Updated 28th July 2025. Welcome to our guide to making a claim for bruised ribs. A bruised ribs injury claim may be justified if you’ve suffered harm through no fault of your own. Here, offer insight into the average compensation for broken ribs in the UK, and explain what damages could make up a broken rib settlement amount. We also provide guidance on who could claim for an injury such as damage to the rib to the cartilage, as well as how we could help with chest injury compensation claims.

A car accident or an accident at work can lead to bruised or fractured ribs. Likewise, a violent assault can cause similar injuries.

Bruised rib and fractured rib injuries can be incredibly painful. Most bruised rib injuries heal by themselves. However, because these bones protect vital organs, injuries can be life-threatening.

If you have suffered a bruised rib injury that was not your fault, you may be eligible to claim compensation. Accident Claims can help you to make a bruised ribs injury claim.

Our personal injury solicitors have significant experience in this area and will push to win you the maximum amount of compensation possible.

To begin your case, call us on 0800 073 8801. Or you can contact us in writing here.

Man holding his bruised ribs in pain

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When Could You Make A Bruised Ribs Injury Claim?

Not everyone who injures their ribs could make a bruised ribs injury claim. To have a valid personal injury claim, you would need to prove:

  1. A relevant third party owed you a duty of care
  2. They breached this duty of care
  3. Their breach caused your bruised ribs 

There are various third parties that could owe you a duty of care. They could include:

  • An employer – Per the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 (HASAWA), your employer has a duty of care to take reasonably practicable measures to protect your health and safety at work.
  • An occupier – Someone in control of a public place would owe you a duty of care under the Occupiers’ Liability Act 1957. They must take steps to ensure you can use their premises safely. This duty extends to those in control of shops, hotels, gyms, public parks and more.
  • A road user – Each road user has a duty of care towards other road users to use the roads in a way that prevents harm or damage. They must adhere to the Road Traffic Act 1988 and follow the Highway Code.

To find out if you are eligible to make a personal injury claim, contact our team of advisors today. They can offer more information on the claims process and could potentially connect you with a solicitor.

Can I Make A Criminal Injury Claim For Bruised Ribs?

Yes, if you’ve suffered bruised ribs because of a criminal assault, you may be able to make a criminal injury claim.

If the perpetrator can be be found and does have the means to compensate you, or if a third party (such as an organisation) can be held vicariously liable for your criminal injuries, then your claim will need to meet the same eligibility criteria as above.

If not, your criminal injury claim will need to meet the eligibility criteria set out in the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA). The CICA is a government agency in Great Britain that awards compensation to those who have been injured in a crime of violence.

As such, the CICA claims eligibility criteria are as follows:

  1. You were injured in a crime of violence (as defined by the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme 2012). For example, an attack, sexual assault, or arson.
  2. The crime of violence took place in Scotland, England, or Wales (or another relevant location, such as a on a boat that’s registered to one of these places).
  3. The crime of violence was reported to the police.
  4. Your claim is made within the time limit, which is typically 2 years (although exceptions apply for exceptional circumstances).

For more information on how to make a bruised rib criminal injury claim, please contact us today.

How You Could Sustain A Bruised Rib

There are many ways in which you could sustain a bruised rib. However, it’s important to remember that in order to claim, your bruised rib must be a result of negligence. Some examples of how negligence could contribute to bruised ribs include:

  • If another driver’s careless driving caused you to be injured in a car accident, a broken ribs settlement could be claimed for.
  • If you work at height but your employer fails to provide safety equipment, such as a harness, you could sustain bruised ribs from a fall. In this case, you may be eligible to make an accident at work claim.
  • You could also sustain badly bruised ribs if you are hit by a car as a pedestrian while crossing the road. If the driver that hit you were acting negligently, then you may be able to make a claim.

These are only a few examples how you could sustain a bruised rib as a result of negligence. To get more information or to find out if you could be eligible to claim, get in touch with our team today.

Average Compensation For Broken Ribs UK

You may be wondering how much compensation for broken ribs in the UK you could receive. 

A broken rib settlement amount could include general damages and special damages.

Special damages could compensate claimants for the financial impact of their injury. This can include loss of earnings and care costs. However, you will need evidence such as payslips or receipts to claim these costs back.

General damages compensate claimants for their suffering, pain and loss of amenity caused by the injuries they’ve sustained.

In order to calculate the value of your injuries, all the facts and circumstances of the case must be assessed. The severity of the injury, whether surgery is required, or whether there is permanent scarring could all impact a broken rib settlement amount. 

Where can I get insight into the average compensation for broken ribs in the UK?

Knowing the average compensation for broken ribs in the UK would not give you much insight into your own claim. This is because all claims are unique.

However, we have created a table based on figures from the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG) which solicitors can use to help them value the general damages portion of claims. 

Please only use these figures as a guide because your settlement could differ. The top figure is also not from the JCG.

Category Of InjurySeverityPossible CompensationInjury Assessment
Multiple serious injuries with their associated financial costs. SeriousUp to £500,000+A combination of injuries resulting in significant pain and suffering as well as financial costs such as care costs or medical expenses.
Chest InjurySerious, with prolonged pain and suffering (a)£122,850 to £183,190Removal of one lung and/or serious heart damage
Traumatic chest, lung, or heart injuries (b)£80,240 to £122,850Causing impaired function of the affected organs, and a shortened life expectancy
Chest and lung damage (c)£38,210 to £66,920Causing some permanent disability
Relatively simple injury (d)£15,370 to £21,920With no significant longer-term damage, but some permanent tissue damage
Smoke/toxic fume inhalation (e)£15,370 to £21,920With some residual, but not serious, damage to lung function
Collapsed lungs (f)£6,500 to £15,370The person should make a full and uncomplicated recovery.
Rib fractures or soft-tissue injuries (g)Up to £4,820Pain and disability will last for a period of weeks.

If you would prefer to get a personalised estimate of how much compensation a successful claim could bring over the phone, please get in touch. We would be happy to help with this.

Making A Rib Injury Compensation Claim

When making a bruised ribs injury claim, you should collect as much evidence as you can that shows negligence occurred. It must be proven that your bruised ribs injury was a result of a breach of duty of care in order to successfully receive a bruised ribs payout. 

The best types of evidence to have include:

  • CCTV footage of the accident. 
  • Dash-cam or traffic monitoring camera footage of the accident.
  • Photographs of what caused the accident. For example, a faulty piece of workplace equipment. 
  • Photographs of your injury. 
  • A copy of the report you made to the police, and the crime reference number, if applicable.
  • Vehicle and registration details of the liable driver’s car, if applicable.
  • Contact information from everyone involved in the accident (for example, if there was a multiple vehicle pile-up).
  • Copies of your medical reports that highlight the extent of your injury. 
  • Contact information from anyone who witnessed the accident. During the claims process, they could be asked to provide a statement. 
  • Personal diary entries of your symptoms and treatment. 
  • If the accident happened at work, a copy of the accident report book where your accident was recorded. 

It can seem daunting to collect all of this evidence by yourself. This is why a part of our solicitors’ services includes collecting evidence on behalf of their clients. 

So, if you would like assistance in gathering your evidence, please contact our advisors today. You could potentially connect with a specialist solicitor who can help you through the claims process.

Make A Bruised Ribs Injury Claim With A No Win No Fee Solicitor

You may wish to fund your solicitor using a No Win No Fee agreement. A No Win No Fee claim is when you don’t pay your solicitor a fee before work begins on your claim. You also don’t pay any fees while the case progresses.

Instead, you will pay something called a success fee if your solicitor successfully settles your claim. However, your solicitor will not charge you any fees in the event that your claim is unsuccessful.

There are benefits to this arrangement (known as a Conditional Fee Agreement). Firstly, you are not gambling with your finances because you will only be charged if you succeed. The deduction would be taken from your compensation award.

Secondly, No Win No Fee claims are the more affordable option for many people because there is no upfront or ongoing fees to pay.

You can read our online guide to making a No Win No Fee claim to find out more. Alternatively, please feel free to call our helpline. And an advisor will be happy to discuss the best method of claiming for you.

Contact Us

Accident Claims can help you if you wish to make a bruised ribs injury claim. We can connect you to our skilled personal injury solicitors who possess significant experience in their field.

Contact us today using the details below:

About Personal Injury Claims

We hope that this guide to making a bruised rib injury claim has been helpful. If you would like to learn more about making a personal injury claim, please feel free to read the resources below.

Thank you for reading our guide to making a bruised ribs injury claim.