendons.
• £45,470 – £55,990 where a rupture to a tendon in the neck causes significant permanent disability.
• Approximately £38,430 in compensation for the most severe Achilles tendon injury.
• £7,270 – £30,090 for Achilles tendon injury dependant on severity.

If your tendon injury has resulted in any costs or expenses, these could be covered by the special damages element of your payout and could cover:

• Physiotherapy or other medical costs.
• Loss of earnings.
• Support or care at home costs.
• Future lost income.
• Travel costs.
• Mobility aids or the cost of modifying your home and vehicle.

To see how much compensation for a tendon injury at work you might be entitled to claim, please give us a call today.

Can I Claim Tendon Injury Compensation if I’m Not a Full-Time Employee?

It’s important to point out that regardless of your employment status, you can expect the same level of care concerning health and safety as your full-time colleagues. That means you should receive the same level of training and support and be provided with PPE where required.

As such, contractors, zero-hours staff, self-employed workers and subcontractors could all make a tendon injury at work claim for accidents caused by employer negligence.

Can I Claim if My Tendon Injury Was Caused by Faulty Equipment?

Any equipment in the workplace should be fit for purpose, well-maintained and in good working condition. This is a requirement of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998. As such, a tendon injury at work claim might be possible if your suffering resulted from faulty equipment or machinery.

Will I Need a Solicitor to Make a Tendon Injury Claim?

You are under no obligation to instruct a solicitor when starting a tendon injury claim. However, you might choose to do so because navigating the claims process can be challenging and you could face some complex legal or medical questions from your employer’s insurance provider.

If you work with one of our solicitors, as part of their service they could:

• Evaluate your claim in full and find the evidence to support it.
• Make sure that your claim is filed correctly and within the allowed timeframe.
• Handle all queries and questions posed by your employer or their insurers.
• Negotiate hard if they believe a settlement offer does not cover all of your suffering.
• Make sure you are kept up to date as your claim progresses.

Our work injury solicitors offer a No Win, No Fee service for any claims taken on. To do so, they’ll ask you to sign a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA). Once signed, you’ll know that:

• No fees for your solicitor’s work need to be paid upfront.
• You also don’t need to cover the cost of your solicitor’s services if the claim fails.
• A percentage of your compensation will be deducted as your solicitor’s success fee if the claim is won.

To stop you from losing your compensation in legal fees, the maximum success fee percentage allowed by law when using a CFA is 25 per cent.

Would you like to check if you can start a No Win, No Fee tendon injury at work claim? If so, give us a call now and we’ll review your case for free.

How Long Will My Tendon Injury at Work Claim Take?

If your tendon injury is fully healed and your employer accepts that they caused your injury early in the claims process, their insurer could send a compensation payment in 6 months or so.

However, claims can take 9 months (or over a year in some cases) if you’re still suffering or if there is any argument over liability for your injuries.

As you can see, no two claims are the same so if you’d like to know how quickly your tendon injury claim could be settled, please get in touch with our team.

Contacting Us About a Tendon Injury Compensation Claim

Our team is here to help if you’ve any questions about tendon injury claims. As part of your free initial consultation, you’ll also receive no-obligation legal advice about your options. So, to speak to us today, you can:

• Call for free on 0333 241 2519.
• Use our online chat to ask any questions.

Our solicitors only take on tendon injury at work claims if they believe they can be won and they’ll always provide claimants with a No Win, No Fee service whenever possible.