Injuries to ankle ligaments – no matter how they occur – can often lead to long-term incapacitation; and, when the injury to your ankle has been caused by somebody else´s carelessness, you may be entitled to make ankle ligament tear claims to recover compensation for the pain you suffered at the time of your ankle injury and the incapacitation you experience as a consequence.
The Importance of Medical Attention in Ankle Ligament Tear Claims
In most circumstances, you will only be entitled to claim compensation for an ankle ligament tear if your injury has been professionally diagnosed by a medical practitioner. There has to be a record of your injury in your medical history in order to support a claim for an ankle ligament injury and for a lawyer to calculate how much compensation for an ankle ligament injury you are entitled to seek.
Once you have received professional medical treatment, you should then discuss the circumstances of your ankle injury with a lawyer for, although the information below is intended as a guide for making a claim for an ankle injury, no two claims for injury compensation are the same. In order to ensure you receive your full entitlement to compensation for any potential ankle ligament tear claims you should seek professional legal advice relevant to your personal situation.
Establishing Negligence to Support a Claim for an Ankle Ligament Injury
There are many different scenarios which could result in an ankle ligament tear claims, but in order to claim compensation for an ankle ligament tear, somebody who had a responsibility for your health and safety must have failed in their ‘duty of care’.
That person – or persons – need not have been present at the time you sustained your ankle injury, and a claim for an ankle ligament injury could be made following any of these example scenarios:-
- You might be entitled to make a claim for an ankle injury against your employer if you were not provided with a safe environment in which to work
- Compensation for an ankle ligament injury could be claimed from the local council if you fell from your bicycle due to potholes in the road
- If your condition is attributable to negligent medical treatment, you would usually be able to claim for an ankle ligament injury against the NHS
- If you have sustained a ankle ligament tear claims in a grocery store due to a slip and fall, you may qualify for compensation for an ankle ligament injury
In order to establish negligence when seeking to claim for an ankle injury, photographs should be taken of any hazard which may have caused your injury, statements recorded from people who saw the accident, reports made to the appropriate authorities and – if possible – CCTV footage obtained.
If your injuries are too severe for you to gather evidence of negligence in support of a claim for compensation for an ankle ligament tear, speak with a lawyer – as he or she may be able to complete the procedures on your behalf.
How Much Compensation for an Ankle Ligament Injury
How much compensation for an ankle ligament injury you are entitled to will depend on the severity and impact of your injury and the level of incapacity you experience due to injury. When your lawyer calculates the value of a claim for an ankle ligament injury, he or she will first look at four main considerations:-
Compensation for the Incapacity Caused by the Injured Ankle
If your ankle injury limits your ability to complete day-to-day domestic tasks, or enjoy leisure pursuits and social events that would form part of your regular schedule, your lawyer will factor this into your claim for an ankle ligament injury through a claim for a ‘Loss of Amenity’, and it is advised that you maintain a diary to record the occasions when this happens.
The Recovery of Costs and Expenses Incurred because of Injuring Your Ankle
Any costs or expenses you have incurred which are directly attributable to injuring your ankle ligament – or any income you have lost due to being unable to work – can be recovered in a claim for an ankle injury as long as they can be substantiated by receipts and invoices, or payslips from before you were injured.
Compensation for the Emotional Trauma Associated with a Damaged Ankle
Emotional traumas do not necessarily have to originate from the accident in order to claim compensation for an ankle ligament tear. If you develop anxiety or depression while recovering from a torn ankle ligament injury, provided the psychological trauma is confirmed by a medical practitioner, it can be included in your claim.
Compensation for the Pain and Suffering due to the Ankle Injury
Your lawyer will review previous settlements of compensation for an ankle ligament injury that are published in the Judicial College Guidelines for the Assessment of General Damages and then alter the amounts accordingly to account for your general physical condition prior to the diagnosis of your injury, your age and – in certain cases – your sex.
Not all the above considerations will apply in every compensation claim for a torn ankle ligament injury and, depending on your own personal situation, there may be other elements of ankle ligament tear claims that a lawyer will include in a claim.
Unsolicited Offers of Compensation for Ankle Ligament Tear Claims
Once the negligent party becomes aware that you intend making a claim for an ankle injury, they – or more likely an insurance company representing the negligent party – may approach you directly with an unsolicited offer of compensation for ankle ligament tear claims.
These offers are usually designed to be attractive, but are frequently less than the compensation you would expect to receive if your claim for an ankle ligament injury was pursued to its natural conclusion.
If the incentive of a quick settlement tempts you to consider accepting the insurance company´s offer, it is still worth your while to refer the offer of compensation for an ankle ligament tear to your lawyer.
Should short-term finances be an issue, your lawyer may be able to apply for interim payments of compensation for an ankle injury until such time as your claim is resolved for a fair and accurate settlement.
Time Restrictions to a Claim for an Ankle Ligament Injury
Under the Limitation Act 1980, you have a time limit of three years from the date on which you are diagnosed with an injury in which to make a claim for ankle injury. This ‘Date of Knowledge’ in many cases will be the date on which you suffered your injury, and it is always in your best interests to seek prompt medical attention for ankle ligament tear claims.
However, there are times when injuries do not always manifest immediately – especially psychological injuries – and it may be the case the Statute of Limitations will not apply to your claim for an ankle ligament injury for weeks or even months after the injury occurred.
Nonetheless, it recommended that you seek professional legal advice about how your compensation for an ankle injury might be affected by the Statute of Limitations in order that you do not lose your right to compensation for an ankle ligament tear injury due to being time-barred.