No Win, No FeeA joint dislocation can be extremely painful and lead to lead to weeks or months of rehabilitation. Dislocations can happen in a variety of different accidents but if you’ve dislocated your knee, pelvis, ankle or popped your shoulder out of place in an accident that was someone else’s fault, you could be entitled to claim for your suffering. This article on dislocation injury compensation claims will show you how to begin a claim and look at the types of accidents that could lead to compensation.
We’re able to help if you’d like to find out more. During a free consultation, one of our specialists will answer your questions and offer legal advice. If you’d like to make a claim and we believe your case is suitable, you’ll be referred to a personal injury solicitor from our panel. If they agree to represent you, they’ll manage your claim on a No Win, No Fee basis so you won’t pay legal fees unless there’s a successful outcome.
Please call 0800 652 1345 to discuss your options today or read on to learn more about dislocation injury claims.
What is a dislocation?
A dislocation is where a bone is forced or slips out of its joint. Almost any joint in the body can be dislocated. Some of the most common dislocations include:
- Shoulder dislocations.
- Ankle dislocations.
- Knee dislocations.
- Elbow dislocations.
- Hip dislocations.
Dislocation injuries can be partial or complete and the most serious dislocations can result in nerve, tendon, ligament and muscle damage.
Symptoms of a dislocated joint
The symptoms associated with joint dislocations vary depending on the joint affected but typically include:
- Visible deformity of the joint.
- A limited range of movement.
- Pain when moving the joint.
- Swelling and bruising.
- Tingling or numbness of the joint or associated limb.
How are dislocations treated?
Any type of dislocation should be treated as a medical emergency. If the damage is not assessed and treated properly, dislocations can lead to longer-term disabilities.
Generally, doctors have a couple of options when treating a dislocated joint. The first is where force is used to manipulate the bones back into position. As this can be very painful, an anaesthetic may be needed. For more serious dislocation injuries, surgery may be required to reposition the bones and repair any soft tissue or nerve damage.
While much of the initial pain associated with a dislocation may be reduced once the joint is back in place, the muscles and tissues surrounding the joint may remain swollen or bruised for some weeks or months. In many cases, it may be some time before you’ll feel confident enough to use the joint properly and for the pain to reside. These factors will need to be considered in dislocation injury compensation claims.
Can I claim compensation for a dislocated joint?
Our personal injury solicitors will try to help you claim if there’s a fair chance that you’ll receive compensation for a dislocated joint. To check this, they’ll assess whether:
- Legally, the defendant owed you a legal duty of care; and
- You were involved in an accident as a result of the defendant’s negligence; and
- As a result, you sustained a dislocated joint injury.
A duty of care is not usually that hard to establish as there are many laws in place that provide one. For example, all drivers have a duty of care towards the safety of other road users because of the Road Traffic Act 1988. Similarly, staff are owed a duty of care by employers due to the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.
You can let us check if you’re likely to be entitled to compensation by calling for a free consultation about your case.
Common accidents that cause dislocation injuries
The criteria detailed above suggest that any type of accident caused by negligence could allow you to claim compensation for your suffering. That’s generally true but we won’t list every potential accident here. Instead, we’ve detailed some of the most common causes of dislocation injuries that may result in a compensation claim:
- Sporting accidents. Direct trauma to a joint or sudden twisting or pulling are fairly common causes of dislocations in some sporting incidents. While you couldn’t claim for these types of knocks per se, you could claim if your injury resulted from damaged equipment, an unsafe pitch or poor coaching, refereeing or supervision.
- Slips, trips and falls. Landing awkwardly or twisting a joint can easily lead to a dislocation during a fall. If your fall was caused by a pothole, slippery floor, torn carpet or any other type of trip hazard, you could claim for any suffering caused by a dislocation injury.
- Road traffic accidents. Any type of RTA could result in a dislocated joint because of the amount of force involved. However, pedestrians, cyclists and motorcycle couriers who have less protection than drivers are particularly at risk. If you’ve dislocated a knee, shoulder, elbow or any other joint because of another driver’s negligence, you could be entitled to claim.
- Public place accidents. Businesses and organisations responsible for public places like parks, leisure centres, libraries and restaurants have a duty to keep their premises as safe as possible so you could claim for dislocations caused by negligence. For example, you could claim if your child dislocated their shoulder after falling from a poorly maintained swing in a council-operated playground.
- Workplace accidents. Our solicitors could help you to claim if your employer’s negligence led to a dislocation injury. For example, if the injury was caused by faulty machinery, inadequate workplace training, PPE unfit for purpose or falling from a height, you may have grounds to start a dislocation injury compensation claim.
Whether we’ve described how you suffered a dislocation here or not, please get in touch. We could help you start the ball rolling to begin a dislocation injury claim to help you receive the compensation you deserve.
How much compensation for a dislocation injury can I claim?
As dislocations can cause physical, psychological and financial suffering, it’s important that you think clearly about how you’ve been affected before filing your claim.
A successful dislocation injury claim could include compensation to cover:
- Physical symptoms (pain, discomfort etc).
- Distress and other forms of psychiatric harm.
- Any reduction in earnings.
- Loss of amenity i.e. if you can play squash or enjoy any of your other activities whilst injured.
- Physiotherapy and other medical expenses.
- Future loss of earnings for longer-term suffering caused by a dislocation.
- Care costs to cover the time you were supported by someone else.
- Travel costs.
- Mobility aids and supports.
- Adaptations to your house or vehicle to make it easier to cope with the long-term impact of your injuries.
Your solicitor will spend time discussing all of the above with you to try and make sure everything is covered if you do go on to win your claim.
Providing proof for a dislocation injury compensation claim
If you’ve ever made a claim against an insurance policy, you’ll know how hard it can be to receive a fair payout. Insurers handle most personal injury claims on behalf of defendants and so it’s vital that your solicitor can convince them why you should be compensated. This means they’ll need proof to show how you’ve suffered and who was responsible for your dislocated joint. The types of proof that might help with dislocation injury compensation claims include:
- Your medical records. Your solicitor will ask for a copy of any medical notes, scans or X-rays of your dislocation to try and prove the extent of your suffering.
- Accident reports. Most accidents in public places or at work should be recorded in an accident report book. As this form will confirm when, where and how your accident happened, a copy will be requested as part of your claim.
- Video footage. If there is a recording of your accident caught on CCTV, a dashcam or a mobile phone, you can ask for a copy to help clarify how the incident occurred. Bear in mind that data is often wiped within a month so act as quickly as possible here.
- Witness information. You should always ask witnesses to your accident if they’d be happy to provide a statement to your solicitor. If they are, forward their contact details on when you begin your claim.
- Photos. Any photos of the scene of your accident can make it easier to understand how your dislocated joint occurred and who caused the accident. Also, pictures of any visible injuries can be useful proof too.
Along with the proof listed above, your solicitor may ask for copies of bank statements, wage slips or receipts if you wish to claim back any costs linked to your dislocation.
No Win, No Fee claims
It’s probably fair to say that most people would like legal representation when making a personal injury claim but, for many, the cost of hiring a specialist solicitor can be prohibitive. That’s not the case if you work with one of our solicitors though because all dislocation injury claims they handle are processed on a No Win, No Fee basis.
You’ll receive a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA) to read if your claim is suitable. This will clarify that:
- You will not be asked to pay legal fees in advance.
- Your solicitor will not be paid by you if the dislocation injury claim is lost.
- A success fee will be deducted from any compensation you receive to pay for your solicitor’s work.
The success is legally limited to 25 per cent of any damages awarded when using a CFA to fund your case.
Once the CFA has been signed, your solicitor’s main goals are to:
- Contact the defendant in your case to advise them of your dislocation injury claim.
- Try to secure the proof needed to clearly show what happened.
- Collect medical evidence to prove the extent of your injury.
- Negotiate on your behalf to try and win the highest possible amount of compensation for a dislocated joint.
- Answer any questions and provide regular updates throughout the claims process.
To see if you could be represented on a No Win, No Fee basis, please call our team today.
Dislocation injury claim time limits
There is a time limit of 3 years for personal injury claims in the UK as set out by the Limitation Act 1980. The law states that the time limit will start from either:
- The date you dislocated a joint during an accident; or
- Your date of knowledge i.e. when the dislocation was diagnosed.
While that does give you a fair amount of time to start your claim, it’s often easier to find proof and secure medical records if you start the claims process as soon as possible.
If you want to start a child personal injury claim who has suffered a dislocated joint, you may have longer to claim as their time limit won’t begin until they turn 18 years of age. As a result, you can claim on their behalf at any time before then.
Dislocation injury claims can be settled relatively quickly (in around 6 to 8 months) if you’ve recovered fully and liability is accepted quickly. Where more investigation is required, the process can extend beyond a year in some cases.
Start a dislocation injury compensation claim today
If you’d like to talk to a specialist about starting a dislocation injury claim, please call 0800 652 1345 today. There’s no obligation to make a claim but we will review your case with you and explain your legal options.
If the claim has a decent chance of success, one of our personal injury lawyers may agree to represent you. If that happens, you’ll benefit from a No Win, No Fee service so you won’t need to pay any legal costs whatsoever unless compensation is paid following a successful claim.
Our live chat advisors can also help with dislocation injury compensation claims so please feel free to contact them.
