A chest injury claim can be made by anyone who has been involved in an accident that occurred due to someone else’s fault and this resulted in your chest injury. This accident may have taken place at work, in a public space, on the roads or in the incident of an assault. The compensation that you may receive will cover the pain and suffering that you endured with your chest injury as well as the prognosis which may detail long-term health issues that you may suffer. Furthermore, the compensation that you may be awarded will also cover any additional expenses that you have had to pay in relation to your chest injury. This can include prescriptions for inhalers to help with asthma that has been sustained from inhaling toxic fumes or a mobility scooter because you struggle for breath.
Chest injuries can be very severe and they can affect you for the rest of your life. Therefore, our solicitors want to bring you justice for this by helping you to receive the compensation that you deserve. Calling one of our advisors today can lead to a rough valuation of the personal injury compensation that you may receive before being connected with a solicitor to make a start on your claim.
You can also use the details below to contact us:
- Call us on 0800 073 8801
- Use our free live chat function
- Visit our contact page and complete our contact form
4.8Frequently Asked Questions
- Can I Make A Chest Injury Claim?
- How Might A Chest Injury Be Sustained?
- What Are Some Chest Injury Examples
- How Much Chest Injury Compensation Could Be Awarded?
- What Will I Need When Bringing A Chest Injury Claim?
- Chest Injury Compensation Claims With Our Expert Solicitors
- More Information
Can I Make A Chest Injury Claim?
Yes, you can make a chest injury claim if you can prove negligence occurred. Negligence happens when a third party breaches a duty of care owed to you, causing an injury, in this case, to your chest. This could range from bruised ribs causing pain and disability for a few weeks to damage to your heart and lungs that shortens your life expectancy.
If you meet the following eligibility criteria, you might have a valid claim for chest injury compensation.
You Were Owed A Duty Of Care
A duty of care will be owed to you by an employer, the occupier of a public space, another road user or a doctor. This duty means that that the liable party is legally responsible for your reasonable safety in a given situation. How carrying out this duty will vary in different situations. So, this may be by running checks for toxic fumes so that your chest is not affected, or adhering to speed limits to avoid a collision causing chest impact.
That Duty of Care Was Breached
If the third party in your claim fails to take all reasonable steps to ensure your safety, then they have breached their duty of care owed to you. Failing to run maintenance or risk checks will suffice as a breach of duty.
You Suffered An Injury Or Illness
Finally, it must be proven that the breach of duty led to the accident that then resulted in your chest injury or illness. Medical records that detail the effect of toxic fumes in your workplace on your chest would prove the injury that this breach led to. Therefore, you would be eligible to claim.
To discuss your eligibility further with one of our advisors, call us today.
How Might A Chest Injury Be Sustained?
A chest injury can be sustained in many different settings and can be the result of various types of accidents, such as at work or in a road traffic accident. Some of these settings and scenarios are detailed below.
Chest Injuries At Work
In a workplace such as a factory, you may be exposed to a lot of pollution and toxic fumes. If your employer has not provided you with the necessary protective equipment, such as face masks so that you are not breathing the fumes in, then this is a breach of duty and you would be eligible to make a claim.
Public Liability Caused Chest Injuries
In any public space owned by an occupier, the occupier owes a duty of care to any members of the public who enter the premises. Therefore, if you have tripped on a hazard that was not maintained efficiently, and the fall has caused traumatic impact to your chest, the occupier has breached their duty.
Injured Chest From A Road Traffic Accident
When navigating the roads, you are owed a duty of care by all other road users. You may have been involved in a road traffic accident as a pedestrian who was hit by a driver who was driving above the speed limit and could not stop in time before hitting you. This has resulted in impact to your chest which has caused a punctured lung. The driver has breached their duty, and you can claim.
Medical Negligence Chest Injuries
You may have undergone heart surgery to try and fix a pre-existing issue, but the surgeon has not checked your medical records properly and operated on the wrong chamber of your heart. Their medical negligence has caused your chest condition to worsen, therefore you can claim for the pain and losses that you have suffered after your operation.
Chest Injuries From Assault
In the traumatic event of an assault, you may have sustained severe chest injuries from the third party’s violence. This can include puncture wounds to the chest which have led to a collapsed or punctured lung, for example. In this situation, you are able to make a criminal injury claim.
If one of these scenarios sounds similar to the circumstances of your claim, or you are still unsure whether you can claim for your chest injury, get in touch today.
What Are Some Chest Injury Examples?
A chest injury can be caused by either traumatic physical impact which can result in damage to the internal organs, or it can be an illness that has been caused by inhaling toxic fumes.
A chest injury caused by forceful impact or penetration to the chest area could result in broken or bruised ribs, damage to the lungs and/or heart. There may also be more minor injuries sustained, such as bruising and soft tissue injuries, or minor cuts and lacerations.
For claims where a chest injury has been sustained due to the claimant involuntarily inhaling toxic fumes, they may suffer serious ongoing illnesses. The inhalation of these fumes may lead to diseases that make it difficult for the claimant to breathe, such as asthma.
To discuss the chest injuries that you have suffered and the cause of them, call one of our dedicated advisors today.
How Much Chest Injury Compensation Could Be Awarded?
How much chest injury compensation you could be awarded will depend on the nature of your injuries, but could range from up to £4,820 for rib fractures and soft tissue damage to £183,190 for serious damage to the heart and/or removal of a lung. Additionally, you can also be compensated for any financial losses incurred by the injury.
Your chest injury compensation will be calculated using two heads of claim; general and special damages. Your general damages will compensate you for the pain and suffering that you have had to experience since your chest injury was sustained. Many solicitors decide to use the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG) to reach an amount of general damages to award. This publication gives suggested amounts of compensation to award different types of injury, with the amounts differing depending on the severity.
The table below gives examples of some of the amounts that your solicitor may use as a guideline for your chest injury. Please keep in mind that these are only suggestions, and therefore you are not guaranteed any one amount. The top figure also was not taken from the JCG.
| Type of injury and severity | Notes | Compensation guideline |
|---|---|---|
| Multiple severe injuries | Where multiple injuries have been sustained and there are significant special damages, such as care and travel costs and loss of earnings | Up to £1million+ |
| Chest injuries - total removal of one lung | Serious ongoing pain and permanent scarring | £122,850 - £183,190 |
| Chest injuries - traumatic injury | permanent damage, functional impairment, disability and reduced life expectancy | £80,240 - £122,850 |
| Chest injuries - some disability | damage to chest and lungs resulting in some continuing disability | £38,210 - £66,920 |
| Chest injuries - simple injury | For example, penetrating wound with some permanent damage but no long term effects. | £15,370 - £21,920 |
| Chest injuries - toxic fume/smoke inhalation | Some residual damage but won't permanently effect lung function | £6,500 - £15,370 |
| Chest injuries - collapsed lung | Collapsed lung in which a full and uncomplicated recovery will be made | £2,680 - £6,500 |
| Chest injuries - fractures of ribs or soft tissue injuries | Serious pain and disability but this will only last for a period of weeks | Up to £4,820 |
| Asbestos injuries - lung cancer | painful and fatal in most cases | £85,460 - £118,790 |
| Asthma - Chronic | Causing breathing difficulties with the need to use a inhaler, causing restricted employment prospects | £32,090 - £52,490 |
| Asthma - Bronchitis and Wheezing | can have an affect on working and/or social life, likely to make a full recovery within a few years. | £23,430 - £32,090 |
Can Chest Injury Claims Cover Other Financial Losses?
Your chest injury claim will also cover any financial losses that you have suffered, which you would have never otherwise had to pay for had you not sustained your chest injury. These come under the head of claim, special damages, and they may include:
- Hired help – Cleaners or carers who you have had to hire to help you with day-to-day tasks since your accident.
- Medical expenses – you may have had to pay for medication to help with the recovery of your chest injury. If you have suffered asthma, you may have to pay for a repeated prescription for inhalers.
- Adjustments to your home – Railings and banisters may have had to be fitted in your home to help you get around.
- Travel expenses – Your chest injury may have left you unable to drive so any taxi fares will be covered by special damages. Any public transport tickets to and from medical appointments regarding your chest injury will also be compensated for.
- Loss of income – It is likely that you have had to take time off of work to recover from your chest injury. Therefore, the earnings that you have missed out on during this time off will be covered under special damages.
To ensure that you are being compensated for all of the financial losses that you have suffered, make sure you keep any evidence of these payments. This can include receipts or invoices of the payments that you have made.
Our advisors are happy to discuss your claim and give you an estimation on what general and special damages you may be awarded, so get in touch today.
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4.8What Will I Need When Bringing A Chest Injury Claim?
To bring a chest injury claim, you will need a sufficient amount of evidence to prove the fault that led to your injury. You will also need to ensure that you are bringing your claim within the legal deadline. Details of both can be found below.
What Evidence Can Help Prove Fault For a Chest Injury?
The evidence that you can provide to help prove the fault that led to your chest injury may include:
- Images or video footage of the accident taking place. This may include CCTV or dashcam footage.
- Keeping a log of your symptoms. It may be helpful to keep a log of your symptoms starting from the date that you believed you were being exposed to toxic fumes or sustained a chest injury.
- Contact details of anyone who witnessed the accident take place. This will be helpful for your solicitor to collect statements when they are compiling your evidence to support your claim.
- Accident Report books. The majority of workplaces will have an accident report book detailing what happened, when, where and how.
- Medical Records can help to prove what chest injury was sustained and how.
More information on what evidence you may need to make a chest injury claim can be found in our dedicated guide on what evidence is needed for a personal injury claim.
How Long After Sustaining A Chest Injury Can I Claim?
Generally, after sustaining a chest injury, you will have 3 years to begin making your personal injury claim. This usually begins from either the date in which the accident that your chest injury. However, there are some exceptions to this time limit, including for minors under the age of 18 and those who lack the mental capacity to bring their own claim. These are detailed in our dedicated limitation period for personal injury claims guide.
For advice on what evidence to compile to support your claim, as well as whether your claim is still eligible in terms of the legal deadline, call an advisor at Accident Claims.
Chest Injury Compensation Claims With Our Expert Solicitors
We understand that starting a personal injury claim for chest injury compensation can be a daunting experience. Below are some examples of the services and agreements that our solicitors can offer you, to hopefully make your decision easier.
Why Choose Accident Claims To Pursue Chest Injury Compensation
At Accident Claims, our solicitors are experts in personal injury claims and want to use these expertise to help your claim succeed. They want the best possible outcome for each of their clients, ensuring that they are awarded the chest injury compensation that they deserve. Some ways that they will try to achieve this include:
- Getting to know all of the details of your case to ensure that you are not missing out on any compensation for any of your losses.
- They are happy to answer any of the questions or queries that you have regarding the claims process or your claim specifically.
- Advising you on the evidence that you should compile to support your claim.
- Updating you on your claim and how it is coming together. You will always be informed of any changes to what compensation you may receive, and whether your solicitor has been able to get in touch with the witnesses whose contact details you provided.
- Explaining any terms that anyone outside of the legal sector may not understand so that the process remains uncomplicated for you.
- The handling of any legal documents will be carried out by them so you can focus on the recovery of your chest injury
- Offering a free consultation before you enter an agreement with them. This gives you the opportunity to ask any questions that you have as a chance for them to understand your circumstances and give a valuation on the compensation that you may receive.
These are just some of the services that our solicitors can offer you during the claims process.
No Win No Fee Chest Injury Compensation Claims
Once you have been connected with one of our solicitors, they will offer you the choice to enter a Conditional Fee Agreement. A Conditional Fee Agreement is a type of No Win, No Fee Agreement. This means that you do not have to pay any upfront solicitors fees before or during the claims process. Your solicitor will also not be paid any fees for their services if your claim is unsuccessful.
However, under this type of agreement, your solicitor will deduct their success fee from your compensation if your claim has a positive result. The Conditional Fee Agreements Order 2013 places a cap on the percentage they can take and the success fee will be fully discussed with you before hand.
To discuss the terms of entering a Conditional Fee Agreement, and get to know our solicitors better, call us today.
Contact Our Solicitors To Begin A Claim
You can discuss the accident that caused your chest injury with one of our advisors 24/7. If you have good grounds to start a claim, you could be connected to one of our No Win No Fee solicitors.
- Call us: 0800 073 8801
- Complete the contact form on our contact page
- Use our free live chat function
More Information
To discover more of our helpful guides, see below:
- Here’s information on how to claim compensation for sternum fractures
- Find out more about making a claim for injuries sustained from hazardous chemicals at work
- Read about claiming for a lung cancer misdiagnosis
For further reading that might help you with your claim, read:
- Information from the NHS on how to know whether you have bruised or broken ribs.
- Learn about the expectations of employers to control hazardous substances from the Health and Safety Executive
- Here’s information from the government on how you can request CCTV footage of yourself and your accident
Thank you for reading our guide on how to make a chest injury claim. We hope to support you with your claim in the near future.