A broken rib may be a reason to claim compensation if the negligence of someone who owes you a duty of care caused you to get injured.
A guide on claiming for a broken rib
This guide will explain who may owe you a duty of care and how someone’s negligence could cause you to sustain an injury.
Additionally, the guide explains the personal injury claims process and provides estimates of the potential worth of your claim. This guide also discusses the No Win No Fee agreement offered by solicitors.
If you have questions about the claims process, our advisors are available to support you with free legal advice and to discuss your case in more detail. Ways to reach us are:
- Call free on 0113 460 1215
- Fill out our contact form
- Use the chat feature at the bottom right of the page
Choose A Section
- Could I Claim Compensation For A Broken Rib?
- Examples Of Rib Injuries
- How Could I Start A Claim?
- Broken Rib Compensation Estimates
- Who Could Get A No Win No Fee Agreement?
- Learn More About Broken Rib Injury Claims
Could I Claim Compensation For A Broken Rib?
Personal injury claims make it possible for you to recover your losses due to pain and suffering caused by an injury you sustained. However, there are conditions which may make your claim valid. You will need to establish these for a valid claim:
- An employer, another road user or an owner of a public place where you sustained the injury, owes you a duty of care.
- They breached their duty of care, which caused an accident or incident.
- This caused your injury.
Furthermore, you need to claim within the time limit, which generally speaking, is 3 years from the date of your injury. Exceptions to this time limit, as will be discussed below, are set out in the Limitation Act 1980.
If you sustained the injury when you were under 18 years old, the time limit is suspended and begins to apply once you become 18. Another option is to allow a litigation friend to claim on your behalf while you are still under 18.
The time limit also does not apply if you have reduced mental capacity. It starts to apply once mental capacity is restored. However, a litigation friend could claim on your behalf if you lack the mental capacity to do so.
Statistics For Rib Injuries
When someone breaches their duty of care, it could cause an accident that may result in an injury. The Health and safety at work Summary statistics for Great Britain 2021 reported that 1.7 million workers were suffering from work-related ill-health (new or long-standing) in 2020/21. 850,000 of these workers suffered from a new case of work-related ill health.
Analysis of the types of illness suffered by workers with both recent and long-standing work-related ill-health showed that :
- 50% suffered from stress, depression or anxiety.
- 28% had musculoskeletal disorders.
- 22% of the workers had other types of illnesses.
The broken rib injury hasn’t been mentioned specifically in the research but is a type of musculoskeletal injury. The data above shows that although musculoskeletal injuries may be fairly common, emotional injuries were more common in the year in view. This may point employers to the area to improve upon.
Examples Of Rib Injuries
Accidents that could lead to a broken rib injury can occur in several places. It may occur as an accident at work, a road traffic accident or an accident in a public place. In various situations, different people may owe you a duty of care.
Accident at Work
An employer owes a duty of care to employees according to the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. This law means that your employer has to do all that is reasonably possible to maintain your health and safety while at work. If a ladder is not risk assessed in the workplace, and you sustain an injury because a rung in the ladder breaks, the employer may be liable. You may be able to pursue accident at work claims against your employer.
Public Place Accidents
The controller or occupier of a public place owes you a duty of care to do all they can reasonably do to keep you safe from harm while on the property. This duty is as stipulated in the Occupiers’ Liability Act 1957. For instance, if you fall into a manhole on pavement left open after repairs, the council may be liable for failing to bar the place from public use.
Road Traffic Accidents
All road users owe a duty of care to other road users, to ensure their actions do not cause harm to others. This duty of care and the standards expected of road users are set out in the Road Traffic Act 1988 and The Highway Code. If a road user exceeds the speed limit and injures another road user in a car accident, they have breached their duty of care. If you have determined they’re at fault, you may be able to start a road accident claim.
How Could I Start A Claim?
If you had an injury, and you have established that someone was negligent and therefore caused your injury, you may be able to make a claim. It may also be beneficial for you to use the compensation table below to estimate the value of your broken rib claim.
If you call our advisors, they may help you look at your case in more detail and offer free legal advice. They could also able to connect you with our panel of personal injury solicitors who are able to help you gather needed evidence to prove your personal injury claim.
After your accident happens, seek medical attention to take care of your injuries. You need to record details of the accident, making notes of the causes of the accident. If you are too unwell to do this, someone present when it happened can do it on your behalf. You will need to gather other types of evidence that will be useful in case you decide to claim. Witness contact details (for statements at a later date), photographs, and CCTV footage are some of the evidence you could gather. Receiving legal advice about steps to take to file a claim may simplify the process for you.
Broken Rib Compensation Estimates
A compensation claim for a broken rib may comprise both general damages and special damages. General damages help recover losses from physical or psychological pain and suffering, caused by your injury. A list of examples of physical and psychological injuries, with the corresponding compensation, is in the table below. These compensation amounts are from the Judicial College Guidelines, a publication that may be used by solicitors as guides when valuing claims.
Equally important are the special damages which help recover financial losses due to your injury. Proof of these costs is necessary for you to be able to include them in your claim. You could claim special damages for out-of-pocket costs, payment for prescriptions, transportation, loss of earnings and future loss of pension contribution.
Your broken rib payout may not be the same as the compensation amounts in the table. The amounts from the Judicial College are guides and do not necessarily determine your compensation. These figures are from the 16th edition of the guidelines, published in April 2022.
| Injury | Severity | Amounts |
|---|---|---|
| Chest Injuries | (a) Injury leading to removal of one lung | £100,670 to £150,110 |
| Chest Injuries | (b) Traumatic injury to chest resulting in permanent damage | £65,740 to £100,670 |
| Chest Injuries | (c) Some continuing disability due to damage to chest and lung | £31,310 to £54,830 |
| Chest Injuries | (d) A single penetrating wound causing some permanent damage to tissue | £12,590 to £17,960 |
| Chest Injuries | (f) Injuries leading to collapsed lungs | £2,190 to £5,320 |
| Chest Injuries | (g) Fractures of ribs or soft tissue injuries | Up to £3,950 |
| PTSD | (a) Severe permanent effects | £59,860 to £100,670 |
| PTSD | (b) Moderately severe Some recovery with professional help | £23,150 to £59,860 |
| PTSD | (c) Moderate. Largely recovered | £8,180 to £23,150 |
| PTSD | (d) Less Severe Virtually full recovery | £3,950 to £8,180 |
For our advisors to value your claim for free, why not get in touch?
Who Could Get A No Win No Fee Agreement?
If you want to claim compensation for a road traffic accident, an accident at work or for a public place accident, we are here to help. Our panel of personal injury solicitors can represent you on a No Win No Fee basis if they accept your claim.
A No Win No Fee agreement means you will not pay an upfront solicitor’s fee to start your claim. You will also not pay an ongoing solicitor’s fee during the claims process. Furthermore, if your claim is not successful, you will not pay the solicitor’s fee.
A small, legally-capped percentage of your compensation goes to pay the solicitor’s fee if your claim is successful. This amount is capped by law to preserve your compensation.
Get in touch today to see if we can start work on your potential claim.
Call Us To Discuss A Broken Rib Claim
If you still have unanswered questions about making a claim, do not hesitate to give us a call. Our advisors give free legal advice and will consider the details of your own case to present you with your options. Ways to get in touch are:
- Call us on 0113 460 1215
- Complete our online contact form
- Chat with us on the chat feature in the bottom right corner of this page.
Learn More About Broken Rib Injury Claims
More tips from our other guides:
A catalogue of questions about personal injury: Personal Injury Frequently Asked Questions
Check cases covered by personal injury law: What cases fall under personal injury law?
About the law guiding accidents in public places: Public liability claims
External resources to learn more about broken ribs:
NHS article on how long a broken rib takes to heal: Broken or bruised ribs
Learn if you are entitled to statutory sick pay: Statutory sick pay: how to claim
Request CCTV footage of yourself
If you have any questions about how to make a broken rib claim, why not get in touch?
Writer Mary Matisse
Publisher Ruth Vincent