Hip Injury at Work – A Guide to Claiming Compensation

There is no doubt that a hip injury at work can cause serious levels of pain which can be debilitating. They can stop you from working, driving, participating in sports and carrying out your normal family duties. If you sustain a hip injury in an accident at work, it may be possible to claim compensation for your suffering. As such, this guide will explore how hip injury at work claims work and look at how compensation for a hip injury is calculated.

Our team can help if you’d like to know your options before starting a hip injury claim. If you call us now, an advisor will review your case for free and explain your legal options. They’ll also check whether your claim is strong enough for you to be connected with one of our accident-at-work solicitors. If it is and you decide to proceed with a claim, your solicitor will manage your case on a No Win, No Fee basis.

For more on how we can help with hip injury compensation claims, you can:

• Speak with a specialist by calling 0333 241 2519.
• Use our free 24/7 online chat service to get in touch.

Please read on for more on how the claims process for hip injury claims works but please do call if you have any questions.

Types of Hip Injuries at Work We Can Help With

Shortly, we’ll explain the eligibility criteria for hip injury at work claims. For now, it’s enough to say that you could receive compensation for anything other than the most minor hip injuries including:

• A Dislocated Hip: Where the ball-shaped joint is forced out of the pelvis’s socket.
• Fractured Pelvis: A broken hip or pelvis is a very significant injury that can be life-changing and require long-term treatment. Ultimately, this type of injury could cause organs in the pelvic ring to be damaged too (bladder, kidney, intestines etc.).
• Hip Bursitis: Where a protective sac of fluid (the bursa) becomes inflamed and results in a lot of pain when the leg is moved.
• Ligament and Muscle Tears: Where hip muscles and ligaments are strained because of overstretching or traumatic injuries.

In very serious cases, hip replacement surgery may be required to help reduce the pain caused by hip injuries. Any pain and suffering associated with this type of major surgery would be factored into any compensation you’re awarded following a hip injury at work claim.

Can I Make a Hip Injury at Work Compensation Claim?

It will generally only be possible to sue an employer for a work-related hip injury if you can prove that your employer owed you a duty of care at the time of your accident. That’s not something you’ll need to worry too much about because all employers have a legal obligation to take practical and reasonable steps protect their employees because of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 (HASAWA).

Some of the ways employers can prevent workplace hip injuries and meet their obligations under the HASAWA include:

• Conducting risk assessments of the workplace regularly and removing as many dangers as possible.
• Provide adequate and regular health and safety training to all staff.
• Provide free personal protective equipment (PPE) if it is needed to stop staff from suffering hip injuries i.e. anti-slip footwear in particularly slippery areas.
• Making sure any work equipment and machinery is properly maintained.
• Think about changing working procedures to reduce the amount of heavy lifting or repetitive tasks that employees need to carry out.

Failure to take such steps might be deemed negligent if it causes you to suffer a hip injury. In such cases, you might be able to make a personal injury claim if you can prove that:

• Your employer owed you a legal duty of care.
• An act of negligence by your employer caused you to be involved in an accident.
• As a result of that accident, you’ve suffered a hip injury in the last three years.

If you think your employer is responsible for the suffering caused by your hip injury at work, please call our legal advisors to see if you could be compensated.

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

Here are a few examples of work-related incidents that could result in a hip injury claim:

• Falls from Height: i.e. if your hip was shattered after falling from a cherry picker because you had not been given a safety harness by your employer.
• Slip and Fall Accidents: Slippery or wet floors, uneven surfaces, or debris on the ground can cause employees to slip and fall and suffer a hip injury.
• Vehicle Accidents: For instance, you could suffer a dislocated hip after being struck by a forklift that was being driven in a pedestrian-only area of a warehouse.
• Overexertion: You could suffer a hip strain if you have to pull or push heavy objects for prolonged periods as part of your role.
• Repetitive Strain Injuries: you could be diagnosed with an RSI if you need to move awkward or heavy loads in confined spaces for prolonged periods.

Whatever type of accident you’ve been injured in, you could receive compensation if you can prove that your suffering was caused by your employer’s negligence. Please get in touch if you’d like more information about how we can help with hip injury at work claims.

What Should I Do If I Injured My Hip in the Workplace?

If you are unfortunate enough to sustain a hip injury in the workplace, you should:

• Make sure the incident is logged in the company’s accident report book.
• Visit a GP or hospital to have your injury properly diagnosed.
• Let your employer know about any restrictions your doctor has advised to allow your hip injury to get better.

Taking the steps listed above can help your employer to prevent similar injuries to other members of staff in the future. They could also go some way to securing the evidence needed to support hip injury claims. We’ll discuss this in more detail next.

What Evidence Can Be Used for a Hip Injury Compensation Claim?

If you want to claim compensation for a work-related hip injury, you will need evidence to prove what happened, why your employer is liable and how your hip injury has affected you. This could include any or all of the following:

• Photographs of the accident scene as well as any obvious signs of injury (cuts, bruises, swelling etc.).
• A copy of the company’s accident report form. This will confirm when and where the accident occurred.
• Copies of your medical records including X-rays, scan results etc.
• Details of anyone who saw you injure your hip in case witness statements are needed.
• Video footage of the accident if your workplace is covered by CCTV cameras.

The more evidence you’ve got to support your hip injury claim, the better. However, if you’ve not got everything listed here, you can still call our legal advisors and we’ll check if you’ve got enough to begin the claims process.

How Long Do I Have to Claim Hip Injury at Work Compensation?

The general time limit for making a claim for compensation following a hip injury at work is three years. This means you have three years from the date of the accident or from the date you first became aware that your hip injury was related to your work to start legal proceedings.

We are happy to check how long you have left to make a hip injury claim so please feel free to contact us for more information.

How Much Compensation Can I Claim for a Hip Injury at Work?

The level of compensation paid for hip injuries is dependent on several factors. Firstly, general damages are based on how much pain and suffering your hip injury at work has caused. Also, they consider any restrictions your hip injury has had on your usual activities (loss of amenity).

To put a value on your hip injury claim, your solicitor will need to understand the extent of your suffering. Therefore, they’ll use information from your medical records and independent medical reports and compare that with hip injuries listed in the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG).

The JCG lists potential compensation brackets for various injuries so we’ve used its data in our hip injury compensation table. Please remember that the amounts are guidelines rather than guaranteed settlements.

• For minor soft tissue injuries fully healing within months, compensation can reach up to £3,950.
• Hip injuries causing minor or temporary disabilities may attract compensation between £3,950 – £12,590.
• Injuries necessitating surgery without resulting in severe disability could see awards from £12,590 – £26,590.
• Severe hip injuries possibly requiring hip replacement but not leading to significant disability range from £26,590 – £39,170 in compensation.
• Compensation for injuries causing hip instability, mobility challenges, or potential for additional surgery spans £39,170 – £52,500.
• Very severe fractures or dislocations leading to chronic or permanent issues can receive between £61,910 – £78,400.
• The most severe hip injuries, resulting in major permanent disabilities or deformities, may be compensated between £78,400 – £130,930.

If you have lost out financially because of a hip injury at work, any compensation you are awarded could cover:

• Care and support costs.
• Medical and rehabilitation expenses.
• The cost of making your home more accessible if you’ve been left disabled.
• Travel expenses.
• Lost income and future loss of earnings.

To find out how much compensation for a hip injury at work could be paid in your case, please call our legal advisors now.

Can I Claim Compensation for a Hip Injury at Work if I’m Not Employed Full-Time?

You don’t have to be a full-time employee to claim compensation for a hip injury at work. That’s because, regardless of the type of employment contract you have, your employer will owe you the same duty of care (regarding health and safety) as other members of staff.

Therefore, hip injury compensation claims could be made by zero-hours staff, temps, agency workers, consultants, subcontractors and the self-employed.

Do I Need a Solicitor to Make a Hip Injury Claim?

It is possible for you to start a compensation claim for a hip injury at work on your own. While that is true, winning a claim against an employer isn’t always the easiest thing to do regardless of how clear-cut your case might seem.

In most cases, insurers deal with accident-at-work claims rather than your employer. It is therefore likely that they’ll offer a low settlement amount or contest the case in an effort to pay no compensation at all. That’s why it might be a good idea to take on a specialist solicitor to fight your corner.

If you work with one of our work injury solicitors, they’ll manage your claim from beginning to end. What’s more, if your claim is accepted, you’ll only have to pay for their work if you are compensated because of their No Win, No Fee service.

The type of contract our solicitors use is called a conditional fee agreement. Legally, when using this type of contract, the maximum percentage of your compensation your solicitor can deduct as their success fee is 25 per cent.

To see if you could make a No Win, No Fee hip injury at work claim, call our team now.

Will I Have to Go to Court?

In our experience, it’s very unusual for hip injury claims to end up in court. Generally, solicitors and insurers settle claims out of court to avoid timely and costly hearings.

That said, your solicitor could arrange a court date if they suspect you have a very strong case but your employer isn’t willing to offer a fair compensation payout.

Contacting Us About a Hip Injury Compensation Claim

You can get in touch with our legal advisors to ask any questions you might have about work-related hip injury claims. To do so, you can:

• Phone 0333 241 2519 to discuss your case now.
• Use our online chat service night or day to get in touch when it’s convenient.

While there’s certainly no obligation or pressure to proceed, any hip injury claims accepted by our specialist solicitors are handled on a No Win, No Fee basis.