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Shoulder Injury Compensation Claims & Settlement Amounts

By Ian Morris | Updated June 12th, 2024

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Many people in the UK suffer with chronic shoulder pain that can have a severe impact on independence and ability to work, often leading to a loss of income. Such injuries can make it hard to perform simple tasks such as dressing and washing, and may require post accident care. Compensation awarded for a shoulder injury claim can help in many ways.

Types of shoulder injury

The shoulder is a vital component in human movement and free movement of the shoulder is vital for usual dexterity and personal independence. Often, injuries such as frozen shoulder and rotator cuff damage may also lead to associated pain and injuries to the neck and back, and can cause nerve damage. Typical shoulder injuries include:

Dislocation of the shoulder
Ligament and tendon sprains and strains
Fractures of the shoulder joint and upper arm
Repetitive strain injuries such as Bursitis
Frozen shoulder
Rotator cuff damage

Can I claim shoulder injury compensation?

If you have suffered an injury to your shoulder in an accident that was not your fault you have a right to make a claim for compensation. As with any claim in the United Kingdom, it must be made within 3 years of the date of the injury. It is important to note that it is wise to avoid delaying a claim and ensure that as much of the 3 years is available as possible.

The most common shoulder injuries at the heart of a claim for compensation are caused by falls, slips and trips, in accidents at work or on the road.

If you have slipped or tripped due to a hazard on the floor, a disrepaired pavement or other surface and injured your shoulder, you can make a claim against the business or landowner in question. Work-related injury claims are made against the employer. In either case, you must prove they were negligent in their duty to maintain a safe environment. As with any claim, it is important to ensure that the details of your accident are reported in an accident book.

If you are uncertain as to whether or not you can claim shoulder injury compensation, speak with our expert staff for friendly, helpful advice. We know your rights and can help you understand what options are available to you.

How can claiming help me?

If you are suffering with a debilitating shoulder injury, such as a rotator cuff issue, frozen shoulder, or ligament damage after a dislocation, it is likely that your working life and personal life have been heavily impacted.

At Direct2Compensation we will ensure any claim for shoulder injury compensation you make is given the maximum prospect of succeeding. We know that you will be struggling with a loss of income if you’ve been forced to take time off work, or that you may have had to employ the services of a gardener or cleaner to help you around the home. You may also need help to get dressed or cook meals.

By succeeding with a claim for shoulder injury compensation, not only will our specialist solicitors ensure that you receive an appropriate financial settlement for the pain and discomfort, but we’ll also ensure that any lost income or incurred costs are recovered.

In cases where your long term ability to work is affected, or you need to employ help long term, we’ll ensure that any settlement awarded to you takes your future losses and costs into account.

A further benefit of making a claim for shoulder injury compensation is that you may be able to access specialist rehabilitation treatments at the cost of the defendant insurer. In cases where liability is admitted, our solicitors will act on medical evidence to ensure that any possible routes to recovery are considered, and if appropriate, provided as part of your claim.

Compensation amounts for shoulder injuries

The following is a guide to settlements for the injury only, excluding lost income and expenses, so your final compensation amount could be much higher.

Severity of injury	Compensation amount
Severe, resulting in significant disability. Often associated with neck injuries.	£18k - £45k
Serious, with persisting symptoms after surgery. Eg. dislocation, rotator cuff injury.	£12k - £18k
Moderate, with symptoms persisting a few years but not permanent. Eg. frozen shoulder, soft tissue injuries.	£7k - £12k
Minor, with considerable pain but almost complete recovery within a few years.	Up to £7k
Fractured clavicle	£5k - £11k

How long will my claim take?

It is not possible to assign a definitive time frame to any claim as much depends on issues like the severity of a shoulder injury, the recovery process and handling of the claim by the defendant insurers.

Our solicitors will work hard to ensure that the claim is handled in your best interest and as fast as possible. The claims process does afford defendants a prescribed timescale to respond to various elements of the claim and our solicitors will hold them to such timescales and if need be, use the courts to enforce such demands.

How do I start my shoulder injury compensation claim?

Starting your claim for shoulder injury compensation is easy. We realise that any kind of legal action is daunting and that you may have questions and concerns. Our team are well trained experts with 20 years’ experience in claims and know your rights. We are here to help you understand your options, the claims process and how we can help you. You can call our friendly and helpful staff on 01225 430285 or get your claim started online today. We look forward to helping you make your claim.

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Comments & Questions

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

My wife was injured on the job, she hurt her shoulder lifting and setting up multiple tables by herself. She thought nothing of it and worked through the pain. A week later she is not only suffering physical pain ,but now emotional pain due to not knowing if she will make it through the day. She was not told to seek medical help or did the employer fill out an incident report. Now she is thinking of just quitting and living with her pain, I advised to see a Dr and to seek advice. What should she do in this situation?

In this matter, a key point of relevance will be what (if any) training the employer provided to your wife regarding manual handling and whether or not they provided any guidance or equipment to assist with the safe moving of the multiple tables. If the employer has failed in either obligation, your wife should address that in any report she makes.

This could be a matter that warrants pursuit as a claim for compensation and we would be happy to further discuss this with your wife to help her understand whether or not we can take this further.

I work in a nursery. I’ve torn a ligament in my right shoulder before and I have had pains in it for roughly 4 years. However, it started again 2 weeks ago at work. The advised tablets and remedies are now not working because I’m still attending work and doing a lot of physical things and my shoulder is not healing. If anything, it’s getting worse but I have to go in because I won’t get paid. What do I do?

You mention that you have a history of trouble with the right shoulder and as some of that history dates back for 4 years, you may face an issue of limitation if you now make a claim. Any claim within the UK for personal injury compensation must be made within 3 years. As such, some of your trouble is clearly outside of that time frame.

However, with the ‘new’ or recent return of the problems, you could possibly make a claim for the exacerbation of your problem. However, to succeed with your claim you’ll need to be able to link it to an area of employer negligence or an incident at your workplace. You mention doing lots of physical work. With this in mind, we would need to know what you have been doing and what (if any) training the employer has provided to you to attempt to minimise the risk of injury.

If we can identify a route to help you make a claim for compensation, you would be able to do so on a No Win No Fee basis. If you were to succeed with a claim, you would be able to recover lost income if you were to take a period off work to enable you to recover.

My son is a roofer. The guard rail gave way when he lent on it. He fell from the roof to the ground. Now has bruising in the shoulder and a bubble of fluid and a tear. His employer is not happy. Asking for advice.

In this case, it would be reasonable and just to make a claim for the injuries he sustained at work. Whether the claim is against his employer or due to another party (whoever erected or has responsibility for the safety and maintenance of the site most likely), he would appear to have a valid claim for compensation.

I fell down stairs on my way from the work car park to the office. I fell forwards and ended up dislocating a shoulder, injuring my elbow, knee and ankle on one side and the knee on the other side. I went to hospital in an ambulance for the shoulder to be put back in. It was very cold and icy on the day I fell as well as a lot of dead compacted leaves on the stairs. After my fall, someone from the company arranged for the stairs to be cleared. Do I have grounds to pursue a claim?

There certainly is grounds to pursue a claim for compensation. Whether or not you would succeed with the claim is yet to be established, but given the apparent long term problem of the compacted leaves on the stairs, it would appear that the employer had ample opportunity to have the hazard removed before you fell. It is helpful to your claim that the employer did arrange for the hazard to be removed after your accident, but that is not an admission of liability.

We would be very happy to assist you further with a claim for compensation.

I’m off work at the minute with a frozen shoulder/ tensionitus, I hurt it at work lifting last September and since then it has got worse. I’m waiting for a scan and may have to have surgery. What should I do?

If your shoulder injury was caused through physical work for which you have not been properly trained, not been given the correct tools or equipment or due to a working environment that fails to reduce the risk of injury to you, you can make a claim for compensation.

The best thing to do at this stage would be to speak with us so that we can learn more about your work, what you have done and what your employer hasn’t done. We can then advise you as to whether or not you have a valid claim for compensation.

I sustained injury to my shoulder through carrying steps at least 6km a day for ten months at work. A decision was made by the management to collect all steps from buildings and keep them in one place which meant we had to carry them with us all day long.

I repeatedly asked time and again at work to have this sorted out and brought the subject up at meetings and was told we should not be carrying steps up the road. I have now been off work for a year and my pay stopped in November.

My ultrasound report says that I have a torn rotator cuff in the shoulder. I have since had operation to repair the rotator cuff muscles and damaged tendon. Where do I stand?

Whether or not you are expected to carry the steps during the day may not be the issue here. However, whether or not the employer has provided you with training to carry the item safely, equipment to enable you to carry the item safely or indeed properly risk assess asking you to carry the item all day is the issue.

Given the severity of your injury and the loss of income, it would seem wise to bring this matter to the attention of one of our specialist workplace injury expert Solicitors. We note that you’ve also used the ‘start a claim’ page of our website and provided your contact details. One of our team will call you to discuss this in more detail with you.

Hi, can i make claim? I get my neck pain and my shoulder because I had a hard job. I have been working for 6 year in the same place I have asked to changed my job but they refused. I have a lot of pain and I get medication 4 times a day and waiting for surgery for my neck.

You can’t simply make a claim because you develop an injury – even if it is serious – or because your job is physically hard. However, you can make a claim if the injury has been caused as a result of a lack of employer training, their failure to provide you with the correct equipment and tools to work safely and been negligent in their approach to your health and safety at work.

Hi, I was injured at work. I was helping put the delivery away and we have a truck with a long arm on it for carpets. The guy was reversing it into the yard and because it was at foot level i didn’t see it. So I fell and hurt my shoulder and have a minor break to radial head, the doctor said around 6 weeks recovery. I went to A&E and back to work following day. Just wondering is this worth perusing? The pain is rather bad and I’m single mother so hard to get dressed etc, all healthy and safety completed in work and the incident was put in the accident book.

Given the injury you have suffered and the trouble that it will cause you whilst you recover, it is certainly worthwhile further investigating this matter for you. It is good to see that you have made an accident book entry with your employer as this helps to provide important evidence to support any claim that may follow for the injuries that you sustained.

Hello there,
I was just wondering if you can give me some advice on a situation that happened at work. Another colleague who was working with me on a roof had an argument with me and resulted in him kicking me from behind as I was about to leave the roof via a door, I then grabbed him to stop him attacking me as he was double my size he threw me to the floor then we wrestled. I was constantly trying to get him away from me during the process he landed on me and dislocated my shoulder and my face was cut and I have a bruise on nose and eye. Also I had a knee op 12 days prior that also made my knee in some pain.

There are more details to this situation but this is the main details which I have mentioned depending on how work deal with this I would like to take legal action with this situation.

Did you report this matter to your employer and the Police? From the initial description information you have provided, I cannot (at this stage) see how the employer could be held liable as the actions that cause you injury rest with the colleague who attacked you and not due to employer negligence. To that end, as things stand the only route to compensation that I can see is via the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA).

We have specialist Solicitors able to pursue claims via the CICA and if you would like to investigate making a claim via this route, please contact us. To qualify for a CICA claim, you must report the matter to the Police, cooperate with the Police and seek medical attention for your injuries.

I am a lunchtime supervisor and after school leader at my local school. In 2016 I was in the playground near the basket ball court and I had a special needs child stood next to me. A year six kicked a basket ball and it headed straight for the special needs child, so I put my arm out to stop it hitting him. The force of the ball pushed my arm/shoulder back so hard that I grabbed it and pulled it forward. I had to go in and I documented it in a book we have on us all the time. The pain became worse and ended up on strong pain killers from my doctors, three cortisone injections as it turned to frozen shoulder, and physio. In the end I had to have an operation, five months off and extended physiotherapy in the hydro pool. Is there help I can get?

We could help you find out whether or not you can pursue a claim for compensation if you give us a call so that we can find out a little more information and help you get some advice.

I was injured in a car accident at work in 2011 and received compensation for a shoulder injury. Six years on I now need surgery on it. Can I make an additional claim? Thank you for your assistance.

Sadly you cannot return to an old claim that has been settled and seek further damages. Any settlement that was made for this accident would have been full and final and should have included any value apportioned to future medical costs or surgical interventions.

During a house viewing with an agent I fell down the stairs and was taken to hospital by ambulance. After an X-ray it showed I had dislocated my shoulder. I don’t know how it happened (cause) just that I was injured. I’m worried about long term complications, which could be a possibility and loss of earnings (statutory sick pay only) whilst I recover. So I’m not sure what to do or where I stand?

You can only pursue a claim for compensation if you believe that someone else is/was responsible for your accident by way of negligence. To succeed with a claim you will have to identify a hazard or cause that lead you to fall down the stairs. If you are unable to identify a defect or hazard or apportion any blame to the 3rd party no Solicitor will be able to pursue a claim for you.

Clearly, you have sustained a nasty injury to your shoulder and as such, if you could identify a defect or hazard at the top of the stairs that lead to you falling you could look to pursue a claim for what may well be sizeable damages.

Can i claim against my employer which they paid me off in 2013?

1. when i injured my shoulders in clearing ice from a path my spade hit a risen slab in which the pain shook me from my hands up to my shoulders, i reported it to my upline boss. Over the years since 2011 till 2013 i’ve been fighting my case. But my boss didnt report it that i had an accident.

2. when i first went to see doctor told him what happened but i’ve found out that he didn’t put it in my medical notes all he said was get some physio. This is 2017 my symptoms have got worse, my wife is my carer i’m now only on benefits. Can i sue them both?

If your accident happened in 2013, you will now be barred under UK law from taking any further action against your employer or their insurers. UK law allows the victims of a non-fault accident a maximum period of 3-years from the date of their accident in which they can make a claim for compensation. Failure to make a claim within that period will leave you statute barred and unable to do anything.

Also, you mention that your employer has paid you off previously – do you mean that you have accepted a settlement already for the injury? If so you wouldn’t be able to return for further damages anyway – even if it now transpires that your injury is worse than you had initially anticipated.

Hi, I have a question about 4-5wks ago I tore my ligaments in my shoulder opening a delivery gate. I put in a claim this is all going through. I was put on light duties but was asked by a manager to move a cage into the lockup, and left me unattended, I then injured my shoulder and this was then investigated and now going through to a disciplinary on the grounds I didn’t decline even tho I said to him are you sure I should do that with my shoulder. He had plenty of opportunity to choose a different colleague? This feels like a retaliation as there was no investigation for the 1st incident?

You should put your concerns to your employer – in writing. It sounds as if you have a very strong case to defend any disciplinary action your employer is looking in to.

The employer has no legal grounds to ‘retaliate’ for any claim you are making. Every person has a legal right to pursue a claim for compensation against an employer (or anyone else for that matter) when they have been injured as a result of negligence.

I wish you all the best.

Ian

Hello i am a dog groomer, when at work i went to lift a dog out of a bath at the same time the dog decided to jump and i caught it, i had to lift the dog as the bath was broken.
I thought i pulled a muscle in my back but it was masking what i had done, i had damaged my shoulder.
So i have had to have surgery seven months later still having physiotherapy twice a week as my shoulder has now gone in to a frozen shoulder have been told may need second surgery.
Due to not using my shoulder my other shoulder has taken on the stain and is showing signs of a problems, the ultrasound has shown fluid which has capsulated plus frayed tendon when my sick pay run out they gave me my p45 for Christmas. Thank you.

Sam

On the basis of what you have said, it would seem that there is a good argument to be made in your favour regarding a claim for compensation against the employer.

Your injury was caused as a result of yuour work and if I have understood things correctly, there was an item that was supposed to help with lifting but it was broken (you mentioned that you had to lift the dog because the bath was broken?) – if this is the case, your employer may have to accept liability if you were to make a claim for compensation for this accident at work.

I would be very happy to discuss this with you and at least get one of our specialist solicitors to review your accident at work details with a view to seeing if a claim for compensation could be pursued.

Thank you