How To Make A Crush Injury Claim

There are various ways to sustain a crush injury, including while using the roads or in an accident at work. However, if you would like to seek personal injury compensation in a crush injury claim, you must be able to prove that you sustained your injuries as a result of a third party’s negligence.

This guide examines the personal injury claims eligibility criteria and considers when you might have good grounds to claim crush injury compensation. If you satisfy these eligibility criteria, you might be interested to learn about how compensation could be awarded for successful crush injury claims. We take a look at this as well.

Should you satisfy all the requirements and decide to pursue a compensation claim, you may like to have the support of a personal injury solicitor during the claims process. To conclude this guide, we look at how a solicitor offering a No Win No Fee agreement can help with your claim.

If you have any questions about starting a personal injury claim for crush injuries, please talk to a member of our team. To discuss crush injury compensation claims:

Call 020 8050 2736
Request for an advisor to call you by filling out our claim online form.
Ask about claiming hand crush injury compensation in our live chat.

A personal injury solicitor can help with your crush injury claim.

Select A Section

Can I Make A Crush Injury Claim?
How To Make A Crush Injury Claim
How Much Compensation For A Crush Injury Claim?
Why Claim For Crush Injuries On A No Win No Fee Basis?
Read More About How To Claim For Personal Injury

Can I Make A Crush Injury Claim?

If you are seeking compensation in a crush injury claim, you will need to prove that a liable party owed you a duty of care and breached this, causing your injury.

A duty of care is a legal obligation placed on a third party to meet and adhere to certain standards.
Breaches occur when the liable party does not take certain actions or acts in an inappropriate way.
You become eligible to claim compensation when a breach causes you to sustain injuries.

Crush injuries occur when a person is squeezed (crushed) between two objects or on a sudden impact. They require either a high-intensity blow, high pressure or a heavyweight. A crush injury could be minor or so severe that an amputation is required.

Crush Injuries Caused By An Accident At Work

A crush injury could occur in an accident at work when your employer fails to adhere to the duty of care as set out in the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 (HASAWA). Under HASAWA, your employer must take all steps that are reasonably practicable to protect the health, safety and welfare at work of their workforce.

For example, your employer needs to ensure that employees receive sufficient training. This is part of their duty of care. A forklift driver who isn’t trained could hit a shelving unit and knock heavy items onto another employee resulting in a crush injury.

Crush Injuries Caused By Road Traffic Accidents

Everyone using the roads owes other road users a duty of care to navigate in such a way that prevents injury and damage. Part of this duty entails adhering to relevant rules and regulations set out in the Highway Code and the Road Traffic Act 1988.

It isn’t just motor vehicle drivers and passengers who can sustain crush injuries in a collision:

A pedestrian accident can also result in crush injuries. For example, a reckless driver mounts the pavement and traps a pedestrian between their car and the wall of a building, causing both of the pedestrian’s legs to be crushed.
Cycling accidents can also cause a crush injury. For example, a speeding driver may drive through a traffic light and run over a cyclist, trapping them beneath the vehicle.

Crush Injuries Caused By An Accident In A Public Place

While you are out and about in public places, the occupier (the individual or organisation responsible for that space) must ensure the reasonable safety of anyone using that space for its intended purpose. This is the duty of care occupiers owe to members of the public as set out in the Occupiers’ Liability Act 1957.

For example, a supermarket owes a duty of care to its customers to ensure that it is reasonably safe to shop there. If the supermarket has items stacked precariously on shelving, they could fall and land on a customer, resulting in a crush injury.

To discuss the incident that caused your injury and discuss the eligibility you need to satisfy in order to have a valid crush injury claim, speak to an advisor.

If you are making a crush injury claim, you will need to submit evidence as part of the claims process. This needs to prove liability for the injuries you sustained in the incident.

Examples of evidence that could help your claim include:

Medical evidence. If you seek medical attention for your injuries, your medical records can be a vital piece of evidence.
Witness contact information. You could note the contact details of anyone who saw what happened so witness statements can be given later into the claims process.
Photographs and videos. For example, there may be photographs of the scene, items that caused your injury, or of the injuries themselves. You can also request footage of the accident, such as from CCTV.

There may be other items that could be submitted depending on where the accident occurred, including:

Police reports. If your injury occurred in a road traffic accident, the police may have attended the scene. You can submit a copy of their report.
Accident book. If you sustained crush injuries in an accident at work, you can submit a copy of the accident book.

Direct any questions you have about gathering evidence to support your personal injury claim to a member of our advisory team.

How Much Compensation For A Crush Injury Claim?

Settlements for successful crush injury claims could consist of up to two heads of claim. These are general damages for the physical damage and mental toll of the injury and special damages for the financial impact of the injury.

Those tasked with evaluating claims, such as personal injury solicitors or other legal professionals, may use the compensation guidelines published by the Judicial College (JCG) to help them value general damages.

We’ve provided the table below to help you understand how compensation could be awarded for a successful crush injury claim. The top row looks at how you could be awarded general damages for multiple severe injuries and special damages. In the following rows, we look at figures from the JCG 17th edition. It should be noted that the top row is not from the JCG. Additionally, as all claims are different, the table is only for guidance.

Injury	Severity	Notes	Compensation Guideline
Multiple Severe Injuries and Special Damages	Very Serious	Claimants could be compensated for multiple injuries and expenses, including nursing care and lost earnings.	Up to £1,000,000+
Paralysis	Paraplegia	The claimant's lower body is paralysed.	£267,340 to £346,890
Leg Injuries	Amputations (i)	Loss of both legs, either above the knee or one above and one below.	£293,850 to £344,150
Leg Injuries	Severe Leg Injuries (iv) Moderate	The claimant suffered a severe crush injury to a single leg.	£33,880 to £47,840
Chest Injuries	Removal	Serious prolonged pain, suffering and permanent, significant scarring from the total removal of one lung and serious heart damage.	£122,850 to £183,190
Hand Injuries	Total or Effective Loss of One Hand	The hand has been crushed and surgically amputated or all fingers and the palm have been traumatically amputated.	£117,360 to £133,810
Hand Injuries	Less Serious	The claimant's hand is significantly impaired due to a severe crush injury.	£17,640 to £35,390
Foot Injuries	Severe	The injured person experienced a severe injury to one foot, such as severe degloving.	£51,220 to £85,460
Back Injuries	Moderate (i)	Substantial osteoarthritis risk along with pain and discomfort from a crush fracture/compression injury.	£33,880 to £47,320
Toe Injuries	Severe	One or two toes (but not the great toe) have been amputated due to severe crushing injuries.	£16,770 to£25,710

Additionally, you could be awarded special damages as part of your personal injury settlement. Examples of special damages that could be relevant to crush injuries include:

Lost wages.
Mobility aids, such as crutches.
Nursing or carer costs.
Home adaptations, such as a stairlift.
Domestic help, such as with childcare.
Medical expenses, including prescription costs.

You should save proof of your costs (receipts, invoices, bank statements and wage slips) to help recover your financial losses as part of the personal injury claims process.

Direct any questions about how compensation could be awarded for a successful crush injury claim to a member of our team.

Why Claim For Crush Injuries On A No Win No Fee Basis?

If you are eligible to make a crush injury claim, you might want to have legal representation. One of the personal injury solicitors from our panel could help you. Generally, our panel of solicitors offer their No Win No Fee service under a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA).

This means that your solicitor:

Won’t ask you to pay for their services upfront.
Don’t ask for ongoing payments.
Won’t ask you to pay for their work on your claim for crush injury compensation if your case fails.
Only take a small success fee from your award if your case is a success. This fee is a legally capped percentage.

An advisor from our team can discuss the crush injury claims eligibility criteria with you and if it looks like you have a good case, help you get started today. Additionally, if you meet these criteria and wish to proceed with our services, you could be connected to one of the No Win No Fee solicitors from our panel.

To discuss starting a crush injury compensation claim: