No Win, No FeeOn its own, a fractured sternum injury is painful enough and can take a fair while to heal. More serious sternum fractures can increase the risk of puncturing a lung and cause heart problems. Importantly, if you’ve sustained a fractured sternum in an accident caused by someone else, you could be entitled to make a sternum fracture injury claim to compensate you for your suffering.
You can call our team of specialist advisors for free legal advice about claiming. They’ll assess your chances of being compensated, review your claim and answer any questions you think of. If it appears that your case has a reasonable chance of success, a personal injury solicitor from our panel may agree to represent you. If you then go on to make a claim, it will be processed on a No Win, No Fee basis.
Are you ready to begin a compensation claim for a fractured sternum straight away? If so, call us today on 0800 652 1345. If you’d rather learn more first, please continue reading.
Types of sternum fractures you could claim compensation for
It may be possible to seek compensation for various types of sternum fractures that resulted from an accident or incident caused by someone else including:
- Sternal manubrium fracture – The sternum consists of three parts: the manubrium (upper portion), the body (middle portion), and the xiphoid process (lower portion). A fracture specifically in the manubrium is known as a sternal manubrium fracture.
- Sternal body fracture – This type of fracture occurs in the main body of the sternum. It can range from a hairline crack to a complete break of the bone.
- Xiphoid process fracture – The xiphoid process is a small, cartilaginous extension at the lower end of the sternum. A fracture in this region is referred to as a xiphoid process fracture.
It’s worth noting that the severity and treatment of a fractured sternum can vary depending on the extent of the fracture, associated injuries, and the individual’s overall health.
Can I claim compensation for a sternum fracture?
Our solicitors pre-check any personal injury claims before accepting to check that there is a fair chance the claimant will be compensated. With regard to a sternum fracture injury claim, they’ll try to find out if:
- You were owed a legal duty of care by the defendant; and
- Their negligence led to an accident; in which
- You suffered a fractured sternum.
The simplest point to prove if usually that a duty of care existed so you shouldn’t worry about that too much. For now, though, it’s enough to say that you’re usually owed a duty of care in public places, at work, while driving or while on a business property.
More importantly, you could improve your chances of being compensated for a sternal fracture by collecting proof to show how the accident happened and who was responsible. We’ll therefore explain the types of proof that can be helpful later on.
How much compensation for a fractured sternum?
Compensation levels for a fractured sternum are not set in stone as it depends on various factors specific to the claimant. For this reason, your solicitor will need to review what suffering has resulted from your injuries and then calculate a financial value for it.
However, if you make a successful sternum fracture injury claim, compensation could be paid for:
- Physical pain, suffering and discomfort.
- Loss of amenity if your broken sternum prevented you from enjoying your normal activities.
- Psychiatric harm, i.e. compensation for PTSD.
- Care costs to compensate for the time that someone else spent looking after you.
- Fuel, parking and other travel expenses due to the sternum fracture.
- Lost income (present and future).
- Aids, devices or changes to your house if you’ve suffered a more serious sternal injury that affects your mobility in the long term.
To try and make sure you don’t miss out on any compensation you might be entitled to, your solicitor will review your case in detail with you before it is accepted.
What accidents can I fractured sternum compensation for?
Sternum fractures are usually caused by an external force on the chest. Remember, though, to be entitled to compensation for a broken sternum, the accident must’ve resulted because of someone else’s negligence. Some example scenarios include:
Road collisions
Road traffic accidents caused by dangerous or careless driving particularly those involving the front of a vehicle and high speeds, can exert significant force on the chest, leading to sternum fractures. Similarly, collisions or crashes involving cyclists or motorcycle accidents can result in sternum fractures due to the impact.
Workplace accidents
You could claim compensation for a sternum fracture following a workplace accident. For example, you might be able to claim if you were struck by faulty workplace machinery because the emergency stop button failed. Another example might be where you claim for chest injuries caused after being hit by a forklift that was travelling too fast.
Falls
Landing on your front after falling from a height or slipping and landing forcefully on the chest is another common way of sustaining a sternum fracture. For example, you could claim for sternum injuries caused after falling from a poorly maintained escalator that stopped without notice or falling because of a dangerously wet floor.
Sports injuries
While there’s a risk of chest injuries in many types of contact sports, you could be compensated for a fractured sternum in some circumstances. For example, a football player could be compensated if their chest was injured because another player stamped on them, or a horse rider suffered a sternum fracture after the horse was spooked by a dangerous driver.
We are more than happy to review your claim even if we’ve not described your accident here. So, please call 0800 652 1345 today to speak with one of our specialists.
Providing proof for sternum fracture injury claims
Most sternum fracture injury claims will be passed to an insurance company by the defendant. As such, even in the most straightforward claim, they won’t easily admit liability or pay compensation unless you can prove that their client was responsible for your accident and subsequent fracture. For this reason, you will want to supply as much proof as possible. This could include:
- Medical information. It is essential that a fractured sternum is confirmed by medical records. As such, your solicitor will ask for copies of medical records and X-rays from the hospital or GP surgery that assessed and treated you.
- Accident reports. You should always report any accident you’re involved in as most organisations are legally obliged to keep an accident report book. A copy of the report about your accident will help to prove where and when your sternum was broken.
- Witness statements. Where liability for your sternum fracture cannot be confirmed amicably, your solicitor might ask others who saw your accident to explain what they saw. So, try to collect contact information for anyone present at the time you were injured.
- Photographic proof. Taking pictures of any visible signs of a fractured sternum such as bruises over a period of time can help to demonstrate the extent of the injury. Also, accident scene photos can help to prove the reasons for your injury.
- Video records. You could also ask for data from dashcams, mobile phones or security cameras if your accident was recorded. This is another way of proving how the accident happened and who was responsible for it.
If you have any of the proof listed here, please let your advisor know when you call our team for a free review of your case.
Sternum fracture injury claim time limits
As with all personal injury claims in the UK, you’ll have 3 years to claim compensation for a fractured sternum. In the majority of cases, the start date for the limitation period will be the date of your accident.
Legally, a child can’t claim compensation themselves until their 18th birthday so the 3 years doesn’t start until then. That doesn’t stop a parent or guarding starting a child’s personal injury claim before then though.
If you start a claim after the deadline, you could be barred from claiming the compensation you’re entitled to. So, we’d suggest contacting our team as soon as you can after your accident to avoid missing out.
No Win, No Fee claims
Any type of fractured sternum compensation claim can involve complex legal negotiations and technical medical questions. For that reason, we believe you should consider having a personal injury solicitor from our panel represent you. Doing so should mean the claims process is easier for you and your solicitor could help to secure a higher compensation amount.
Importantly, our solicitors provide a No Win, No Fee claims service for all cases they work on. This will be formalised by a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA) that you and your solicitor will both need to sign to allow the claim to proceed.
The CFA will set out that if the claim is won, a success fee will be deducted from any compensation you receive to pay for your solicitor’s efforts. However, you won’t need to pay any legal fees upfront and there will be none to pay at all if the claim is lost.
When using a CFA to fund a sternum fracture injury claim, the maximum success fee you’ll pay is 25 per cent of your damages.
Once the claim starts, your solicitor will handle everything for you. That means you’ll only need to discuss the claim with your solicitor and no one else. If any negotiation is needed or further proof is needed to determine liability, your solicitor will take the necessary actions for you.
In all cases, any fractured sternum settlement offers will be discussed with you (if received) to try and make sure that they are fair.
To find out if one of our No Win, No Fee solicitors could help you, please call today.
Start a sternum fracture injury claim today
If you feel that you should receive compensation for a fractured sternum, call 0800 652 1345 to speak with a member of our team. We’ll provide free advice after assessing your claim so you can decide what to do next.
If you wish to proceed, we’ll ask a personal injury lawyer from our panel to contact you. If they decide that your claim is suitable, you’ll receive their legal representation on a No Win, No Fee basis. That means no legal fees need to be paid unless compensation is awarded.
Please use live chat to connect with us if you’ve got any questions on sternum fracture injury claims, or arrange your free consultation here.
