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Foot Injury Compensation Claims & Settlement Values

By Ian Morris | Updated December 12th, 2022

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Hundreds of thousands of people attend hospital with a foot injury each year, with almost half of those having to take time off work as a result.

Any person who injures their foot in an accident at work as a result of employer negligence can seek to make a claim for compensation. Furthermore, anyone else who suffers a foot injury as a result of a non-fault accident in a public place also has the right to make a claim.

Common types of foot injury that can be claimed for

Broken bones, fractures and soft-tissue damage are all commonly associated with foot injury compensation claims. They are often caused by slips and trips, falls from height, or if an object is dropped on the foot.

Frequently the injuries include fractured talus bone (heel fracture), ankle bone fractures, metatarsal fractures and fractures to the toe bones. Surgery can be required to implant metal work to aid the recovery or fusion of the bones. In such cases, the foot injury will be permanent and lead to ongoing discomfort and restricted mobility.

In other serious cases, a foot injury can include damage to the soft tissues – ligaments and tendons – within the foot. This can lead to longer term issues affecting mobility, strength and deformity.

With very severe injuries, amputation of the foot may have occurred or be surgically required.

Compensation amounts for foot injuries

The value of a foot injury compensation settlement will vary depending on its severity. The amounts below are for the injury itself, but you can also claim for special damages which would include your expenses and rehabilitation therapies, for example.

The largest settlement amounts are reserved for amputation, where the loss of an ankle joint has obvious implications for mobility and quality of life. The amputation of one foot falls in a bracket of around £65,000 to £85,000. While the loss of both feet attracts double this value.

Very severe foot injuries would include those which produce permanent and severe pain, or really serious permanent disability. For example, amputation of the forefoot or loss of use of the heel. Compensation amounts here are again in the £65,000 to £90,000 bracket.

Fractures to both heels or feet (or an unusually severe injury to one foot) with a substantial restriction on mobility or considerable and permanent pain can see settlement values of between £30,000 and £60,000.

Those which are less severe but lead to continuing pain and prolonged treatment, with the risk of arthritis, fall between around £20,000 and £30,000.

Foot injuries such as a displaced metatarsal fracture, which can result in permanent deformity and ongoing symptoms, have a value of between £10,000 and £20,000.

Simple metatarsal fractures, ruptured ligaments, puncture wounds and other minor injuries fall into a range of between £5,000 and £10,000 depending on continuing symptoms and treatment.

Workplace foot injuries

Workers at risk of foot injury should be trained to work safely and provided with adequate personal protective equipment, such as steel-toe-capped boots to minimise the risk of fractures to the feet.

Those who are required to stand for lengthy periods of time, or wear prescribed footwear, are at risk of suffering foot health conditions such as bursitis, tarsal tunnel syndrome (which affects the nerve behind the inner ankle bone) and other conditions.

If employers fail to adequately train staff and do all they can to minimise the risk of a foot injury, they could face a claim for compensation.

How Direct2Compensation can help you claim

Our expert staff know your rights after an injury at work, or a trip or slip in a public place, and can quickly identify whether the cause of your foot injury is something that could lead to a successful claim for compensation.
We will link you with one of our specialist solicitors who will ensure that your rights are enforced and that any compensation due to you is obtained at the maximum value.

Our no win no fee claims process is easy to understand and will give you the confidence you need to pursue your claim.

We know that you may have concerns about making a claim, especially for an accident at work. With that in mind, we’re here to answer any queries you may have, and let you know whether or not your claim is viable and worth pursuing.

Simply call our offices on 01225 430285 or we can .

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Comments & Questions

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

I had an accident at work about 10 years ago, we had agency staff in, I went to help put stock out off the pallet I didn’t notice they had not dropped it to the floor, I picked up a carton of tins, it was still half full of canned goods, an agency worker came and lent on the handle and asked me a question, they flicked the leaver that drops the pallet and it landed across my foot. There was no break or serious damage at the time, shortly after about a year I found I couldn’t wear heels anymore as I had pain in the top of my foot. I always put this down to age, but over the last year its been getting worse. I am going for an xray tomorrow to try and find why I’m getting the pains. It was only last week I put the two things together, am I to late to claim compensation?

Unfortunately, you are now outside of the 3-year claim limitation period for personal injury compensation and cannot now pursue a claim.

I stepped on a nail in my work place. It punctured the bottom of my foot. I was bleeding all over, so my boss said they couldn’t keep me there with the problem of the blood. I then walked to the hospital got a tetanus shot, had to be examined and came home.

Does your employer provide or require specific safety shoes within the workplace? If not, you may be able to pursue a claim against them. If the workplace would not normally expect such hazards to be on site and safety shoes are not required, it may still be possible to pursue a claim if it can be shown that a contractor or other party had allowed a dangerous item (such as a nail) to be left in the work environment as a risk of injury.

Is there a claim for a item falling off shelf onto foot?
Didn’t break my toe but ended up very bruised and swollen and had to walk with crutches.
I am type 1 diabetic so need to be careful with feet.

Do you know what caused the item to fall from the shelf? If the incident was reported at the time and is on record you can certainly look to make a claim.

I have had a recent incident with a brand new pair of shoes causing me an injury within the first 20 minutes of wearing, and the company are refusing to refund or acknowledge any defect despite an obvious hole it gouged into my heel. Is this a case you feel you could proceed with?

It is unlikely that the injury caused to you, whilst painful and upsetting, would be deemed to be sufficiently serious enough to enable a Solicitor to act for you.

I was hit by a car whilst riding my electric scooter at a zebra crossing the car went over my foot leaving it all bruised up and i also have graze marks on my knees from the fall when he hit into me. My right foot and leg hurts me so much i cant even go down the stairs properly, every time i apply weight with that foot i fall over, it hurts wearing a shoe alone so i gotta wear sliders.

Was your accident on or before 31st May 2021? If so, there is a good chance we can help you to make a claim for compensation.

We’ll need the vehicle registration, accident date and location and we can then have our Solicitors investigate this for you.

You can email this information to us at justice@direct2compensation.co.uk.

Hi . My mum has recently broke her heel bone by coming down a ladder at work and missing the last few runs . She has fallen back and all her weight laneded on her left heel . It s this her fault ? And can she claim anything?

If your Mother is required to use ladders as part of her work, her employer will have a duty of care to ensure that appropriate training in the safe use of ladders has been provided.

If the employer has not issued any such training, your Mother can pursue a claim against them for compensation. Also, if the ladder was in any way faulty or inadequate, she could make a claim and we can help with this.

My husband walked of a kerb to step down, and there was a pot hole. He went over on his foot. He had to visit A&E and has damaged ligaments in his foot, he has been given crutches. He can’t drive or go to work. We will also have to cancel a trip next week now.

My husband has his own business, we are not sure if his public liability insurance would help in any way, as he will not get sick pay.

Cam we make a compensation claim through the council?

Thanks

You can contact the local authority directly and enter in to a claim with them, or you can seek the services of a specialist personal injury Solicitor to represent you on a No Win No Fee basis. Unsurprisingly, we would recommend that you instruct a specialist Solicitor to act as that will ensure that your legal rights are upheld and that the council in question cannot wriggle out of liability unless they can mount and evidence a robust defence.

If you would like our Solicitors to look in to this matter for you, the first thing we’ll need is photographs (with measurement of the depth) of the pothole. Take a look at our pavement trip article for of examples of the kind of images we need. You can email such images to us with a contact number to; justice@direct2compensation.co.uk and we’ll then contact you to offer further help and start a No Win No Fee claim to recover compensation for the pain and distress of the injury and recover any loss of income and incurred costs.

I believe my company work boots has caused me to have flat feet and causing joints in my feet to rub together causing arthritis i have just had 2 foot realigned and a bone fusion to cover the affected joint and i am having the other foot corrected in a few weeks. Is there a valid claim there? Work have been aware of my feet for 2 years i keep telling them the boots make my feet 10 times more painful than if i am wearing my trainers.

We have looked in to such claims in the past and to prove causation – that is that your condition was caused by the footwear provided by the employer and not due to any other health condition is extremely difficult.

I had to check Christmas trees in a warehouse but I know I was unable to go down one side as it was blocked and I couldn’t see if I could go around the back as bread trays blocked the view so I went between pallets and as I came back the same way I stepped on a pallet to cross over and ended up going to hospital in which they said I had twisted the ligaments in my foot

If your employer has allowed the working environment to become unsafe (including obstruction of walkways etc) and your injury can be attributed to that (as would appear to be the case), you can make a claim for accident at work compensation.

I had an injury to my great toe. I crushed the side of it. There was a vehicle behind me where it should not have been. And i was not trained. I told my team leader and he never reported it. There was a witness to the accident as well who still works there. I got an x ray months after and i was told the injury had healed and the pain should stop. A year later, when i stopped being active due to furlough. It started causing me problems. I got another appointment and had an mri and there is a ligament that needs to be attached surgically. I no longer work there due to redundancy. Can i still contact the employer explaining what had happened?

If your accident happened within the past 3 years, you do have a right to make a claim. If you can obtain the details of the witness who saw the incident, it would greatly help given the lack of accident book entry.

You mention a lack of training and also the location of the vehicle – both potential areas of negligence.

Hi there, I wonder if you could help with my question. I fell from a ladder and completely broke my heel bone. I have an insurance policy that covers me for accidental injury, this policy covers me for both minor and major bones. The insurance company has awarded me but they have classed this as a minor bone which is five times less money. This seems odd to me as I’ve been told by the doctor that I can’t put any weight at all on my heel for six weeks and it will take two to three months to fully recover. I am a self employed painter and decorator/ handyman and can’t earn any money until I’m better, so the £300 that they are offering me won’t go very far.
Am I right in thinking that this injury should be classed as a major one?

It is likely to be the case that it will come down to what the insurer decides is a major or minor bone. Our view would be that smashing your heel is a major injury. Whilst the individual bone that is broken could be seen as a ‘minor’ bone, the impact of a fractured heel is a serious matter. It may be worth appealing the insurers decision and asking your GP or consultant to provide a detailed letter outlining the severity of the injury.

Hi,
I was pulling a full roll cage in a warehouse (I am always asked to do this by a superior when I am not sure it is part of my job role) and it went over my foot, I was seen to by a first aider and attended a&e for an x ray, nothing broken just sprained and loss of 2 nails. I’ve had to take a week off of work as I am unable to walk or put on a shoe without pain. I am not required to wear protective shoes just full in black shoes. Can you advise me in whether I would be able to make a claim? Thanks

We would like to speak with you to find out more about the accident you had so that we can consider whether or not you would be able to make a claim against your employer for the injury to your foot. If we can establish negligence against the employer – a fault with the cage, a lack of training or some other issue that caused the cage to roll over your foot, you would have a valid claim.

Hello,

I was recently injured at work and broke a metatarsal. The injury was a result of another employer not stacking things correctly, as he had never been trained to do so properly, and me helping him, causing the equipment to drop on my foot.

At first, I took no action, because work were reasonable and continued to pay me full time while I was off. Unfortunately, they’ve decided to stop now – which is confusing, because full time wages suggest they admit they were responsible – because, to quote them ‘we feel your recovery time was long enough.’

They only gave me seven weeks before cutting me off, and I just saw a physiotherapist today who told me it was an injury that usually takes 6-12 weeks to heal properly, and can be a couple of weeks longer before I can walk properly again.

As it is a job that requires standing on my feet all day, this seems awfully unfair, and I feel now that I may wish to press for compensation for lost earnings.

Do I have a case here? I assume I must, as they themselves have added a sign now to the area telling people how to put it together properly – suggesting they themselves are subtly admitting they always should have had that sign.

Our initial view is that you do have a valid claim and should pursue the same against the employers insurance to recover both compensation for the pain and discomfort of the injury (and the impact that such an injury will have on your personal and social life for some time) and to recover any lost income or incurred costs.

Our specialist Solicitors would be able to assist you in making your claim for compensation. Please call us on 01225430285 to get further help and start your claim.

A car reversed over my right foot. I had a xray, I didn’t break any bones, it was just extremely swollen and bruised. Am I entitled to compensation?

Do you have the details of the car that drove over your foot? If not, was the incident reported to the Police? If you can answer yes to either or these questions, then it is possible to look further in to claiming compensation for the injury to your foot.

I had a slight accident at my gym hydro pool, which basically is a very large Jacuzzi.
As I entered the pool area down 3-4 steps I proceeded to turn right once full in the pool and I turned right I felt something sharp.
Anyway as I walked back to the changing room it was then that I noticed that at the back of my heel I had a cut, so I must have caught something sharp at the bottom of the steps when I entered the pool area.
The gym gave me some plasters to cover my cut and filled in an accident report form.

The cut has almost healed now but it has been very painful, do I have any grounds for compensation?

There are grounds for pursuit of a claim for personal injury compensation if the injury was sufficiently severe that it can be proven to have caused you discomfort and impacted your normal day-to-day activities for a period of 4 weeks or more. Therefore, if you have not had any medical treatment, you will most likely find it difficult to prove that the injury was sufficiently serious.

It is helpful that an accident book entry was made at the time as that does provide evidence that the injury happened at the location stated and describes what the initial injury was. If you did seek medical attention at any stage, it would seem that a claim can proceed.

I kicked a trailer lock open, but I didn’t realise that it was open already. As I kicked it, the lock came down hitting my foot just past the steel toe cap which was painful for about 30 seconds (if that) and I never thought too much about it afterwards until four days later. It was whilst I was tipping trailers and doing a lot of walking on a shift 4 days later (Friday afternoon) that I got up and was in pain with my foot. I went to the Doctors who sent me to hospital for an x-ray. The x-rays showed that nothing was broken, so I went back to doctors who signed me off work for two weeks with foot pain. I could hardly walk in that time and in agony, I went back to the Doctors who gave me co-codamol.

Two weeks later there was still no change with the pain, so I went back to see the Doctor and I was again signed off, for another two weeks and referred for an ultrasound scan. I had waited another two weeks without the scan, then the day I was to return back to work, my foot was almost healed but I was called to go for the ultrasound scan which didn’t find any damage. I was though, told that I had damaged tissue.

As a result of my 6 weeks off work, I am now on a disciplinary for not reporting it.

The disciplinary hearing could prove to be a blessing in disguise in that it will ensure that the details of your injury at work are known and recorded by your employer.

You may have a valid claim, but before we could advise you on that we would need to know a little more about the incident and why you chose to use your foot to kick the lock open instead of an alternative ‘safer’ method or tool. Your employer appears to have ensured that you had PPE in that you mention wearing a safety shoe, but we wonder if you had simply followed ‘company procedure’ in choosing to kick the trailer lock? If you have been told to use that method to open the locks or the employer does not provide adequate training, tools or guidance, you may be able to pursue a claim against your employer.

I was injured on my job 7 years ago, a guy came in off break without any supervision or permission ran into a beam and it landed on my feet. We wasn’t qualified or to run equipment, wasn’t aware of the work hazards and danger. I’ve been fired from a couple jobs because my feet have swollen up and hurt. I can barely walk, I can’t wear shoes at all. Wasn’t my fault at all, I feel like I’m handicapped because I cant drive long nor walk too long with out severe and chronic pain. I lay and cry some night cuz I have real sharp pains.

As 7 years has passed since you were injured, UK law will not allow you to make a claim for compensation for the injuries you suffered and any losses sustained as a result.

An 80 Kilogram steel bar was dropped across the top of my foot due to my colleague talking and not paying attention to his end of the bar! I am now off work with a fracture to my foot, as it wasn’t negligence by my company but done in my works premises, but caused by a work colleague, am I entitled to full pay while I am off?

UK law would not entitle you to full pay whilst off work through injury – even though you were injured at work. Indeed, your only route to recovering loss of income is by pursuing a claim against the employers insurance cover for your injury and including your loss of income in the claim.

We would be happy to help you with this process.

Good morning my name is Enrico and today i have had a foot injury at work, a fort lift has run over my foot and after i went to the hospital they told me i had fractured 2 of my toes, at the time of the injury i wasn’t wearing safety boots, am i going to get compensation, if yes how much?

You mention that you were not wearing safety boots. Was this because you had not been trained or advised that you would need them or because you chose not to wear them?

If you had not been trained or required to wear the safety boots, you should consider pursuing a claim. If you should have worn boots and knew that you should but chose not to wear them, you may still have a claim but would probably have to accept contributory negligence.

Problem with feet in work, refused fatigue matting, became worse developed into fibroma growths. Unable to wear safety footwear consequently lost job. Several members of management were asked for matting but refused on cost grounds, do I have a case for neglect in the work place? I have now had to have surgery on my feet.

This is an unusual situation and you may have grounds for a claim. However, there could be issues regarding proving the causal link between your work, the lack of matting and the foot problem.