It’s quite common for an accident at work to happen. In some case, they’re nobody’s fault and “just one of those things”. However, if you’re injured in an accident at work which was caused by your employer’s negligence, then you could be entitled to compensation for your injuries. In this guide, we’re going to look at when you could make a claim for a broken tailbone. We’ll look at the types of accident that could lead to such an injury, what you should following an accident and we’ll also provide a personal injury compensation calculator so you can see how much compensation you could be entitled to.
Here at Legal Helpline, we believe it’s only right that you should consider claiming if you’ve been hurt through no fault of your own. Therefore, our advisors offer free legal claims advice. Also, they’ll assess your claim on a no obligation basis. If they believe you’ve got a strong enough case, then you could be introduced to one of our panel of solicitors (who’ll work on a no win no fee basis).
If you’d like to act straight away to begin your claim, please call 0161 696 9685 today. Alternatively, to find out more about how a fractured tailbone might occur and when you could make a claim, please carry on reading.
Jump To A Section
- Broken Tailbone Accidents In The Workplace
- Anatomy Of The Coccyx / Tailbone
- Types Of Accidents In The Workplace Occurring In The UK
- Possible Causes Of Coccyx / Tailbone Fractures
- Case Study: £20,000 Broken Tailbone / Coccyx Compensation
- Broken Tailbone/ Coccyx Compensation Calculator
- No Win No Fee Broken Tailbone / Coccyx Compensation Claims
- How You Could Claim A Payout For Your Broken Tailbone
- Talking To The Team At Legal Helpline
- Related Claims Guides
Broken Tailbone Accidents In The Workplace
Broken tailbone injury
According to this NHS article, tailbone injuries can be caused by any sort of hard impact to the base of the spine. A collision and falling backwards are common reasons for the injury to occur. Some cases lead to bruising of the coccyx whereas, in more serious cases, a fracture or broken tailbone can be the outcome of an accident.
The main symptoms of a broken tailbone you’ll notice with any tailbone injury include:
- A dull ache in the tailbone area nearly all of the time.
- Occasional sharp coccyx bone pain.
- Difficulty with tasks like driving or bending over.
- It can be worse when sitting, standing for long periods and using the loo.
According to the NHS, you should think about visiting your GP if the pain doesn’t go away after a couple of weeks or when over the counter painkillers don’t stop the pain.
If the doctor does need to treat you, they may offer anti-inflammatory drugs to reduce any swelling. Other treatments that could be offered include stronger painkillers, physiotherapy and steroid injections. If everything else fails, the last option might be broken tailbone surgery. This is known as either a full or partial coccygectomy where some or all of the tailbone is removed.
The time taken to recover from a coccygectomy is up to a year.
Anatomy Of The Coccyx / Tailbone
Depending on your development, the coccyx is made up of 3 to 5 different bones. It forms a triangular set of bones at the bottom of the spine (below the sacrum). It gets its name, tailbone, from the fact it looks like the remnants of a tail.
The coccyx can make slight movements forwards or backwards with the pelvis, legs and hips. Although the tailbone is thought to be no longer necessary, it does provide a support function when you’re sat down.
Types Of Accidents In The Workplace Occuring In The UK
In the next section we’ll take a look at the different types of accident which could lead to a fractured tailbone. Before we do so, here are some of the most commonly reported accidents at work according to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE):
- 29% – Slips, trips and falls (not from height but on the same level).
- 20% – Accidents caused by lifting, carrying or manual handling.
- 10% – Struck by an object.
- 8% – Falling from height (this could include ladders or scaffolding).
- 8% – Violent acts.
These figures were produced by the HSE and cover the period 2018/19.
Possible Causes Of Coccyx / Tailbone Fractures
Now we’re going to look specifically at accidents and scenarios which could lead to a broken tailbone.
- Manual handling accidents.
It’s quite conceivable that if you use the wrong lifting technique and become unbalanced, you could fall backwards and break your tailbone. If this was caused because you’d not been trained properly on manual handling, a claim may be possible. - Trips and falls.
Another example where you might suffer the same injury is if you were caused to fall because of negligence. For instance, if you slipped on an icy pathway that hadn’t been gritted properly or on a floor that was being cleaned but there were no warning signs to advise you of the danger. - Blunt Force Trauma.
Any form of impact to the tailbone which doesn’t pierce the skin is known as blunt force trauma. There are many scenarios in a working environment where this could be the case. It could be caused by fault equipment, a vehicle collision or even a collision between colleagues. - Repetitive strain injury (RSI).
According to the NHS, you could suffer damage to the coccyx if your work requires you to continually lean forwards then backwards. If you’ve reported your injuries or concerns to your employer but they failed to take any action to help prevent RSI, then you might be entitled to claim.
Case Study: £20,000 Broken Tailbone / Coccyx Compensation
Now, were going to look at an illustrative case study of where an accident at work led to a broken tailbone. The victim, who we’ll call Mr Johnson, broke his tailbone and was awarded £20,000 as compensation. This settlement was made up of compensation for the injury itself and for additional factors such as loss of earnings.
The accident occurred when he was carrying equipment from one office to another. Whilst walking along the corridor, he tripped on a cable that was trailed between two office doors. After being taken to hospital, it was determined by X-ray that there was a small fracture of the tailbone as well as extensive bruising to his lower back.
The treatment offered for Mr Johnson’s injuries started with physiotherapy and pain relief. Eventually, though, he had to undergo surgery to have part of the tailbone removed.
After an investigation by his employer, they admitted liability for the accident taking place. Mr Johnson received compensation for his fractured tailbone, lost income due to time off work and a further payment was made to cover the amount of time his wife had to care for him for. In total, £20,000 was awarded.
Broken Tailbone/ Coccyx Compensation Calculator
Having read the case study above, we’ve decided to provide you with a broken tailbone compensation calculator table. It shows different compensation amounts paid for a broken tailbone and similar injuries. Remember, these amounts are just one part of the claim. In the case study, the victim also receive compensation for lost income amongst other things.
| Type of Injury | Severity | Typical Compensation Range | Details |
|---|---|---|---|
| Back | Severe | £36,390 to £65,440 | Fractures of discs in the back or disc lesions that cause disabilities even after surgery. |
| Back | Moderate | £26,050 to £36,390 | Compression or crush fractures of the lumbar veterbrae causing substantial risk of oesteoarthritis, constant pain and discomfort is one example in this range. |
| Back | Minor | £7,410 to £11,730 | Injuries that take 2 to 5 years to full recover from without requiring surgery. |
| Back | Minor | £2,300 to £7,410 | Injuries that take between 3 months to 2 years to full recover from without requiring surgery. |
| Pelvis / Hips | Severe | £36,770 to £49,270 | Injuries in this range include the fracture of an athritic femur leading to hip replacement of a fracture of the acetabulum. |
| Pelvis / Hips | Moderate | £11,820 to £24,950 | Cases of injuries which lead to the requirement for hip replacement. |
| Pelvis / Hips | Minor | Up to £3,710 | Minor soft tissue injuries of the hips or pelvis with complete recovery. |
It’s important to be able to demonstrate the exact nature of your injuries to try and ensure the right level of compensation is paid. Therefore, our panel of solicitors always make sure you’re assessed by an independent doctor. They’re report can be used to demonstrate what injury you suffered, the impact on you and any future problems it may cause.
No Win No Fee Broken Tailbone / Coccyx Compensation Claims
We know that the biggest barrier to making a claim for a broken tailbone is the cost of hiring a legal team. That’s why our panel of solicitors offer to work on a no win no fee basis for any claim they take on. They do so because they believe it allows more people to claim. With the financial risk of claiming lowered by a no win no fee service, the stress of claiming is also reduced.
So, when you’re happy to proceed, and your solicitor agrees to handle the claim, they’ll provide you with a conditional fee agreement (CFA). The CFA contains two important pieces of information (amongst others), they are:
- The fact that solicitor’s fees are only payable if you receive compensation.
- The ‘success fee’ you’ll pay if the case is won in your favour. This is a percentage of your compensation amount.
When your claim is settled, the success fee is deducted from your compensation and then the solicitor will send the rest directly to you. This means that you don’t actually need the funds available to pay the solicitor’s fees yourself.
How You Could Claim A Payout For Your Broken Tailbone
Before you think about making a claim for a broken tailbone, you should check whether you have time to. The personal injury claims time limit is generally a 3-year period from the date of your accident. The sooner you start your claim, the more chance a solicitor will have of gathering all of the required information.
If you are ready to begin the claim, you’ll need evidence to support it. You’ll need to be able to show what happened, who was to blame and how you suffered. To do this, there are some pieces of evidence you can gather to support your claim. These include:
- Accident report logs from your workplace. These can be used to prove the accident took place and that you were injured.
- Medical records from the doctor who treated you. These can be used to prove the extent of your injuries and what treatment was recommended.
- Photographs of the scene of the accident.
- Witness statements.
- Bank statements or receipts to show any expenses you’ve incurred as a result of your injuries.
Once you contact us with your evidence, we’ll review it with you for free. If we believe your case is solid enough, we could then introduce you to one of our panel of personal injury solicitors. Our panel always try to:
- Work as efficiently as possible so your claim doesn’t drag on unnecessarily.
- Provide all of the evidence required to try and ensure you receive a full compensation payment.
- Keep you updated regularly.
To find out if you’re able to make a claim for a broken tailbone at work, please call an advisor today.
Talking To The Team At Legal Helpline
We hope that you’ve found this guide regarding fractured tailbone claims informative. Also, we hope that you’d like to use Legal Helpline to begin your claim. If so, here are some of the ways in which you can contact us:
- Call our friendly advisors on 0161 696 9685 for a free assessment.
- Chat live with our specialists using the chat app on every page of our site.
- Or, you could ask us to call you by completing this online form.
Whatever route you take to contact us, our advisors will provide you with free legal advice regarding your claim. They’ll also assess your claim and your evidence on a no obligation basis. If they think you’ve got a good chance of being compensated, they could introduce you to one of our panel of no win no fee personal injury lawyers. Please call today to find out if you could claim for your tailbone injury.
Related Claims Guides
Now that you’ve completed this guide to claiming for a broken tailbone here are some of our other guides that you might find useful:
Accident At Work Claims – This guide takes a more in depth look at personal injury claims for workplace accidents. It includes compensation amounts for different injuries.
Car Accident Claims – In this guide you’ll find useful information that could help if you suffered a tailbone injury in a car accident.
Slip, Trip And Fall Accident Claims – A guide which could help you claim for a fracture or break because you were involved in a fall.
Trusted External Resources
Finally, here are some resources from external sources which might help you with you fractured coccyx claim:
Coccydynia Information – A guide from the NHS on different reasons for tailbone pain.
Health And Safety At Work Act 1974 – This is the piece of legislation that can be used when claiming for an accident at work personal injury claim.
Royal Society For The Protection Of Accidents – ROSPA aim to reduce injuries at work by providing workplace safety training.