Hand Injury Compensation Claims

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Hand Injuries At Work

The hands play a central role in human mobility and functionality, as well as acting as a conduit for one of the main five sensations, touch. Combined with this, the hand is also an incredibly complex and delicate structure, made up of 27 bones and held together by a network of nerves, blood vessels, tendons, ligaments and cartilage. From these two factors it is clear that hand injuries can have far-reaching consequences, and that the hand itself is relatively easy to injure in various different ways. Studies have shown that around one in ten people admitted to A&E departments in the UK each year have sustained a hand injury. Many of these injuries occur in the workplace environment.

Types Of Hand Injury

The majority of minor hand injuries at work involve lacerations (cuts), contusions (bruising), strains and sprains. At the other end of the scale are fractures / breaks, deep lacerations and crush injuries. These latter injury types may lead to the necessity of hand amputation. Slips, trips and falls in the workplace are the most common cause of minor injuries. As a worker falls to the ground or towards a hard object, he will naturally extend his arms and hands in an effort to break his fall. The subsequent heavy impact to the hands often causes the main resulting injury which may range from minor bruising to a fracture of the bones in the hand.

Typical Causes Of Hand Injuries

Crush injuries and severe lacerations to the hands normally occur on production lines or in highly mechanized places of work. Crush injuries result from the hand becoming trapped between two heavy objects. This could be a simple as the hand becoming trapped in a door or in a lifting accident in a warehouse for example. The most serious crush injuries at work result from heavy machinery such as presses and rollers, such as in a printing press or sheet metal factory. They are often the result of inadequate training on the part of the employer, lack of machine maintenance, poor safety procedures, an absence of supervision or faulty personal protective equipment. In each of these instances the employer would be in breach of his statutory duties, and liable to a hand injury compensation claim.

Long Term Hand Conditions

The other major type of hand injury involves cumulative damage to the nerves and muscles over time. Repetitive Strain Injury (RSI) covers a host of conditions, and particularly Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, a disorder which begins in the thumb and associated with excessive keyboard use, and more widely known disorders such as Tendonitis. Another condition in this category is Vibration White Finger (VWF), associated with the long-term use of vibrating power tools at work. These conditions tend to be progressive, involving permanent nerve damage and potential disability.

Hand Injury Compensation Awards

The widely varying nature and severity of hand injuries is reflected in the range of compensation awards. Generally speaking an injury to the dominant hand will result in a larger compensation payout than an injury to the non-dominant hand. Total or effective loss of both hands, where an injury has caused extensive damage and rendered the hands practically useless will result in compensation awards of between £90,000 and £129,000, depending on whether prosthesis is effective of not. Compensation for the total or effective loss of one hand will be between £61,500 and £70,000. Permanent cosmetic and disability combined with a significant loss of function in both hands will lead to awards of between £35,000 and £54,000. Awards will scale down from these levels depending on the extent of the loss of function in the hand(s). A moderate crush, deep laceration or soft tissue injury will result in compensation of between £4,000 and £8,500 being awarded, depending on whether any permanent disability remains. Hand injury compensation for similar but minor injuries, where a full recovery is made in a matter of months, will be between £600 and £2,750. It is important to remember that these compensation award estimates reflect compensation for the actual injury itself, and do not include other factors for which an injured person may be compensated, including loss of earnings and the cost of medical treatment.

Bartletts Solicitors are specialists in the field of hand injury compensation claims. We work on a no win no fee basis meaning if you win your case you keep 100% of damages awarded, and if you lose you do not pay a penny.

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