In various daily situations you are owed a duty of care by someone. A duty of care isa legal responsibility to ensure your health and safety. If you were to to suffer a chest injury in an accident that was caused by someone else breaching this duty of care they owed you, a chest injury claim could be made.
We look at the personal injury eligibility criteria your claim will need to meet and provide examples of accidents which you could claim for. We then examine the types of evidence that could be used to support your case. Additionally, we look at the different types of personal injury compensation you may be awarded. Finally we look at how a No Win No Fee solicitor from our panel could help guide you through the chest injury claims process.
If you would like to discuss your potential personal injury claim and receive free advice for your case, you can contact our advisors:
- Call 020 8050 2736
- Contact us online.
- Use the live chat.
Browse Our Guide
- Can I Make A Chest Injury Claim?
- How Can Chest Injuries Lead To A Personal Injury Claim?
- How Do I Make A Chest Injury Compensation Claim?
- What Chest Injury Compensation Could I Receive?
- Can I Make A Chest Injury Claim On A No Win No Fee Basis?
- More Resources About Claiming Personal Injury Compensation
Can I Make A Chest Injury Claim?
As aforementioned, you are owed a duty of care in various daily situations. Some examples include:
- The workplace – Under The Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 employers have a duty of care to ensure your safety in the workplace. They should take reasonable steps to mitigate hazards and prevent accidents. This could include performing regular maintenance checks on workplace machinery and providing appropriate training,
- On the roads – All road users have a duty of care to use the roads safely to minimise the risk of accidents. They must comply with The Road Traffic Act 1988 and follow rules and guidelines in The Highway Code.
- In public places – The party in control of a public place has a duty of care to ensure the reasonable safety of those using the space. This duty of care is set out in the Occupiers’ Liability Act 1957. This could include performing regular risk assessments.
In order to make a chest injury claim you will need to ensure that your case meets the personal injury claiming criteria. These are:
- The other party owed you a duty of care.
- They breached this duty.
- This breached resulted in you suffering your chest injury.
Common Types Of Chest Injuries
Chest injuries are injuries to the chest including those to the rib cage, soft tissues as well as the heart and lungs. A chest injury could be caused by collisions, penetrating wounds or crush injuries. Chest injuries may be severe and significantly impact your quality of life.
Common types of chest injuries could include:
- Fractured or broken ribs.
- Penetrating wounds or lacerations.
- Injuries to the chest wall.
- Soft tissue injuries.
If you have been injured at work, on the road or in a public place and would like to know if you could make a chest injury claim, you can contact our advisors.
How Can Chest Injuries Lead To A Personal Injury Claim?
There are various types of accidents that could lead to you suffering a chest injury. Some examples include:
- Accidents at work: Your employer failed to perform regular risk assessments, and failed to notice stock in the stock room of your supermarket job was stacked on a faulty shelf. The shelf breaks and the stock falls on you causing you to suffer a chest injury.
- Road traffic accidents: A driver driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs crashes into the front of your car. In this head on collision you suffer multiple injuries including broken rib injury, collapsed lungs, and a neck injury.
- Public place accidents: A hotel fail to properly install and secure their overhead hanging lighting. This causes it to fall and land on top of you as you were walking underneath, causing you to suffer a chest and head injury.
These are only a few examples. To see whether you may have a valid chest injury claim, you can contact one of our advisors. They can also help answer any questions you may have about claiming chest injury compensation.
How Do I Make A Chest Injury Compensation Claim?
When making a chest injury claim you will need to provide evidence which proves that another party was responsible for your injuries.
Evidence that could help support chest injury compensation claims include:
- The contact details of any witnesses to your accident.
- Photographs the the accident site and any visible injuries, such as lacerations or bruising.
- Video footage of the accident, such as CCTV footage.
- Copies of your medical records detailing your chest injury and what treatment you have needed.
Our team can advise you on further types of evidence needed for a personal injury claim. Additionally, they may also connect you with one of the personal injury solicitors on our panel who could help you with gathering evidence for your claim.
What Chest Injury Compensation Could I Receive?
How much compensation you could receive for your chest injury claim will depend on various factors, such as:
- The type of injury you suffered.
- The severity of the injury.
- The impact your injury has on your daily life.
Following a successful claim, you will receive compensation for the pain and suffering related to your injuries. This is awarded under general damages.
In the table below you can find some compensation guidelines taken from the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG). Those valuing your claim may refer to the JCG alongside your medical evidence as it lists guideline compensation brackets for various injuries.
Please note that the top entry of this table has not been taken from the JCG.
| Type Of Injury | Notes | Compensation Bracket |
|---|---|---|
| Multiple and serious injuries with financial losses | Compensation for multiple injuries and for associated financial losses such as medical expenses and lost earnings. | Up to £300,000+ |
| Chest injuries | The worst cases could see the removal of a lung and/or serious heart damage. | £122,850 to £183,190 |
| Traumatic injuries to the lungs and/or heart. Reduced life expectancy and impaired function. | £80,240 to £122,850 | |
| Chest and lung injuries causing some continuing disability | £38,210 to £66,920 | |
| Simple chest injuries with some permanent damage. No effect on lung function. | £15,370 to £21,920 | |
| Residual damage caused by inhaling toxic fumes or smoke. | £6,500 to £15,370 | |
| A collapsed lung which a uncomplicated complete recovery is made. | £2,860 to £6,500 | |
| Soft tissue injuries or fractured ribs with pain and disability over a period of weeks. | Up to £4,820 |
Special Damages
Additionally, you may be awarded special damages to cover financial losses caused by your injuries. For example, this may include:
- Loss of earnings.
- Travel costs.
- Medication and prescriptions costs.
- Care expenses.
You will need to prove any costs or losses incurred. Evidence could include invoices for treatment, prescription receipts or bank statements.
How Long Do I Have To Make A Chest Injury Claim?
The standard personal injury claim time limit is three years from the date of the accident. The Limitation Act 1980 outlines this time limit.
However, exceptions apply to this limitation period for those lacking the mental capacity to handle their own claim procedures or were injured as a minor.
To learn more about the exceptions to the time limit when making a chest injury claim, you can contact our advisors.
Can I Make A Chest Injury Claim On A No Win No Fee Basis?
A No Win No Fee solicitor from our panel could help you to make a chest injury claim, provided you have a valid case. By offering you a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA), you will not need to pay them anything for their services prior to or during the course of your claim. You also will need to pay them for their work if your claim fails.
If your claim is successful, your personal injury solicitor will deduct a success fee from your compensation. This success fee is legally capped.
To see whether one of the solicitors on our panel could help you with claiming compensation for your chest injury, you can contact our advisory team today:
- Contact us online to receive a callback.
- Talk to an advisor via our live-chat pop up.
- Phone us on 020 8050 2736
More Resources About Claiming Personal Injury Compensation
More personal injury claims process:
- Our compensation calculator looks at what you could claim for a variety of different types of injury.
- In this guide we look at the factors which determine the best No Win No Fee solicitors for a claim.
- If you have been injured in an accident in a shop, find out what you could claim in this guide.
Here we have included further helpful references.
- Check the symptoms of broken and bruised ribs in this NHS resource.
- Learn when you could receive statutory sick pay (SSP) from Gov.UK.
- Learn what specified injuries need to be reported in the workplace with this Health and Safety Executive (HSE guide).
We hope that our guide to making a chest injury claim has helped you. For more information, please contact our team.