Elbow Injury at Work – A Guide to Claiming Compensation

If you injure your elbow at work, it can have a detrimental effect on your normal activities. Elbow injuries can prevent you from driving, working, playing sports and having a normal family life. If the elbow in your dominant arm is affected, your suffering could be multiplied. In some cases, if you injure your elbow in an accident at work, you might be entitled to claim compensation. Therefore, this guide provides information about claiming compensation for an elbow injury at work.

If you are contemplating claiming compensation, we’re here to help. By contacting us now a legal advisor will look at your case for free and explain your legal options. If it looks like you have a feasible claim, they could partner you with one of our No Win, No Fee accident-at-work solicitors.

If you’d like to discuss a work-related elbow injury claim, you can:

• Phone 0333 241 2519 and speak with a specialist.
• Ask questions via our 24/7 live chat service.

You’ll find plenty of information about elbow injury compensation claims throughout this guide but please get in touch if any questions arise.

Types of Elbow Injuries at Work We Can Help With

In theory, any type of work-related elbow injury could result in a compensation claim but here are some common ones that we can help with if they were caused by your employer’s negligence:

• Tennis elbow.
• Golfer’s elbow.
• Bursitis.
• Elbow fractures.
• Elbow dislocations.
• Elbow sprains and strains.
• Cubital Tunnel Syndrome.
• Radial Head Fractures.

Even if your elbow injury is not listed here, we are happy to review your case for free. To discuss your chances of claiming compensation for an elbow injury at work, please call our team today.

Can I Make an Elbow Injury at Work Claim?

The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 (HASAWA) places legal obligations on employers to protect the welfare of their staff whilst they are working. This obligation is referred to as their duty of care.

Employers can uphold their HASAWA obligations to prevent (as much as reasonably possible) workplace elbow injuries by taking practical steps such as:

• Carrying out workplace risk assessments on a regular basis.
• Providing all staff with health and safety training that is refreshed periodically.
• Making sure all equipment, tools and machinery are properly maintained and fixed when faults develop.
• Provide staff with free personal protective equipment (PPE) where required.

As such, if you’re to be awarded compensation for an elbow injury at work you will generally have to show that:

• Your employer owed you a duty of care.
• Your employer’s negligence caused an accident or adverse working conditions.
• In the last three years, you have been diagnosed with an elbow injury that can be linked to that negligence.

If you want clarification on your entitlement to elbow injury compensation for the suffering caused by your employer, please call our legal advisors now to explore your options.

What Types of Negligence Can Lead to an Elbow Injury at Work Claim?

There are so many ways that an accident at work can cause elbow injuries that we couldn’t possibly list them all here. Therefore, we’ve provided just a handful of examples below where employer negligence could result in an elbow injury claim:

• If you developed tennis elbow due to using poorly designed office furniture or equipment that did not support proper posture and arm placement during long hours of computer work.
• You suffered chemical burns to your elbow because you were not provided with appropriate protective sleeves or clothing while handling hazardous materials.
• Your elbow was dislocated after being hit by a dump truck on a building site that was being reversed without a banksman.
• Whilst working as a plumber, you have sustained elbow bursitis because your employer failed to provide elbow pads for your protection.
• You sustained a severe laceration or crush injury to your elbow because of using machinery that was known to be defective, or if the safety guards were removed or malfunctioning.
• You sustained multiple elbow injuries after your arm was crushed by falling products due to overloaded racking in a stock room.
• If you dislocated your elbow when you slipped on an unmarked wet floor in the workplace kitchen or bathroom, where the employer failed to put up warning signs or ensure the area was dry.

Again, we can’t list every possible scenario that could cause an elbow injury at work here. But, so long as your accident meets the eligibility criteria set out previously, we could help you to begin an elbow injury at work claim.

What Should I Do If I’ve Injured My Elbow in the Workplace?

If you are involved in a workplace accident and suffer an elbow injury, you should:

• Visit your GP or a hospital to have your injury assessed and treated.
• Tell your employer about your diagnosis.
• Ask for the incident to be logged in the company’s accident report book.

These steps can help in two ways. Firstly, your employer can use the information provided to help you to return to work once you’ve recovered. Secondly, they’ll provide you with some of the evidence you’ll need if you decide to begin an elbow injury compensation claim.

What Evidence Can Be Used for an Elbow Injury Compensation Claim?

The following is a list of evidence that you could use to strengthen your elbow injury at work claim:

• A copy of any x-rays, scans and hospital records that confirm your diagnosis.
• Your copy of the accident report form to show when and where you were injured.
• Photographs taken at the scene of the accident.
• Details of anyone who saw your accident in case witness statements are needed.
• Mobile phone, dashcam or CCTV footage of your accident.

Ideally, you should collect evidence to support your case as soon as you can following the accident. If you’d like us to check the evidence you’ve secured so far, please feel free to contact our legal advisors now.

How Long Do I Have to Claim Elbow Injury Compensation?

The time limit for making a work-related elbow injury claim is generally three years from:

• The date of the injury; or
• The date you first became aware that your injury was related to your work.

This is in line with the Limitation Act 1980, which sets out the time limits for bringing a personal injury claim to court.

As claims can be statute-barred if they are started too late, it’s usually best to begin legal action as soon as possible to avoid missing out on any elbow injury compensation you’re entitled to.

How Much Compensation for an Elbow Injury at Work?

Compensation will be awarded if you make a successful elbow injury at work claim. Two heads of loss can be used to value your claim: general and special damages.

The pain, suffering and impact your injuries have on your day-to-day life is covered by general damages. To best ensure you receive the right level of compensation, your work injury solicitor will use medical records and independent reports when valuing this part of your settlement.  Once they have an understanding of the extent of your injuries, they are likely to check compensation figures listed in the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG).

Our elbow injury compensation table lists settlement brackets from the JCG but please bear in mind that these are not guaranteed elbow injury compensation payouts.

• Elbow injuries that fully resolve within about a year may see compensation of around £3,530.
• Full recovery from an elbow injury at work within 18 to 24 months will generally be less than £5,000.
• Where most symptoms clear up within 18 to 24 months, leaving only minor symptoms, compensation might be around £6,500.
• Moderate to minor elbow injuries, for instance, a simple broken elbow, that doesn’t lead to permanent damage or impairment, can receive up to £12,590.
• Less severe elbow injuries are compensated between £15,650 – £32,010.
• For severely disabling elbow injuries, compensation ranges from £39,170 – £54,830.

Special damages may also form part of your elbow injury compensation to cover financial losses such as:

• Medical expenses.
• Loss of earnings.
• Care and support costs.
• Any future loss of earnings.
• The cost of modifying your home or vehicle if you’ve been left with a permanent elbow injury.
• Travel expenses.

It is important to retain proof of any expenses you incur because of your elbow injury if you wish to include them in your claim.

Do You Need a Solicitor for Elbow Injury Claims?

You are entitled to seek compensation for your work-related elbow injury without taking on legal representation whatsoever. However, working with a solicitor who specialises in accident-at-work claims can make the process much smoother and they could negotiate a higher settlement than your employer’s insurers initially offer. Furthermore, they will fight your corner if any part of your claim is contested.

If one of our work injury solicitors takes your elbow injury at work claim on, they’ll do so on a No Win, No Fee basis. This means that before work on your case begins, you’ll sign a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA).

The result of a CFA being used to fund your solicitor’s work is that you will only need to pay them if you are awarded compensation. If that happens, a success fee will be deducted from any compensation you’re paid.

Success fees are legally capped when a CFA is used so the maximum percentage of your compensation that will be deducted is 25 per cent.

To see if you could make a No Win, No Fee elbow injury at work claim, call our legal advisors now.

Will I Be Required to Go to Court?

It is fairly uncommon, in our experience, for elbow injury claims to require court intervention. That’s because insurers and solicitors usually reach an amicable settlement to avoid court costs.

However, as a last resort, an elbow injury compensation claim could be referred to a court by the solicitor if they:

• Believe that the claim is strong enough; but
• The employer won’t agree that they were liable for the accident; or
• They offer a settlement that is deemed to be too low.

How Long Will an Elbow Injury Claim Take?

The time taken for elbow injury at work claims to be processed can be affected by factors such as:

• Whether liability for your accident and elbow injury is accepted quickly.
• The severity of your elbow injury.
• Whether your elbow injury is likely to cause long-term problems.

Generally, a straightforward elbow injury claim that is uncontested could be settled in a matter of 4 to 6 months. Conversely, if you’ve sustained a more serious injury, the claim could take up to a year or longer so that your prognosis can be better understood before the claim is settled. In this scenario, if liability has been accepted, you might receive interim compensation payments before the claim is settled.

Contacting Us About an Elbow Injury Compensation Claim

You’ve reached the end of this guide about claiming compensation for an elbow injury at work. If you’d like to talk your case over with a specialist or you’ve decided to begin a claim, you can contact us by:

• Calling 0333 241 2519 to find out your options.
• Connecting to our free live chat service at any time.

We won’t put any pressure on you into suing your employer and any legal advice you receive in your consultation is free. If you decide to take time out to consider your next steps, that’s fine, however, it’s worth remembering that if you decide to proceed all elbow injury at work claims are managed on a No Win, No Fee basis.