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Knee Injury Claims & Compensation Amounts

By Ian Morris | Updated December 12th, 2022

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The knee is a complex joint and can be severely injured in any fall from height or as a result of unnatural twisting, with the stability and strength of the knee affected as a result. Injuries to the soft tissues and bone structure of the knee are commonly associated with road traffic accidents, slips and trips and accidents at work.

Types of knee injury you can claim for

Knee injury compensation can be claimed by any person who has suffered the injury as a result of the negligence of a third party, commonly an employer, shop or landowner.

As with any claim, medical evidence will be needed, so it is important that you seek medical attention to diagnose your injury and commence a suitable treatment plan.

Common types of knee injury for which compensation can be claimed include:

Knee ligament damage – tears and strains
Cartilage damage
Dislocation of the knee joint
Bursitis injuries (housemaid’s or carpet fitter’s knee)
Muscular injuries, including strains or pulls of the quad muscle, calf muscle or hamstring
Fractures and breaks to the knee joint
Patella or knee cap injuries

Some knee injuries, such as ligament tears and cartilage damage, can require intensive medical treatment, surgery and ongoing rehabilitation therapies. Others can be treated with physiotherapy and support dressings.

The value of a knee injury compensation settlement will depend on the severity of the knee injury, what level of damage has been sustained, how long the symptoms last for and whether any surgical intervention has been required.

Our solicitors will obtain your medical records and arrange for a medical assessment to be carried out with a detailed report provided to support your claim. In cases where an admission of liability is obtained, it may also be possible to seek costs for specialist rehabilitation therapies that will improve and speed up the recovery process.

Compensation amounts for knee injuries

The value of a claim for knee injury compensation will vary depending on the type of injury sustained and whether or not you have fully recovered.

In cases where the knee injury is relatively minor, such as a sprain or soft tissue bruising, and recovers within 12 months, the claimant should expect compensation from £1,000 to £5,000.

In cases of cartilage damage or a dislocation of the knee which has left a permanent weakness to the knee joint, compensation settlements will be higher, up to just under £20,000.

In the rare case of severe permanent trauma to the knee that will result in knee replacement surgery, the claimant could receive up to £70,000 in damages for their injury.

As with all claims for compensation, should you succeed you can also recover any lost income and costs incurred via the special damages element of your claim. Our expert solicitors will ensure that you are adequately and fairly compensated.

Are you eligible to claim knee injury compensation?

If your knee injury was caused by the negligence of someone else you have a right to make a compensation claim against the person or business responsible.

To succeed with your claim, your solicitor will need to be able to demonstrate that the cause rests with the negligent actions of a third party. This could be an employer who may have been negligent in their training or provision of work equipment, or a supermarket that failed to remove a slipping hazard from the shop floor.

To ensure that your claim has the best possible chances of succeeding, you must ensure that the details of your knee injury are properly recorded within an accident book and seek medical attention from a GP or hospital. Also, if you weren’t under 18 at the time you must make your claim within 3 years of the date of your accident.

If you are unsure as to whether or not you can make a claim, call us on 01225 430285 or if you prefer, . Our expert staff will quickly be able to identify whether or not the cause is something that you could pursue a claim for.

We know your rights and have a proven track record with expert solicitors succeeding on behalf of our clients.

We have an easy to understand No Win No Fee claims process, and whilst we can never guarantee that we will win any claim for compensation, we can guarantee that we care, that we’ll work hard in your best interests, and that if your claim should fail it will not cost you a penny.

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Comments & Questions

Read on for questions and advice about claiming, plus knee injury claim examples...

I injured my knee with repetitive kneeling to switch on machinery at work back in February. I have suffered cartilage damage and I am unable to walk 200 yards without feeling considerable pain and discomfort. I have now further injured the same knee while lifting heavy objects at work and I am now off sick. Where do I stand in terms of making a personal injury claim?

We think that you are likely to have grounds to pursue a claim for personal injury compensation. There are two issues to consider in terms of a potential claim. Firstly, your working environment including the repetitive kneeling – perhaps without the appropriate PPE (knee protection?) and secondly, the heavy lifting and whether you’d had the required manual handling training or a working environment that enables you to lift safely.

The best course of action at this stage is to make further contact with us (either via our website claim form, or by calling us on 01225430285) so that we can find out a bit more about your work and the injury so that we can advise you accordingly. Many people are anxious about making a claim against their employer, often thinking that doing so will affect your employment. Thankfully, this is not the case and you do have a right to pursue a claim against the employers insurance cover if you believe that they have been negligent in their management of your health and safety at work. Our Solicitors can help you to understand your rights after an accident at work and our No Win No Fee service guarantees that you won’t have to worry about the legal costs if you don’t succeed.

I tore my meniscus and ACL ligaments which has resulted in a recent knee reconstruction surgery during a football match arranged with work peers (including managers within my team) on a Microsoft Teams work chat. All members of our team including managers and operation leads were aware of the injury occurring, with my direct line manager at the time having to carry me to a car to take me home. The football isn’t directly organised by the company, but discussed on work software with all aware of this. I was given a sick note post surgery for 6 weeks but have returned after 4 weeks due to my employee offering me unpaid leave or holiday usage following 2 weeks paid leave (which was the remainder of my contracted sick leave remaining for the year in my contract anyway). Upon my first day back at work yesterday, no return to work has been arranged and carried out despite awareness of my surgery and painkillers being undertaken. Do I have a case to claim for personal injury against my employer?

Not withstanding the lack of return to work care, unfortunately you would not be in a position to hold the employer liable for your injury as this was purely a team/colleague choice and would not be the responsibility of the employer.

I am a lorry driver. I was making a delivery at a customers premises and had backed onto a loading bay. I then walked from the truck towards some steps on the bay. However, I walked into the towbar of one of their vans that I couldn’t see because it was dark with no lighting (it was about 7 am). I was sent sprawling and could not stand up. An ambulance took me to hospital and I am now off work due to tissue damage in my left knee.

Obstructions and potential tripping hazards need to be identified and visible in a working environment in order to enable safe working and to reduce the risk of injury. In your case, it appears that you have grounds to pursue a claim for personal injury compensation and recovery of any lost income as the fact that a tow bar from a vehicle was allowed to obstruct a working area with no barrier, signage or sufficient lighting to allow people to see the danger.

As an ambulance attended the scene, there will be both good evidence that the accident happened in the area you state and your medical evidence will be strong. Along with a record of the incident in the employer accident book, your employer is likely to be required to have reported your injury at work to RIDDOR as you seem to be off work for a period of time that would require them to do so.

Our specialist Solicitors will be able to act for you on a No Win No Fee basis whilst you focus on your recovery and return to work. Your claim will be against the insurance of the 3rd party site that you were visiting at the time of your accident as they are the liable party.

I work for a world leading company in an logistics warehouse and feel my injury to my knee could have been avoided through some practical manual handling training.
We did have a written test on health and safety which i had to pass but we had no manual handling practical demonstration or even offered to try our selves.

I am off work just now and worried that i will lose my job.

At the time i felt like the first aider and manager were playing down my injury to my knee and at this point i felt like i should carry on with my duties. I did so and a few hours later i had to ask to leave to gain professional help at A & E.

What should i do? Do i have a valid claim?

An employer has a duty to ensure that appropriate training is provided. That means that a simple ‘box ticking’ exercise attempt at training will not necessarily be sufficient to prevent an employer being liable should an employee sustain an injury.

In your case, there would appear to be grounds to warrant further investigation of your situation as you may well have a strong basis upon which to pursue a claim for personal injury compensation due to inadequate training. As you work for a very large organisation, it is unlikely that you would face any recrimination from the employer for pursuing your claim and it is important that you know that you have a legal right to make a claim after being injured in an accident at work and you cannot be dismissed or discriminated against for making a legitimate claim against your employer.

I am currently on sick leave from work due to injury whilst working however it wasn’t a fall or similar injury its a gradual injury caused by work.
I have osteonecrosis in my right knee and have been told by my consultant I will need a partial knee replacement and I am going to try for compensation.

Any advice would be very helpful.

Our specialist Solicitors are perfectly placed to assist you with such a claim as they have the relevant expertise and know-how to act for you. You can us the form on the ‘start your claim‘ page of our website to provide further information about your work, what you do, how long you have been doing it and the symptoms that you have developed in order that we can further consider this and have our Solicitors advise you accordingly.

In cases such as yours, it is vital that a causal link between the work you undertake and the condition that you have developed can be established, so it will be interesting to know what the Doctors have said to you about this.

Hi Ian I wanted to deduce something from that, because I tripped and fell over a gymnastic beam bar and I fainted and when I gained consciousness I was in agony and the pain was excruciating, I was rushed to hospital where it was found that my knee cap was fractured, but the report that was gathered by my employer is that I just fainted and she told me that she is not going to write that I tripped because that is what the witnesses are saying. the report does not say anything about my knee being injured so it ism word against them because I remember exactly what happened. Am I going to be allowed to give my version of the incident report on my side as a victim.

Your employer should allow you to put forward your version of events as you recollect them. Given that you disagree with the contents of the employers report, the only way to have any amendment made to their report will be for a more formal investigation to be undertaken and for anyone who was present at the time of the incident to be asked for a statement.

If any of the people who witnessed the incident can confirm that you tripped over the beam bar before then fainting, you would be able to get the report corrected and potentially pursue a claim.

Are able to claim if you just fainted and got a knee fracture at work?

The scenario you describe is not a valid claim for compensation. Whilst the injury mentioned is clearly unfortunate and was not the fault of the injured party, there is also no liability or negligence that can be attached to the cause of the injury.

My partner suffered an injury at work for a council school service a year ago, tearing all tendons in her right knee
She recently suffered a further accident at work due to the initial injury when her knee locked and fell down 4 stairs, damaging the ligaments in her right ankle. She is currently employed full time but is being asked to sign a new contract for part time. Does this affect her right to make a claim?

The change in contract would not impact any claim for the injury – as wouldn’t leaving the employer. The key here will be the initial injury a year ago and whether the cause of the knee injury can be attributed to negligence in anyway.

If your partner hasn’t already looked in to making a claim, please ask her to call us on 01225430285 so that we can discuss the incident with her and advise her on a potential No Win No Fee claim for personal injury compensation. If it can be shown that the initial injury has caused her to be unable to work full-time, there is a potential to recover a substantial amount of future loss of income as well as compensation for the injuries sustained.

I work in food retail and whilst removing pallets from the warehouse to take onto the shop floor I slipped and damaged my knee. The assistant manager took me to the hospital. I have had x-ray,Physiotherapy, and I am awaiting to see if I need an mri. 8 weeks on I am still in pain. My employer said because the spillage was hidden from sight underneath the pallets I won’t be able to claim back for loss of earnings as there was nothing they could of done to prevent it from happening.

We do not think that you should simply accept your employers denial of any responsibility – it is not for them to say whether or not they should compensate you for your injury. There are questions to ask about the storage within the workplace, how the food items were stored and whether the leak could have been identified earlier. These questions need to be asked by a specialist Solicitor and answered under investigation by the employers insurers. You certainly have a right to make a claim and our specialist Solicitors would be quite happy to consider your situation with a view to making a claim against your employers insurance cover for the injuries and loss of income you have incurred.

I work in a busy florist, during a delivery on a cold icy morning I slipped on the road/ pavement, and have subsequently injured my knee. It has been very painful and left me unable to drive.
The Doctor I have consulted says I need to have an operation to repair the damage to my knee cap and cartilage.
Although this accident did not happen on work premises and was not due to neglect, do I have a claim?

If you slipped on ice on a public footpath or the pathway to a private property, you would not be able to make a claim. Whilst local authorities have a responsibility for treating the roads and highways in their region in icy or cold weather, that responsibility does not apply to footpaths and pavements.

The main issue in terms of whether or not he can make a claim, appears to be that your Brother has no clear recollection of what happened and therefore cannot identify an area of negligence or the cause of his accident being the responsibility of his employer or someone else. We do have more info on knee injury claims if it is of interest.

I would like your advice please regarding an accident I had on August 9th, 2019.

I had dined with my fiancé at a Miller & Carter restaurant and upon leaving, fairly late in the evening, I slipped and fell down half a flight of stairs. The stairs were incredibly slippery to which there was no visible signage stating or warning of this. We reported the incident to a member of staff.

My fiancé contacted the restaurant the following day, Saturday 10th August, about the incident as I was in a lot of pain and had been awake most of the night as I was unable to sleep. It transpired upon speaking to the manager the member of staff had not reported the incident in their accident book. I am unsure if they have since recorded the same.

I sustained injury to both my right knee and right ankle for which I attended my G.P. My G.P referred me for X-ray’s and MRI scans. The MRI shows a sprain to my right knee, I am not 100% sure about the grade of sprain. The consultant advised I need to have physiotherapy for my knee and that my ankle has severe swelling. I have been walking with a limp since the injuries were sustained.

Since the incident I suffer pain everyday/night and my day to day life has been severely affected. At work I have had to be placed on light duties and I am unable to participate in my regular weekly hobbies, such as football and golf. I was unable to attend the gym for a period of time and although I have recently returned I am only able to do light weights on my upper body, with no cardio or leg work. Not being able to do this, nor play football etc has resulted in my putting on weight. This, combined with not being able to go about my normal activities, has left me feeling extremely down and frustrated.

I am also annoyed as to how Miller & Carter appears to have just dismissed the incident. My fiancé has telephoned Miller & Carter a few times and they informed her they would get back to her but to date have not done so. They sent me a bunch of flowers as a way of apology at the time and since such time we have had no further communication from them.

I have photographs of the injuries I sustained and can forward these if requested.

Given the nature of your accident and the lack of hazard warning signs on the stairs in question, you do have a right to make a claim for compensation against the restaurant and their insurers. Whether or not your claim would succeed will depend on what evidence there is to support your claim and what defence the defendant can mount.

Ideally, our Solicitors will need you to identify what you slipped on. You state that the stairs were slippery. Do you know why? Were they wet or was there a substance upon them?

I injured my knee at work. I did it after kneeling on the floor. I have prepatellar bursitis, already diagnosed by a doctor. Although kneeling isn’t part of the job to the degree of a carpet layer for example there is still a decent amount and there is no knee pads available for kneeling on the concrete floor. If we want knee protection we have to try and find shipping foam or something similar to kneel on.

I have had a similar injury before which healed itself in a couple of days with ibuprofen and paracetamol with no swelling just pain when I put any pressure on the kneecap.

However this time it has swollen and limited my range of movement and makes walking painful. It has been like this for 3 weeks now, I have booked another appointment with my doctor because I have followed their advice and they appeared confident that it should have cleared by now.

If the work you are employed to do involves you kneeling on hard floor surfaces regularly, there is a case to make that your employer should have assessed this as a possible risk to health and provided you with knee pads. As the employer appears to have failed to offer anything to reduce the risk of injury to your knee, it may be possible to pursue a claim for personal injury compensation. If you or any colleagues have previously reported the lack of knee protection, that would add strength to any future claim.

The injury that you mention (bursitis) is commonly associated with repetitive strain or repetitive movements, so it is understandable that you have developed the condition.

If you have not already done so, you should make your employer aware that the ‘injury’ you have is work related and make note to them that there is no knee pad provision for the kneeling work that you need to do.

I was required to carry some material through a small gap. I hit my knee on some other material which was sticking out at the end of the gap which then inflicted an open wound onto my knee cap which required the hospitals attention. Not only that but my employer does not have any first aiders and is aware of this. People have told me to put a claim in for this as it wasn’t my fault.

Anyone injured in a non-fault accident at work has a right to make a claim for compensation against the employers obligatory insurance cover. In your case, your claim will succeed if it can be shown that your employer failed in their obligations towards your health and safety at work. There is clearly an argument to be made that the work you were asked to do was dangerous and the item that caused your laceration should not have been in situ.

Please call us on 01225430285 so that we can take some further details from you and present your claim to our specialist Solicitors for detailed consideration.

I injured my knee at work in 2015 but I did not get my op in till the 6th of April this year. I was off in till the 17th of June then I went back to work for 3 weeks on reduced hours, the 1st week was 4 hours then the next 2 weeks were 6 hours, but my knee swelled up again and I went to my doctor’s and he give me a sick note for 2 weeks, can you help?

Unfortunately in our view you are now out of limitation and cannot now take any action in terms of claiming compensation for your injuries – unless you started a claim before the 3rd anniversary of your accident and had the matter registered in the courts to protect your rights.

UK law applies a strict 3-year claim limitation period in which you must take action and pursue a claim for compensation.

Hi, I work in a concrete and fencing company. I mix and pour concrete to make the post. When I demould posts I can lift 9 foot posts. My job for the the last 3/4 years has involved alot of heavy lifting. In 2017 I was referred for an MRI as I was suffering knee pain in my right knee. While waiting for my results it gave way twice at work and I went to a&e. They looked at my MRI and fast tracked my consultant appointment.
The consultant said that basically my knee was knackered and offered the option of a steroid injection which didn’t work. I returned 6 months later for a review which is when I was told I had arthritis and surgery was the only option. As I am only 44 we spoke about half a knee replacement. When the surgeon looked at my MRI he said it was so bad as it was bone on bone I needed a full knee replacement which I had March this year. I worked up until begin of march but the pain was crippling and I had to use a lot of my leave to get me through as we have no savings. I have been told by the surgeon I cannot go back to the work I was doing. I’m seeking counselling now as it has taken drained me mentally as well as physically. Do I have a claim?
Many thanks.

Employers have a responsibility to ensure that any staff working in a role that requires repeated heavy lifting are given the correct tools, training and support to allow them to work as safely as possible. Employers must also adequately risk assess the weights and items that they are asking staff to lift and move and in appropriate cases provide additional support or lifting equipment to reduce the risk of injury.

Of course, at this time we do not know what training, support, equipment and risk assessments your employer has put in place so we cannot be certain as to whether or not the employer has in anyway been negligent. However, you describe a very serious injury and a requirement for complex knee replacement surgery at a young age and this indicates to me that there is a claim that should be investigated further. We would be happy to assist with this and I suggest that you visit the ‘start a claim’ page of our site to provide your contact details so that we can speak with you regarding your work and ascertain the prospects of succeeding with a claim for you.

If successful with a claim you would be able to claim compensation for the pain and discomfort caused by your knee pain, the impact of the surgery and your long term prospects with the knee as well as recover lost income caused by your time off and need to find new employment elsewhere. Regarding the psychological impact that this has had upon you, it is important that you do seek counselling and that these issues are also noted on your medical records as they too could form part of the final valuation of any claim if you were to succeed.

I worked for my past employer for 16 years. The job involved delivering and installing office furniture nationwide sometimes having to carry goods upstairs. Most of the items were over 25 kilos yet we were expected to do this work single-handedly. I have been told I will need both knee caps replacing at some point and believe this has happened due to constant strain on my knees. I no longer work there now – am I entitled to make a claim against them?

You do have the right to make a claim, but it must be done within the claim limitation period which is 3 years from the date that you became aware of the symptoms of the knee pain and believed it to be work related. Therefore, you could already be struggling on that issue.

The other main hurdle to cross would be causation and proving a causal link between your work and your knee trouble. A medical expert may well find that the knee issues you have are age related degeneration rather than simply through lifting and moving at work. If you are within 3 years of your first appointment with a GP regarding the knee pain and your Doctor believes that these problems are work related and not simply ‘wear and tear’ you could seek to make a claim against your employer.

I had an accident at work in September 2018 someone was hurrying and knocked me to the ground. This caused me to fall on my right knee I have had to have a knee replacement due to this. The managers at work told me that the accident was caused in a blind spot so no one was to blame and it was just one of those things. I was told there were 10 witnesses when I asked if they had seen the accident they said they had seen me struggling to get up off the floor. Would I be entitled to claim for this accident?

We would be happy to further investigate your claim on a No Win No Fee basis. Please use the ‘start a claim’ page of our website to provide some further basic information and contact details. One of our specially trained staff will then call you to discuss your accident at work and explain your rights and how we can help you.

I had a car accident few years ago and it was not my fault. I had both off my knees injured. I had surgery on one knee, but still have pain when I walk or when I sit for too long. The person driving the other car did not have a drivers license and did not get injured.

Can I still claim compensation? I did not get too much back then and I live with pain.

UK personal injury law would not allow you to return to claim a 2nd time – if you have already made a claim for compensation after your car accident and received a settlement, unfortunately you cannot seek further damages.

If you have not already claimed, you could make a claim for compensation – but as long as your accident was less than 3 years ago.

At the end of August I tripped over a traffic cone which was on the floor in a pub. I landed onto my knees on a hard floor. I had bad bruising on both of my knees. There were a lot of traffic cones in the road outside of the pub and made the assumption some idiot had brought one into the pub. Two months on I’m having trouble with both knees and am going to see the doctor this week. I’m concerned that I have injuries due to this accident. I didn’t report it at the time as I was making my way out of the pub. I’m guessing that cctv probably no longer exists but will be contacting the pub to ask. I have historical texts between friends and my mother in law discussing the accident the day after. I am also thinking of contacting the police to see if they have cctv footage of someone bringing the traffic cone into the pub. My sister witnessed me falling and there were two strangers who witnessed it but it’s unlikely I will be able to find them.Do I have any case if I’m injured due to the accident?

There could be a valid claim for compensation as a result of this incident. However, you have rightly identified a few issues to provide the required evidence to support any claim you may wish to pursue.

It would seem pretty obvious that the cone was placed inside the pub by someone ‘fooling around’, perhaps after a few beverages. As such, the Public House would not be responsible for it’s presence if it had only just been placed there. The courts would deem that it is unreasonable to expect the Pub to identify and remove a potential hazard immediately. However, if the staff of the Pub failed to notice and remove the cone within a reasonable period of time a claim could proceed on the basis that the business was not adhering to their occupier liability obligations (inspect, identify and remove any hazards at regular intervals) and had allowed a hazard to remain in situ unduly, leading to injury.

Any evidence to prove what happened to you, when and where would of course greatly support any claim. Therefore speaking with the Pub and Police as you suggest would be a wise move. You could also see if you can find any witnesses to your accident, ideally not relatives. Once you have done so, we suggest that you return to us so that we can look further in to this matter for you.