How To Sue For Rib Injury Compensation

When considering how to sue for rib injury compensation, you must first determine whether you meet all 3 of the following criteria:

A person or organisation owed a duty of care to you
They failed to act according to their duty
This resulted in you sustaining a rib injury

A duty of care refers to the requirement of a person or organisation to follow legislation that governs how they protect others from harm. We provide examples of when you might be owed a duty of care and how another party can breach it in a later section.

Can I Sue For A Rib Injury On Behalf Of A Loved One?

Under certain circumstances, you can sue for a rib injury on behalf of a loved one. Those circumstances apply when a person is unable to claim for themselves because they are under the age of 18 or mentally incapacitated.

You can be nominated or apply to act as your loved one’s litigation friend. This role requires you to represent them throughout the personal injury claims process and make decisions in their best interest.

If you work with a solicitor from our panel, they will always be there to support you, whether you are claiming for yourself or on behalf of a loved one. Get in touch with our experienced advisors today to find out whether you can proceed.

What Compensation Can I Get For A Rib Injury?

The compensation you could get for a rib injury can consist of general and special damages. If your claim is successful, the starting point for your compensation will be general damages, as it covers the pain and suffering you have experienced due to injury. Should your injuries have a financial impact, then you may be able to claim special damages.

If you have yet to recover fully or will experience permanent effects, this will be taken into consideration when your compensation is being assessed. Solicitors may read the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG) when assessing general damages. This document is useful to them, as it provides suggestive compensation brackets that are based on various severities and types of injury.

We have included some brackets from the JCG in the table below. However, it is important to note that you should not read these as a guarantee of potential compensation. Each payout requires an individual assessment as no 2 claims are exactly the same in nature. Additionally, the JCG did not produce the initial figure, as it is a combination of general and special damages.

Type of Injury	Severity	Compensation Bracket	Notes
Multiple severe injuries with the associated financial losses	Severe	Up to £500,000+	Multiple severe injuries with financial impact (such as payments for private medical treatment)
Chest	Total removal of a lung and/or serious damage to the heart (a)	£122,850 - £183,190	In this worst kind of case, the claimant will experience serious, prolonged suffering and pain with scarring that is both significant and permanent
	Traumatic injury impacting lungs, chest, and/or heart with permanent damage (b)	£80,240 - £122,850	Injury resulting in reduced life expectancy, physical disability and impaired functioning
	Damage to lungs and chest (c)	£38,210 - £66,920	In this bracket, there will be some ongoing disability
	Relatively simple injuries (d)	£15,370 - £21,920	An example of an injury that this bracket covers is a single penetrating wound that results in some degree of permanent tissue damage without significant impact on lung function in long term
	Collapsed lungs with a full recovery (f)	£2,680 - £6,500	This will be a full recovery that is without any complications
	Rib fractures or soft tissue injuries (g)	Up to £4,820	There will be serious pain and disability but these effects will persist only for a period of weeks

Special Damages

Alongside general damages, the compensation can also include special damages. This is the part of compensation that allows eligible claimants to recover the financial losses that are often associated with a rib injury.

It is important to note that claiming this type of compensation requires you to provide proof of your expenses. For example, you can provide receipts, bank statements, and payslips. With this kind of evidence, special damages can include:

Lost income, including future earnings, pension contributions, and work bonuses
Medical care (including payments for prescriptions and private treatments)
The expense of travelling to/from medical appointments
The cost of adjusting your home, like making ergonomic changes or even making substantial modifications to rooms
Payments for a professional carer. Depending on the severity of the rib injury, you may need assistance to complete your daily activities

Should you have any questions about how to sue for rib injury compensation and what factors might influence the calculations for payouts, do not hesitate to contact our helpful advisory team. They can also offer a free, carefully reviewed case assessment to help determine whether you could claim with one of the solicitors from our panel.

What Accidents Could Cause A Rib Injury To Be Sustained?

Many accidents could cause a rib injury. In this section, we explain some common scenarios that can give rise to rib injury claims.

Road Traffic Accidents

All people using the road owe a duty of care to each other. That involves using the road in ways that do not cause injury to oneself or others. Motorists, cyclists, pedestrians, and other road users must also follow the guidance that is outlined in the Highway Code. Their actions must also align with the Road Traffic Act 1988 (RTA).

When someone’s actions do not abide by this duty of care, it can potentially lead to a valid road traffic accident claim:

While crossing the road, you are hit by a driver who fails to stop at a red light. You fracture several of your ribs as you hit the ground and also suffer psychological harm.
A drink driver causes a rear-end collision when they do not pay due care to their surroundings because they take a phone call while driving. The impact causes you to suffer bruising to your ribs.

Accidents At Work

At work, your employer has a duty to you under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. This act establishes the need for them to take reasonable measures that ensure your safety, well-being, and health. For instance, they should perform risk assessments to identify any potential causes of harm in the workplace.

You could start a workplace accident claim if you have suffered a similar experience to these examples:

You notice that a shelf has been overloaded and inform your manager, but they fail to take any action to address the hazard. Subsequently, as you are walking past, multiple heavy boxes fall and land on you. This leaves you with multiple injuries, including a cracked rib.
While working in your office, you trip over trailing exposed wires that a risk assessment had identified as a potential hazard. Despite this, the cables were ignored, with no effort made to make repairs or secure them in some way. In the ensuing fall, you hit your rib on a desk, causing you to tear the cartilage.

Accidents In Public

If you were injured in an accident in public, you may be owed a duty of care under the Occupiers’ Liability Act 1957. This act requires occupiers (those in charge of a space) to take any practical measure that ensures visitors to the places they control are kept reasonably safe.

The following situations could provide grounds for a compensation claim:

While shopping in a supermarket, you slip on a spill on an aisle that staff knew about but failed to attend to. There was also no wet floor sign to alert you about the slippery surface. When you hit the floor, you suffer bruising to your ribs.
You visit a cafe and use a handrail while heading upstairs. However, the handrail had not been adequately maintained by the proprietor and fell off the wall. This causes you to fall down the stairs and break several of your ribs.

Assault

Our panel of solicitors also handle criminal injury claims. If you have sustained a rib injury due to a violent crime, you may be able to claim compensation via the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA). This government-funded agency handles claims relating to violent crimes where it is not possible to seek compensation against the perpetrator or a liable organisation.

However, to make a CICA claim, you’ll need to satisfy specific criteria. Compensation under the CICA works a little differently from personal injury claims and is paid out under a fixed tariff set by the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme 2012.

You should contact an advisor for more information on how to sue for rib injury compensation. Our examples may not reflect your exact experience, but you may still have an eligible case. By speaking with them directly, you can receive clear guidance on whether you can proceed.

The Most Common Rib Injury Examples

Some of the most common rib injuries include:

Fractures
Bruising
Torn cartilage

A rib injury can be extremely painful and cause inconveniences in your daily life. It may leave you feeling frustrated, especially if the behaviour of another party caused it. If you would like to share the specifics of your case and find out how to sue for rib injury compensation, contact our advisors today.

How Can I Prove Liability In A Rib Injury Claim?

You can prove liability in a rib injury claim by providing evidence of the harm you have suffered and how a third party caused it by breaching their duty of care. That makes evidence essential when considering how to sue for rib injury compensation.

To support your case, you can provide the following evidence:

Your medical information, which can include copies of X-rays, diagnoses, and an assessment of the long-term impact of the rib injury
A copy of an accident report or police report (if such a report was made)
Pictures of your injuries. For example, you may have visible bruising or some noticeable deformity. Likewise, there may be video footage showing the accident happen
Contact information of those who saw the incident occur. Should you work with a solicitor from our panel, they can use those details to ask them for a witness statement
Moreover, if your rib injury resulted from a road traffic accident, you’ll need the other party’s contact details, their registration, and insurance

You are welcome to speak with our advisors to find out what evidence would be suitable for your personal injury claim. They will tailor their advice to the specific nature of your case and can explain how one of the solicitors from our panel could step in to help with the task of gathering evidence.

How Long Do I Have To Sue For Rib Injury Compensation?

You will generally have 3 years to sue for rib injury compensation, starting from the date of the incident. This is outlined by the Limitation Act 1980, though it is important to note that the time limit differs when a person is not able to make decisions for a claim themselves.

In particular, if children or mentally incapacitated adults are impacted by a rib injury, the limitation period is frozen as neither can claim on their own. Their 3-year window to seek compensation instead begins from:

The date of a minor’s 18th birthday
The date on which an adult recovers mental capacity (if that ever happens).

Alternatively, another person can represent them while they are unable to do so themselves. We discussed this earlier in our guide if you would like more information on this.

Our advisors are also available 24/7 if you have any questions about time limits and claiming for others. They can also provide further guidance on the question of how to sue for rib injury compensation.

Get Support From How To Sue

If you have an eligible case, you can get support from How To Sue as soon as you reach out to our advisory team. They will carefully assess the merits of your potential claim and may put you in touch with a solicitor from our panel, who could offer a No Win No Fee contract. This is a commonly used type of agreement that protects clients from the prospect of spiralling solicitor fees.

A Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA) works on this basis. By signing a CFA, you would not need to pay any solicitor’s fee:

Before your rib injury claim begins
While the case is underway
In the event that you receive compensation

However, it is important to note that you will be charged a success fee if you win. This is the percentage of your compensation that you pay to your solicitor for their work. There is a cap on the percentage, so you can have peace of mind that you’ll receive the largest share of the compensation.

All the No Win No Fee services offered by our panel of solicitors put their clients at the heart of the process and are built on decades of combined experience in personal injury claims. If you work with one of them, they will aim to make the claim process easier by:

Helping gather the evidence that will bolster your case and improve its chances of success
Organising an independent medical assessment to show the severity of your rib injury (they will ask for your consent before making any move to arrange this)
Managing correspondence with the defending party on your behalf, so your focus isn’t taken away from your recovery
Negotiating the level of compensation to ensure it fairly reflects your pain and suffering

Get In Touch With Our Team Of Advisors

Speak with our advisors today to learn how to sue for rib injury compensation. Whether you are seeking general information or would like to work with a solicitor from our experienced panel, they can advise you on your options and next steps. Contact them using your preferred method:

Call our enquiries team on 0800 408 7827
Complete our online submission form
Use our online chat feature in the corner of this page

Learn More

Read our other guides below:

Visit our guide on head injury claims
Find out about broken forearm claims
Learn whether you could claim for a broken cheekbone

External resources:

Read the information provided by the NHS on rib injuries
Visit the government’s webpage on claiming Statutory Sick Pay (SSP)
Find out what workplace incidents should be reported to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE)

Thank you for taking the time to read this guide on how to sue for rib injury compensation.

Advice On How To Sue For Rib Injury Compensation

Find Out How To Sue For Rib Injury Compensation In The UK

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