If you were involved in an accident at work and sustained a hip injury as a consequence, it can have a debilitating and serious affect on your ability to work and future life. Providing you can show that the workplace accident could have been avoided or was the fault of a work colleague or your employer, you may be entitled to claim compensation. To find out more on how to file a hip injury claim, please read on.
What Are The Consequences of Suffering a Hip Injury?
If you have suffered a serious hip injury, the consequences can be life changing. Not only would it inhibit your ability to work and bring in a wage, but it could negatively impact your overall well-being and future life. Should your injuries be such they leave you with a long-term disability and constant pain, it may be necessary to have your home adapted and you may also need constant care. Even a less serious injury to your hip can leave you unable to work or to carry out normal daily chores around the home for a period of time.
What the Most Common Hip Injuries and The Causes?
You can injure a hip in many ways when you are at work and this includes the following:
- A fractured pelvis – this type of severe hip injury can result in long-term pain that could require ongoing medical treatment. It is the sort of injury that can be life changing. A catastrophic fractured pelvis could even lead to having a leg amputated. One of the more common causes of a fractured hip is due to a slip, trip or fall
- Muscle and ligament damage and tears – when the ligaments and muscles surround your hip are negatively impacted, it is referred to a sustaining a “hip strain”. This type of hip injury occurs when the muscles contract quickly and the cause is typically when you over-stretch or by a hard impact to the hip. The recovery time for this type of injury can take several weeks during which time there would be a lot of pain and discomfort leaving you unable to work or easily move around due to the swelling and bruising around the affected area
- A dislocated hip – this type of hip injury is extremely painful. The damage occurs when the ball joint found in your hip pops out of the pelvic socket. The injury typically happens when you are involved in a collision or in a high-impact incident. Suffering a dislocated hip would leave you unable to move and you would need treatment as a matter of urgency
- Hip bursitis – the sack of fluid found between your pelvis and your leg is known as the “bursa”. It’s job is to reduce the amount of friction that occurs and it also allows for free movement of your leg. Should the bursa be negatively impacted in any way, it causes extreme pain when you attempt to move thanks to the amount of swelling that occurs in the affected hip. It can take several weeks for you to recover from hip bursitis, but it is the type of injury that generally heals by itself
What Are the Common Causes of a Hip Injury in the Workplace?
One of the most reported accidents at work that result in hip injuries is when a floor surface is poorly maintained. The most common causes of this type of injury includes the following:
- A slip, trip and fall on a slippery floor or uneven surface
- A fall from height
- Being crushed by a moving vehicle
- Being crushed by a falling item
Would My Hip Injury at Work Claim Be Valid?
As previously mentioned, as long as you can prove that the accident that left you with an injured hip occurred in the workplace and the incident happened due to either employer negligence or because of the error of a work colleague, your claim would be valid. Even if you think you are partly responsible for the hip injury you sustained in the workplace, you should contact a solicitor who specialises in personal injury claims because you could still be entitled to seek compensation from your employer although the amount of hip injury compensation awarded would reflect your level of responsibility.
What is the Procedure Following a Hip Injury Sustained at Work?
All workplace accidents and near misses should always be officially recorded in the work’s accident report book or if the incident is reportable, RIDDOR must be notified. If you were involved in a workplace accident and sustained an injured hip, you should seek medical attention as soon as possible even if you believe the damage is only minor.
Other steps that must be followed when you suffer an injury in the workplace are listed below:
- Take photos of where the accident at work occurred and if possible, request CCTV footage of the incident which an employer must legally provide
- Take photos of your injuries which ideally should be prior to you having received any treatment
- Get statements of all the witnesses who saw your accident
- Get the contact details of everyone who witnessed the workplace accident
- Get a medical report of your injuries which should be as detailed as possible bearing in mind that even minor symptoms you may be experiencing can turn nasty further down the line, more especially with this type of injury to a hip
Should you be unable to do any of the above yourself, ask a trusted work colleague to do this on your behalf. Once you are able, you should check the record of the workplace accident that was noted in the accident report book and if you find any of the details to be incorrect, you have the right to correct the information. If there is no accident report book, make sure that you either send details of the accident and the injuries you sustained via personal email or in a registered letter addressed to your employer or person in charge.
What Level of Compensation Could I Get For a Hip Injury at Work?
The level of hip injury compensation you may receive would depend on the extent of your injuries and how your future life may be negatively impacted, which includes your ability to work and bring in a salary. As such, the amounts indicated below are provided as a guideline to how much compensation you may receive in a successful personal injury claim against your employer:
- Minor hip injury which involves soft tissue damage – you could receive anything up to £3,150
- Minor hip injury that leads to slight disability from which you recover – you could be awarded from £3,150 to £10,040
- Moderate hip injury where surgery is required, you could receive £10,040 to £21,200
- Moderate hip injury where the damage is severe but any disability is less serious – you could be awarded between £21,200 and £31,220
- Serious hip injury that leads to leg instability and degenerative changes where future surgery may be required you could be awarded between £31,220 and £41,860
- Serious hip injury where the damage to the pelvis is very severe, you could be awarded between £49,350 – £62,4900
- Serious hip injury where the damage is extremely severe and which results in significant disability, you could receive between £62,490 – £104,370
As previously mentioned, the amounts of hip injury compensation you may be awarded as indicated above, are provided as a guideline. The reason being that all personal injury claims are treated as unique. As such, the amount you may receive could be more or less that the compensation another employer received having suffered a similar hip injury that you suffered in an accident at work.
It is also worth noting that the amounts indicated above cover “general damages” and that you would be entitled to receive “special damages” which would compensate you for all the out of pocket expenses you incurred due to your injuries.
What Can Be Included in a Hip Injury at Work Claim?
The way compensation is calculated in personal injury claims is done in two parts. General damages cover the pain and suffering you endured as a result of sustaining a hip injury while you were at work while special damages are awarded to compensate you for any expenses you had to pay out as result of your injuries.
As such, it is easier to calculate the level of hip injury compensation you may receive in special damages because they are based on “actual” out of pocket expenses. All travel and medical receipts would be required as proof as well as any other receipts for costs you had to pay out. General damages on the other hand, are harder to calculate as it would depend on the extent of your injuries as to how much compensation you may be awarded.
Should I File a Hip Injury at Work Claim Against My Employer?
As an employee who suffered a hip injury while you were at work, you have the right to seek compensation from your employer providing your claim meets specific criteria. These are that you sustained your injuries in the workplace and the accident occurred through no fault of your own. With this said, even if you are partly responsible for your injuries, you could still be entitled to seek hip injury compensation from your employer. You must also adhere to the strict statutory time limit which is set at 3 years for all personal injury claims.
Your employer is legally obliged to have liability insurance which covers accidents in the workplace where employees are injured. The policy must be issued by an insurance provider that is recognised and it must meet the legally required cover of £5 million. As such, when you file a hip injury claim against your employer, the insurance they have in place would cover the amount of compensation you may receive should your case be upheld in a court or your employer’s insurers choose to settle out of court.
Do I Have Workers Rights If I Am Injured at Work?
You have worker’s “rights” which are highly protected in the UK and this also applies to when you are injured in the workplace. You have the “right” to the following if you suffer a hip injury while carrying out your daily work for an employer:
- To seek compensation for the pain, suffering and out of pocket expenses you incurred
- To file a personal injury claim against your employer without the fear of losing your job or being discriminated against
Should you find that your employer tries to fire you or to make you redundant because you tell them of your intentions to seek compensation by filing a hip injury claim against them, you should contact a solicitor because your employer would be acting illegally. In short, you may be able to take out further legal action against your employer due to their behaviour towards you.
Is There a Time Limit to Making a Hip Injury at Work Claim Against an Employer?
You would need to abide by the strict statutory time limit of 3 years should you wish to make a hip injury at work claim against your employer. However, if you develop a health issue that is linked to your injury further down the line, the time limit of 3 years begins from the date you were diagnosed as suffering from the medical condition which has to be provided by a medical professional. Should you have suffered your injury before you turned 18 years of age, the statutory time limit begins from the date of your 18th birthday.
Can My Employer Fire Me For Filing a Hip Injury Claim Against Them?
As previously mentioned, your worker’s rights entitle you to seek compensation for a hip injury sustained at work without the fear of being sacked, made redundant, being treated unfairly or detrimentally for doing so. Your employer would have to prove they had another “good and valid” reason for sacking you other than the fact that you seek compensation from them. Should your employer tell you that you would lose your job if you file a person injury claim, their actions would be illegal and you could take further legal action out against them. In short, you should discuss your concerns with a solicitor who would advise you on how best to proceed.
Are There Any Benefits to Working With a Solicitor on a Hip Injury Claim?
Accident at work claims are complicated legal procedures where pre-action protocols must be respected. The 3 year statutory time limit also means that starting a claim sooner rather than later would help avoid running out of time. The other thing to bear in mind, is that there are many legal pitfalls to avoid when making a hip injury claim against your employer. In short, one of the main advantages of having a solicitor represent you, is that they have vast experience and understand how to communicate with employers, their insurance providers and should your case go to court, a solicitor would know how to present your hip injury claim against a negligent employer to a judge.
Other benefits and advantages that a solicitor would bring to the table when filing an accident at work claim against your employer are listed below:
- The initial consultation with a solicitor is free of charge and you are under no obligation to continue should you not wish to
- They would arrange for you to be examined by a medical expert who would provide a detailed report of the extent of the injuries you sustained. The report would be crucial when it comes to calculating the amount of general damages you could be awarded in a successful hip injury claim
- They would help you gather all the required evidence to ensure your case against an employer is strong and that it would therefore stand a much better chance of being upheld
- Once a solicitor is happy that you have a valid claim and that your employer was negligent in their duty to keep you safe while at work, they would offer to work on your case on a No Win No Fee basis. In short, the solicitor would start working on your claim without having to request a payment from you
- Should your employer deny liability for hip injury you sustained, the solicitor would investigate their claims before advising you on whether it would be best to file a lawsuit against them
- They have access to legal libraries which can be referenced when needed
- Should your case be extremely complex because of the nature of your injuries, a solicitor would work hard to ensure that you receive “interim” payments until a final settlement is reached
- A solicitor would ensure that you are awarded the correct level of hip injury compensation in a final settlement
- You would have access to private therapy and treatment should your injuries be such that you require ongoing medical care
- Once you sign a Conditional Fee Agreement with the firm of solicitors you choose to represent you, you can place all your focus on recovering from your injuries
- You would have nothing to pay for the legal representation you receive should you lose your hip injury claim against your employer because the “success fee” is only payable when you win your case and are awarded hip injury at work compensation
Having a solicitor represent you when filing a hip injury claim against your employer, makes the whole legal process much easier to follow and it avoids any errors being made from the outset which could slow the proceedings down or mean that your case fails. No Win No Fee lawyers understand the need to provide as much evidence as possible when filing a personal injury claim against an employer. Their experience allows for them to negotiate with your employer’s insurance provider which in turn ensures that you receive the correct level of hip injury compensation you rightly merit.
Informative Links
To find out more about hip injuries, please follow the link below which takes you to the NHS website where you will find a lot of useful information:
More about hip injuries and hip pain
If you sustained a serious hip injury at work and would like more about exercises you can do to improve muscle and joint strength, please click on the link below:
More about exercises for hip pain