Finger Or Hand Trapped In A Door Injury Claims Guide

By Danielle Graves. Last Updated 29th June 2023. Welcome to our guide, which covers finger trapped in a door injury claims. Now, the human hand is an incredible thing, a dextrous, flexible framework of 27 bones that is surprisingly resilient.

Finger trapped in a door injury claims

Hand trapped in door injury claim

However, bend a finger a little too far the wrong way, or put a little too much pressure on the wrist joint, and these fragile bones can dislocate or fracture. Getting a hand trapped in a door can lead to injuries which, in some cases, could be quite severe. This guide will explain how to make a personal injury claim if your injuries were caused by an accident that was not your fault.

As long as you are within the personal injury claims time limit, which our team can advise you on, this guide should be of use to you. Our team can also answer any questions you have about your own claim or the process of claiming in general if you give them a call on 0161 696 9685.

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A Guide To Finger Or Hand Trapped In A Door Injury Claims

If you have suffered an injury after getting a hand caught in a door, and the accident was not your fault, then a personal injury lawyer could be able to process a personal injury claim for you. This guide aims to educate you about why you could be eligible to make such a claim and how to go about starting one.

We begin this guide with a look at what this kind of injuries are and why you could be eligible to make a claim for them in certain circumstances. Then, we move on to look at the kinds of injuries that can be caused by getting a hand stuck in a door, as well as the symptoms manifested by them. You will find sections that deal with specific kinds of accidents. This includes getting a hand stuck in a shop door or a door at work.

The last part of this guide relates to the claim process itself. We offer some advice on the steps you can take if you believe you have a valid claim after getting your hand stuck in a door. You will find a table that shows possible compensation ranges for different kinds of hand injuries. This table is based on the judicial guidelines used by the courts in England.

We have also listed some of the more common kinds of damages that a claimant might receive if their claim is successful. Finally, we provide some details about No Win No Fee claims and try to show how for some people, such as fee agreement can be a good way to get the legal help they need without exposing themselves to excessive financial risk.

You may have questions about the contents of this guide or the specifics of your own claim. If so, please speak to one of our advisors. They can provide you with any information that you need and also explain to you how a personal injury solicitor can process finger trapped in a door injury claims for you.

What Are Finger Or Hand Trapped In A Door Injuries?

There are many ways you can get a hand trapped in a door or even just a finger trapped in a door. We will cover some of the ways that these kinds of accidents can happen in the next section. However, in relation to claiming any injuries to your hand that you may have suffered, two key facts need to be true about your own circumstances, and these are:

  1. You must have suffered some physical or psychological harm. Simply getting your hand caught in a door is not in itself a valid cause for a claim. You must have been injured by the incident. It is important to note that a psychological condition such as post-traumatic stress disorder could be valid grounds for making a claim when no physical injury is present.
  2. A third-party must be at least partially to blame for the accident that resulted in your hand getting trapped. Even if you contributed to the accident in some way, you could still be able to claim against any other liable third party that was involved in the incident.

If you would like to know more about the concept of eligibility to claim and to find out if you could have a valid claim yourself, please speak to one of our advisers. Once they know enough about your circumstances, they can let you know.

Types Of Crush Injuries Affecting The Hands And Fingers

If you trap your hand in a door, several different kinds of injuries could be caused, depending on the kind of trauma your hand is subjected to. These injuries can be broadly split into five general types, which are:

  • Cuts and lacerations – generally caused by the hand being cut by the door or by trauma to the skin when a person applies force to free their hand from a door.
  • Dislocations and fractures – these can be caused by the initial trauma of the hand being crushed or by applying pressure to pull a trapped hand out of a door.
  • Soft tissue injuries – such as sprains and strains, these would be more common in accidents where the victim’s hand was subjected to a force of movement in a direction the hand or wrist is not intended to make.
  • Amputation – this could be complete amputation of a hand or the loss of part of the hand or one or more fingers.
  • Infections – these would generally result from not having other kinds of injuries such as cuts and lacerations treated properly.

If you were to suffer these kinds of injuries due to the actions of a third party, and you can prove that the third party was responsible, then you could be in a position to make hand trapped in a door injury claims. Please speak to our team to learn more.

Causes Of Hands Or Fingers Be Trapped In A Door

There are many ways that you can get a hand crushed in a door or even suffer less serious injuries, such as a finger crushed in a door. Some examples of accidents that could cause such injuries could be:

  • Getting a hand trapped in the door of a lift due to the lift malfunctioning and closing too early, or the lift not detecting an obstacle blocking it from closing further.
  • Car doors are common culprits in such accidents. The wind can cause a car door to slam shut on a person’s hand. Or a driver might close a passenger door, not noticing that one of the passengers still has a hand outside the door. For example, a child’s hand slammed in a car door by the driver checking that doors are secured before driving off.
  • Accidents at work, where an employee closes a door behind them without realising one of their colleagues is about to use the same door. The door could close on the hand of the person about to step through it.

These are good examples of how a person can have their hand shut in a door in a way that was not their fault. If a third party was to blame in some way, then finger trapped in a door injury claims could be possible. If you speak to our team, they will let you know whether they think you are eligible to claim or not.

Symptoms Of Crushed Finger Or Hand Injuries

As we can see from the previous section, several different kinds of injuries getting a hand trapped in a door can cause. Each of these will manifest its own symptoms, and some have overlapping symptoms. These could be:

  • Cuts and lacerations (such as a fingertip injury where the tip is cut off):
    • Pain and tenderness.
    • Blood loss.
    • Difficulty moving the injured hand or finger.
    • General weakness of the hand or finger.
  • Fractures and dislocations (such as a finger fracture or a fractured thumb):
    • General tenderness.
    • Deformity of the hand or finger.
    • Swelling and bruising.
    • Numbness or tingling.
  • Soft tissue injuries (such as sprains and strains):
    • General tenderness.
    • Deformity of the hand or finger.
    • Swelling and bruising.
    • Numbness or tingling.
  • Amputation (of part of the hand or one of more fingers caused by accident, such as a smashed finger):
    • Blood loss.
    • Visibly missing fingers or part of the hand.
    • Deformity of the hand or finger.

As you can see, some symptoms overlap across two or more injuries. Therefore, you must receive proper medical treatment even if you believe your injury is only minor. This is also important about making a claim, you will need to prove how bad your injuries were, and a medical report made at the time you received treatment could be valuable evidence.

Steps To Take If Your Fingers Were Crushed In A Door

If you have suffered an injury such as a thumb fracture due to getting your hand stuck in a door, then there are several steps you can take to both ensure you get the help you need when you need it and also to prepare for making a claim. For example:

Visit the hospital, even if you think your injuries are only minor in nature. This ensures you get the treatment you need and leaves a record of your injuries and how they were caused.

  • Take photographs of the accident scene and the cause if you can, so these can be submitted in evidence to support your claim.
  • Report the accident to the relevant party, such as filling in the accident book at work or following the accident reporting procedure at a shop.
  • If anyone saw you get your hand trapped in a door, gather their contact details so they can be approached to act as witnesses if needed.
  • Begin to make a record of any financial loss, and be sure to keep receipts, bills and invoices that relate to expenses encountered due to your injury.

Taking steps such as these will help prepare to make a claim using a lawyer at a later stage. For more advice related to collecting evidence for hand trapped in a door injury claims, please speak to our team.

Someone Shut My Finger In The Door – How Long Do I Have To Claim?

If you are eligible to make a claim, after slamming your finger in a door, for the injury you have suffered, you must start the process within the relevant time limit as set by the Limitation Act 1980. This is typically three years from the date of the accident that caused your injuries for personal injury claims.

However, there are certain time limit exceptions. These include:

  • Those who lack the mental capacity to bring forward a claim themselves. These parties will have an indefinite time limit suspension applied to the limitation period. During this suspension, a court-appointed litigation friend can make a claim on the injured party’s behalf. Should the injured party regain the capacity to claim, they will have three years from the date of recovery to start the process if a litigation friend did not act for them.
  • Those under the age of 18. These parties will have a pause applied to the time limit, which lasts until their 18th birthday. Prior to this, a litigation friend can bring forward their claim. If the injured party turns 18 without a claim being made for them, they will have three years from that date to start the process.

Contact our advisors today if you have any questions, such as ‘Someone shut my finger in a door, could I be eligible to make a claim?’ They inform you whether you have a valid claim and are within the relevant time limit.

Finger Or Hand Trapped In A Door Injury Claims Calculator

You could try to use a personal injury claims calculator to get a rough estimate of the amount of compensation you could claim. You can also check the table below. It is based on the judicial guidelines used by the legal system in England to value claims. It shows possible compensation ranges for different hand injuries.

Type of Injury?How Severe?CompensationInformation
Injured handAmputation£96,160 to £109,650In this category, it could be the loss of one or both hands.
Injured handSerious£29,000 to £61,910In this category would be injuries that reduce the capabilities of the hand in the region of 50%. Such as the loss of one or more fingers, or fingers that have been reattached but function less than perfectly. The hand could be clawed or clubbed, and the grip could be affected and weakened due to disfigurement of the hand.
Injured handLess serious£14,450 to £29,000In this category would be severe injuries caused by crush damage, that would result in some measurable and significant loss of function of the hand, even after corrective surgery.
Injured handModerate£5,720 to £13,280In this category would be deep penetrating wounds, all kinds of crush damage, as well as tissue damage such as cuts, lacerations and burns. It would also include injuries that were worse, but have been partially treated using surgery. At the lower end of the scale, would be injuries with long-term symptoms that are not intrusive.
Finger injuriesSevereUp to £36,740The claimant has suffered severe finger fractures which could result in partial amputations, deformity and impairments.
Finger injuriesTotal or partial loss£12,170 to £18,740The claimant has suffered either the total or partial loss of their index finger. The bracket also considers disfigurement and impairments to the index finger.
Finger injuriesSerious£10,320 to £16,340This bracket covers serious injuries to either the ring or middle fingers. The award considers deformity, impairments and amputations.
Finger injuriesLoss£3,950 to £7,870This bracket covers the loss of the terminal phalanx of the middle or ring fingers.

For a more accurate estimate of the level of compensation you might receive for your finger trapped in a door injury claims, please speak to our team today.

Trapped Finger Injury Claims – Other Compensation Examples

The compensation you can see in the table above is known as general damages. It is the amount rewarded in claims for a finger injury for pain and suffering.

If your finger injury affected you financially, you could also be able to seek special damages. This could apply to your claim if you suffered monetary losses such as:

  • Care costs
  • Treatment costs
  • Lost income
  • Travel expenses

You will need evidence and financial records that can support your claim – whether receipts, payslips or medical reports.

Please reach out to a member of our team for more information about making a claim for being injured because someone slammed your finger in a car door.

Special Damages In Crushed Or Smashed Finger Claims

If you were to make a claim for a fractured finger or any other injury caused by getting a hand stuck in a door or if you shut your finger in a car door, then if your claim is a success, you will be awarded several different kinds of damages. For example:

  • Special damages (paid to compensate the claimant for financial and ad-hoc losses):
    • Lowered work prospects.
    • Lost income.
    • Private medical fees.
    • Care costs.
    • Out of pocket expenses.
  • General damages (paid to compensate for all kinds of physical and psychological harm):
    • Loss of life quality.
    • Permanent disability.
    • Traumatic treatment.
    • Psychological damage.
    • General pain and suffering.
    • Shock and stress.

For a more accurate idea of the kinds of damages you could claim, please call our team and speak to an adviser to find out.

No Win No Fee Finger Or Hand Trapped In A Door Injury Claims

Starting a claim for injuries caused by a trapped finger can seem complex, but a solicitor from our panel may be able to help, provided you have valid grounds to seek personal injury compensation. Our panel of solicitors offer their legal services on a No Win No Fee basis, which means that they can offer you a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA). As such, you can access their work without paying any upfront fees.

If you were to make a successful claim for injuries caused by your finger becoming trapped in a door, then your solicitor would take a small percentage of your compensation as their success fee. However, this percentage is capped by legislation, ensuring that you keep the majority of what you receive. If your claim fails, then you do not pay your solicitor for their services.

Contact our team of advisors today if you have suffered a hand or finger injury. They can evaluate your claim, and help you identify whether or not you are eligible for compensation. If they find your claim to be valid, they may put you in contact with a solicitor from our panel.

Start Your Claim Today

Have you hurt your hand or suffered a finger injury such as a broken finger or a broken thumb due to getting a hand stuck in a door? Do you think somebody else was to blame for this happening? If so, please contact our team on 0161 696 9685 to find out if you can claim.

More Resources

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Finger Trapped In A Door Injury Claims FAQs

What should I do if I trap my finger in a door?

The immediate first step is to treat the injury. That means placing the finger within ice and elevating it sufficiently to minimise pain or swelling. After the finger starts to recover, it is then time to consider claiming compensation.

Could I claim for trigger finger?

Workers compensation benefits are available if you can prove that trigger finger stems from repeated tasks at work. This is the case even if a doctor tells you that trigger finger is simply a sign of the body ageing. Because usually trigger finger is the result of continuous stress to the joint.

What happens if I don’t drain the blood under my fingernail after trapping it in a door?

This is not a major issue to worry about. That’s because it could open the door to further infections if you try to do so. Instead, allow a doctor to take care of this if you have blood seeping out from under your fingernail.

What happens if I don’t treat a trigger finger?

In the short-term, you won’t notice much because it becomes an annoyance rather than a debilitating injury. However, it could end up being locked in an unwanted position if it isn’t treated sufficiently. This could make something as simple as straightening the finger very tricky.

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