Have you suffered a broken femur in a public place from an accident that wasn’t your fault? If so, you could claim for a fractured femur by making a personal injury claim.
When suffering from a slip, trip or fall in a public place, it can be difficult to know how to claim. If you feel you have suffered an injury from negligence, you may be able to make a public accident claim to seek compensation.
This guide will:
- Detail the symptoms of a potentially fractured femur
- Use an example case study to highlight the damages you could claim for when seeking personal injury compensation from a femur fracture
- Explain how No Win No Fee solicitors could help you claim.
Don’t just rely on a personal injury calculator. Our advisors offer free legal advice 24/7 so, if you want to see if you can claim, they’ll be available at a time that suits you.
To see if you can claim, call us on 0800 408 7825. Alternatively, please read on.
Choose A Section
- A Guide On How To Claim For A Fractured Femur In A Public Place
- What Is A Fractured Femur?
- How You Could Fracture Your Femur In A Public Place
- Case Study – £46,500 Fractured Femur In A Public Place Accident
- When Could You Also Claim For Special Damages?
- Calculating Compensation For A Fractured Femur In A Public Place Accident
- No Win No Fee Claims For A Fractured Femur In A Public Place
- How To Make A Public Accident Claim
- Contact Us For Free Legal Advice
- Need Some Help
- Public Accident Claim FAQs
A Guide On How To Claim For A Fractured Femur In A Public Place
An accident in a public place can be difficult to recover from, especially when it involves a broken bone. A broken leg or a broken femur injury can be incredibly debilitating because of how much it affects your movement and your ability to function normally. Due to this, compensation claims can be launched if sufficient proof is provided showing that a third party who had a duty to take care of your health and safety failed in this regard.
What Is A Fractured Femur?
There are many types of a broken bone: an open fracture or a closed fracture, greenstick, spiral, stress, compression fractures.
NHS states that the main symptoms of a potentially fractured femur include:
- Immediate pain
- Being unable to move, lift or rotate your leg
- Not being able to stand or put weight on your leg
- Your leg may appear to be shorter
Surgery is usually the only medical treatment available for a broken femur. There are 2 main options for recovery: the hip or hip socket will either need to be replaced or the fracture fixed with plates and screws.
The kind of surgery you will have depends on several factors:
- Location of the break on the femur bone
- Your age
- The level of mobility you had before the accident
- The condition of the bone and joint
After surgery, you will have a care team to help you fully heal from a broken femur injury. A rehabilitation programme with targets and goals will be formed. The eventual aim of this is to ascertain your mobility and, therefore, your sense of independence.
When you can leave the hospital varies, but it can sometimes be as quickly as within 3 to 5 days. The fractured bone can take months to fully recover from, and, in some cases, you may not be able to work until you’ve regained full mobility. This could be one of the reasons you’d want to claim for a fractured femur, as it can greatly impact your financial situation.
How You Could Fracture Your Femur In A Public Place
Due to the variety of places open to the general public, there are many ways you could injure yourself. A public place is anywhere that a member of the public is legally allowed to enter. This includes:
- Shops and supermarkets
- Public parks
- Cinemas and theatres
- Pubs and restaurants
Depending on when or how your injury is sustained, you may be able to make a public injury claim. Some establishments will have public liability insurance to cover them in this instance.
The Duty Of Care Of Those In Control Of Public Spaces
Any occupier of public space owes a duty of care to those that use the space for the intended purpose. The Occupiers’ Liability Act 1957 does not clearly establish who the occupier would be but it should be someone who has control over the premises. To ensure that a public space is safe an occupier may:
- Conduct risk assessments and remove hazards
- Alerting visitors to any potential risks (this includes warning signs, etc.)
- Being aware that children will be less careful than adults and adapting sufficiently for that
Not all accidents that happen within a public setting will mean a person is able to pursue a claim for compensation. Three key areas must be proven first;
- You were owed a duty of care
- This duty was breached through negligence
- And you suffered an injury or illness as a result.
How Can Occupiers Breach Their Duty Of Care?
Examples of this include:
- A slip, trip or fall caused by a faulty bannister
- An open fracture injury due to a warning sign not being present
- Looking to claim for a fractured femur because the wet floor didn’t have the required warning, and it led to a bad fall.
- Needing medical treatment because you suffered a hand injury from a clearly faulty door
Negligence can be negated by making sure the space is safe, secure and has clear warning signs about things that could be of danger. Effectively, a risk assessment on the space is required to ensure every reasonable risk and fault has been identified, considered and actioned upon if needed.
The Compensation Recovery Unit (CRU) recovers certain benefits and NHS costs in personal injury claims. As you can see above, in 2019/20, there were over 83,000 settlements recorded for an accident in public. The reason people may claim benefits is partly that they may be unable to work because of the injury sustained. This happens to many people. As such, you could be well within your right to claim.
Case Study – £46,500 Fractured Femur In A Public Place Accident
Mr Bellarin had worked on a building site for over 20 years. Now with a wife, 3 kids and being a Team Manager, he felt like a man that was prepared for anything. He was respected by his colleagues and had enough experience to understand the risks of his work.
However, his work was not the reason for his injury. Instead, it involved a day out with his family in a park and resulted in him having to make a claim for a fractured femur.
How Mr Bellarin fractured his Femur
After a long walk and ice cream, Mr Bellarin’s family stopped at the cafeteria for a drink before heading home. Mr Bellarin was walking across the cafeteria when it happened. A wet patch on the floor caused him to fall, momentum making him skid and crash into a table. The corner of the large table then fell onto his right hip.
Mr Bellarin was in intense, agonising pain. A member of staff quickly called for an ambulance. As he looked around, he noticed that there were no warning signs for the spillage. His wife took pictures of the scene as they waited.
When the ambulance came, Mr Bellarin asked the paramedics how bad the damage could be. They couldn’t say, but he thought it was a broken bone. It felt similar to pain he’d felt before, having suffered 2 compound fractures in his left arm as a teenager.
The doctor confirmed Mr Bellarin’s suspicions. He had suffered a fractured neck of femur, given the severity of the injury and his age, surgery was needed. His doctor reassured him – this was standard procedure for these kinds of injuries.
The surgery went well, but it couldn’t fully alleviate Mr Bellarin’s concerns. Having moved into a new home a little over a year ago, the family didn’t have a lot of savings, and the last thing he wanted was to fall into debt. A broken leg meant that he would be out of work for months recovering. There was no time limit for how long recovery could take. As such, his wife began looking into compensation claims.
How Much Compensation Was Mr Bellarin awarded?
Mr Bellarin was initially unsure if it was something that he wanted to do. After all, he’d been the one that’d slipped, hadn’t he? He wasn’t convinced he’d be successful. After speaking to his wife over several days, she managed to convince him to make a call. As such, he decided to seek legal advice to potentially make a public accident claim.
Mr Bellarin’s personal injury solicitor felt like there was a decent chance of receiving accident compensation for the femur fracture. The cafeteria was run by a private company. They had public liability insurance, so the solicitor contacted the insurer to begin proceedings.
Initially, the insurer questioned the events leading up to the fall, feeling like Mr Bellarin may have been partly at fault due to the speed he was moving when he fell. Witnesses and pictures of the scene eventually made the insurer agree that liability lay with the cafe.
The insurer also questioned the special damages. They specifically asked why private physiotherapy was needed when the NHS could’ve provided this. Mr Bellarin explained the wait would have meant more time away from work. He also provided receipts and invoices for everything he was claiming for.
Mr Bellarin was pleased that his pain and suffering was accounted for. Due to it being upheld, the claim was awarded £46,500 in compensation. If you feel you might make a claim, call us for free legal advice using the phone number at the top of the page.
How Does The Damages Settlement Break Down?
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The case of Mr Bellarin is purely an example of a personal injury claim. It is based on our experience with past cases and valuing injuries. It is not a real-life case.
When Could You Also Claim For Special Damages?
There are 2 types of compensation you can claim when making a personal injury claim. You could claim for general and special damages in a successful claim. General damages compensate for the pain and suffering and special damages provide recuperation from financial losses.
Special damages are designed to compensate for the changes caused to your financial situation. You can claim for things such as:
- Loss of Earnings
- Loss of Future Earnings
- Travel costs
- Prescriptions/medicine
- Recreational activities that you’re now unable to attend
There are 2 things to consider with this type of compensation. Firstly, your personal injury solicitor will request proof of the financial losses you’ve suffered. This means that you’ll need receipts, invoices or bank statements showing that the payment in question was made. If you’re unable to provide evidence of the loss in question, you may not receive the full amount you’d applied for, even if you receive compensation.
Secondly, when the claim begins, your solicitor will not be able to estimate the number of special damages you could receive. This is because special damages should encapsulate your entire recovery process and can only be estimated accurately once all the evidence is gathered. So, the timescale for finding this out depends on the extent of the injury.
Calculating Compensation For A Fractured Femur In A Public Place Accident
The second type of compensation is general damages. These relate more to the direct effects of the injury, in and of itself. As such, the amount of compensation you receive will be judged on the physical pain, psychological suffering and impact the injury has had on your quality of life.
Evidence is also important here, but this time involves ascertaining medical proof that confirms the injury you’ve suffered. The doctor’s reports are helpful in this regard. It’s also a good idea to keep notes of the medicine and procedures you’ve had as part of your recovery. It’ll help paint a fuller picture of the pain and suffering you’ve experienced.
An assessment will also be performed to determine your prognosis and confirm if the injury sustained was from the accident or is part of an ongoing medical condition. If your injuries have made a pre-existing medical condition worse, this will also be considered, so make sure to inform your personal injury solicitor of this.
If you’d like free legal advice or want to know if you can claim, call us today using the phone number at the top of this page.
No Win No Fee Claims For A Fractured Femur In A Public Place
Our panel of solicitors work cases on a No Win No Fee basis.
This means that, should they take your case, you won’t need to pay any of the solicitor’s legal fees upfront or during. How does this work? Simple. Your personal injury solicitor will get paid when you do. They take a small, legally capped portion of your compensation to cover legal fees.
This also means that they won’t waste your time. If they feel you don’t have sufficient evidence or grounds to make a claim, they’ll tell you.
How To Make A Public Accident Claim
It can often be a difficult and aggravating time recovering from an injury, such as a fractured bone, particularly when you feel it was someone else’s fault.
Our advisors will answer any questions you have about the claims process to see if you’re able to claim for a fractured femur or any injury you’re suffering from.
Our panel of solicitors specialise in injury law and have worked in the field for many years. Their experience and professionalism mean that they’ll do whatever they can to give you the best chance of success.
Don’t delay – we offer free legal advice. Just call us, and you could be through to someone in moments.
Contact Us For Free Legal Advice
Don’t just rely on a personal injury calculator. Use our contact details below to see if you’re able to make a claim.
- Telephone – 0800 408 7825
- Use the live chat window at the bottom right of your screen
- Contact us through our website
Need Some Help
Please see the links below for more information.
If you’d like more information about recovering from a hip fracture, visit the NHS website.
Broken a bone? If so, view this page for more information on how to recover.
Please click here if you’d like more information about recovering from a broken leg.
Wanting more information about how to claim compensation from the council? If so, visit our website.
To know how you can claim compensation if you’ve dislocated your shoulder in a public place, read this article.
To see how to claim for an accident at work, view here.
Public Accident Claim FAQs
How can I pay for a solicitor if I don’t have spare funds?
Solicitors that work to Conditional Fee Agreements or No Win No Fee Agreements as they are more casually known means you don’t have to pay any upfront legal costs to your solicitor. In fact, you don’t have to pay any fees throughout the claim. Your solicitor will only receive payment for legal fees once you receive compensation.
Will my case go to court?
This depends if the defendant accepts liability. If they don’t, it will go to court. This will extend the length of time it’ll take for the case to be resolved.
Is there a time limit on injury claims?
There is a time limit for making a claim for a fractured femur, as with any claim. You need to begin the claims process either within 3 years of the injury or within 3 years of when you became aware of the injury.
How are pain and suffering calculated in personal injury?
It’s calculated using the medical evidence supplied by your doctor and yourself and via an independent medical examination. The compensation you could receive partly depends on the parameters set by the Judicial College. They calculate the compensation brackets for every type of injury sustained. For more information, please visit their website.
Guide by AD
Published by SI.