Shoulder Injury Claims - How Much Compensation Can I Claim?

By Danielle Graves. Last updated 28th April 2023. Welcome to our shoulder injury compensation claims guide. Shoulder injuries can leave you with reduced movement, pain and discomfort as well as impacting on your ability to work and enjoy quality time. In some cases, a shoulder injury will clear up by itself after a few weeks of rest, in other cases, a shoulder injury could be permanent. If someone else has caused you to suffer the shoulder injury through their negligence then they could be liable for paying you shoulder injury compensation.

We can help you make a shoulder injury accident claim to seek compensation. To show you how we have put together this guide which tells you all the basics about how and when you could claim compensation for shoulder injuries. If the information in this guide is not enough for you and you want to know more, or if you already want to begin a shoulder injury compensation claim, then use the contact details listed at the bottom of the page to get in touch.

Jump To A Section

A Guide To Injured Shoulder Accident Claims
What Is A Shoulder Injury Or Accident?
What Is The Time Limit For Shoulder Injury Claims?
Ways You Could Suffer A Shoulder Injury
Diagnosing And Assessing Shoulder Injuries
Dealing With An Injured Shoulder
Injured Shoulders Caused By Slip And Fall Accidents
Injured Shoulder Public Place Accidents
Injured Shoulder Road Traffic Accidents
Injured Shoulder Accidents At Work
Establishing Liability For Your Injured Shoulder Accident
Examples Of Special Damages Victims Of Shoulder Injuries Could Claim
Injured Shoulder Accident Claims Calculator
No Win No Fee Injured Shoulder Accident Claims
Why Choose To Claim Through Legal Helpline?
Talk To Legal Helpline Today
References And Resources

A Guide To Injured Shoulder Accident Claims

Shoulder injury compensation claims

We have put together this shoulder injury compensation claims guide to help you to understand more about how you could claim compensation for suffering an injury to your shoulder. We will cover the basics of what shoulder injuries are, what symptoms they cause, and how a shoulder injury may be diagnosed and treated. Also, we will explore some of the different circumstances in which shoulder injuries could potentially occur in such a manner as to entitle you to compensation.

Don’t worry if the circumstances in which you suffered your injury don’t come up; we are only using the circumstances in this article as examples. Then we will explain how you could find out how much compensation you could be eligible to receive for your injury and, very importantly, how you can claim it. At the very bottom of this guide, you will find the contact details for reaching our team as well as handy links to other resources.

What Is A Shoulder Injury Or Accident?

Shoulder injuries can cause a person to temporarily suffer pain and discomfort when moving their arms before the injury heals on its own, or it can be a serious injury, requiring surgery to fix and/or leaving the victim with a permanent disability in their arm. Shoulder injuries can be caused by a variety of different types of accidents, including slips, trips and falls, road traffic accidents and workplace injuries.

What Is The Time Limit For Shoulder Injury Claims?

You typically must start your personal injury claim for broken shoulder compensation within three years of the date of the accident. This is set by the Limitation Act 1980.

However, in certain circumstances, there are exceptions to the time limits. These include when a claim is being made on behalf of:

Those who lack the mental capacity to start a claim. For these injured parties, the limitation period is suspended indefinitely. During this time, a litigation friend could start the claiming process on their behalf. However, if the injured party regains this capacity, they will have three years from that date to start a claim if this has not already been done for them.
Those under the age of 18. The time limit is paused until their 18^th Once they turn 18, they will have three years to start a claim. However, at any time before this point, a litigation friend could start one on their behalf.

Later in our guide we are going to look at the potential shoulder injury claim value. Alternatively, you can contact our advisors for free advice on shoulder injury claims.

Ways You Could Suffer A Shoulder Injury

Various different forms of impact and strain can cause a variety of different injuries to the shoulder.

Instability of the shoulder occurs when the ligaments holding the bones in the shoulder joint are overstretched and become damaged. Damage can be caused by repeated strain or the force of an impact. Shoulder instability can vary depending on exactly what part of the shoulder is affected and how great the force impacting it was. It can range from a minor sprain causing reduced mobility and a little pain, to dislocation of the shoulder.
Rotator cuff tears are caused when the tendons attached to the muscles in the upper arm get stretched and/or torn. This can happen when they are used repeatedly with force or are subjected to sudden very heavy pressure. These injuries can happen while playing sports or while doing manual labour. They can happen to people of all ages but older people can be especially vulnerable to them. Rotator cuff tears can cause swelling, pain and difficulty moving your arm.

Diagnosing And Assessing Shoulder Injuries

If you are experiencing weakness in your arm, pain and limited movement in the area, you may have sustained an injury that needs medical attention. This may be apparent upon injury, if severe pain, bleeding, swelling or other such symptoms appear.

Some shoulder injuries can be minor but painful. Sometimes, they can heal by themselves, so long as they aren’t aggravated any further. Following the advice in this NHS guide, resting, elevating the area and very gently exercising it could help, accompanied by pain medication. If the injury has cleared up after two weeks, it may be minor enough not to worry about. NHS advise that if pain, discomfort and inability to move your arm continues, see a GP.

Your GP may be able to assess and diagnose the issue with your arm upon examination, or they may arrange for you to receive an X-ray, a CT scan or an MRI scan.

Dealing With An Injured Shoulder

Some shoulder injuries can heal by themselves, and the only treatment required to assist this recovery will be things you can do by yourself at home. Other shoulder injuries may require various different types of surgery or treatment. It’s important to seek medical attention as soon as possible to treat your injury. In addition, this can help evidence shoulder injury compensation claims, using medical records to show the suffering caused and corroborate your story of events.

If the shoulder injury is fairly minor, then even simple things like putting ice on it can help. NHS advise reduce the amount of activity you do with your arm, refrain from sports and heavy lifting, but do not stop lifting the arm altogether. Gently exercising the arm will help it to recover, not using it at all may exacerbate the problem. The shoulder may heal by itself but it may be painful in the meantime, painkiller medication can help.

In cases with more significant injuries to the shoulder, you may be prescribed steroid injections to assist your bodies healing process. Sometimes, in order to assist the recovery surgery may be required. One form that is used is a type of keyhole surgical procedure known as subacromial decompression. This is a procedure designed to open up a little space between the tendons and muscles and any surrounding tissue to prevent the damaged tendons from catching or rubbing on anything which could cause the healing process to be delayed. This is a very minor surgery performed under general anaesthetic and most patients will be able to return home the day after surgery. If such surgery is performed it will hopefully have your arm back to normal after a few weeks.

Injured Shoulders Caused By Slip And Fall Accidents

Falling and landing on your shoulder can cause a shoulder injury. This can be caused by either landing directly on your shoulder when you fall, or by landing on your arm which you outstretched in an attempt to break your fall. If you suffered a slip, trip or fall on the premises of a business or a public building then there is a possibility that you could be entitled to make a claim for compensation. This is because business owners and local authorities have a responsibility to ensure that their properties do not present a risk of avoidable slips, trips and falls to guests and staff. This means they are obliged to maintain paths and floors, replacing broken or ripped flooring and clearing away slippery ice with grit. The indoors of the premises must be kept clear of rubbish and other tripping hazards. Wet floors should be marked off with a wet floor sign wherever it is not possible to immediately resolve the issue. The liability of third parties for injuries in slips, trips and falls is explained in further detail in this guide here.

If you’ve injured your shoulder by tripping or slipping and falling over somewhere in a public place and you believe that it was the fault of the property owner or operator for not dealing with the issue beforehand, then you may be eligible to file for compensation. Call us up or fill out an inquiry form to find out if you have grounds to make a claim. You may also find this guide to be helpful.

Injured Shoulder Public Place Accidents

If you suffer a shoulder injury in a public place, you could be entitled to make shoulder injury compensation claims if there is proof that a third-party responsible for that public place failed to ensure your safety by breaching their duty of care. A common example of how this could happen would be through slips trips and falls as described in the previous section, but there are other ways as well. For example, if you got a shoulder injury from faulty or mislabelled gym and sporting equipment or from an injury caused by faulty furnishings in a public place or suffered a shoulder injury while using public transport. If you have recently suffered some kind of injury and you suspect that the owners or operators of the premises where the injury took place breached their duty of care to you in some way, then call us to find out if we could help you make a claim for compensation.

Injured Shoulder Road Traffic Accidents

Shoulder injuries, such as strain and sprain injuries or a broken clavicle can occur in road traffic accidents. The sudden jolt of impacting another vehicle while being held down by a seatbelt would be easy enough to sprain your shoulder along with inflicting other sprain style injuries such as whiplash. The impact of being hit by a car and tossed through the air and landing on the ground if you are a pedestrian could also easily fracture the bones in your shoulder.

If an accident was not your fault then you can claim compensation from the driver who was responsible if you can prove that they were driving negligently in some manner, i.e. if they were using their phone while driving or driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs. If the responsible driver cannot be traced then the case may be referred to the Motor Insurance Bureau. If the accident was caused by the unsafe state of the road, for instance if it was covered in potholes or ice, then you may be able to claim compensation from the authority responsible for the upkeep of the roads.

To find out more about claiming compensation for a road traffic accident, call our advice team and read this guide.

Injured Shoulder Accidents At Work

In the workplace, your employer has a duty of care to ensure your safety as much as reasonably possible. That means your employer could be liable for you suffering a shoulder injury if they are found not to have taken the necessary steps to avoid you being harmed. This could mean things like;

Not providing you with training in safe methods of lifting and handling when your job involves it.
Not providing you with regular rests and breaks when working in manual handling.
Making you work in manual handling when you have complained of shoulder or back problems.
Not using equipment for handling and moving goods wherever practicable.
Not ensuring that all machinery and equipment used by staff is fully serviced and safe to use.
Not ensuring staff are trained in the correct and safe use of machinery and equipment in the workplace.

If you have suffered an injury to your shoulder and you feel that your employer could be liable for your suffering, then call us to discuss your situation and find out if you could have grounds to make shoulder injury compensation claims for yourself.

Establishing Liability For Your Injured Shoulder Accident

The third-party responsible for a person’s health and safety may be found liable if that person suffers an accident as a result of that party’s negligence. If it can be proven that the third party breached their duties of care, the third party may be liable to pay compensation for any suffering.

In personal injury claim cases liability is decided based on whether or not the party had a duty of care to the well-being of the claimant, whether that duty of care was breached, and whether the victim’s injury or health problems can be linked to the breach of the duty of care.

In other types of compensation claims where compensation can’t be sought from the responsible party, a government agency may be responsible for providing compensation. This could be the case in criminal injury claims, which are made to the Criminal Injury Compensation Authority. In the case of road traffic accident claims where the responsible person cannot be identified (i.e. in a hit and run case), the case could be sent to the Motor Insurance Bureau.

Although it is technically possible for a claimant to represent themselves when making a compensation claim, we advise against it. The legal system is complicated, as is the process of proving liability. Working with a qualified solicitor, not just for representation during the case, but in receiving consultation before starting a case, can make a big difference to your chances of success.

Examples Of Special Damages Victims Of Shoulder Injuries Could Claim

The point of being awarded compensation is to make right the damage that has been caused by the injury. In cases where you have suffered serious physical and emotional harm, this may be difficult.

So long as you can present the receipts, tickets, contracts and other forms of paperwork to back it up you could claim for things like:

Travel expenses related to the injury
Medication expenses
Care expenses

In addition to financial outgoings related to the injury, you may also have lost income from taking time off work, or even from having to move into a lower-paid profession or from having to stop working altogether due to the effects of the injury. You could be entitled to receive compensation for the loss of earnings as part of your compensation claim. If you have had to stop working altogether because of the injury, then the amount you could be entitled to could be the equivalent of your annual wage or salary every year until you reach the national retirement age. To see how much shoulder injury claims could yield, please see the next section.

Injured Shoulder Accident Claims Calculator

You may be wondering “how much compensation will I get for a shoulder injury?” The table below contains the numbers laid down by the Judicial College Guidelines that seek to ascribe an approximate financial value to the nature of the injuries suffered by a claimant. They take into account the degree of pain and suffering, the impact on mental health and the degree of lasting impact on the claimant’s quality of life. The more grievous the injury, and the more severe its effects the higher the level of compensation value will be.

In the worst cases, in which the victim has died of fatal injuries, their family members can claim compensation on their behalf for the degree of pain they suffered before death. These figures are only an approximation of the value of the injury itself; they do not include the value of the special damages discussed in the previous section. Please call us if you would like to know more about what amount you could be entitled to.

Injury	Notes	Compensation
Loss of one arm	Arm amputated at shoulder	Not less than £128,710
Severe shoulder injuries	Serious brachial plexus injuries, often involving serious injuries to the neck. Results in serious disability	£18,020 - £45,070
Serious shoulder injuries	Dislocation of the shoulder and damage to lower brachial plexus. Causes pain in neck and arm, loss of sensation and grip strength. Cases of rotatory cuff injury which retain symptoms after surgery fall within this bracket as well.	£11,980 - £18,020
Moderate shoulder injuries	Cases of frozen shoulder with pain and stiffness symptoms remaining for up to two years. Alternatively cases of soft tissue injuries which retain minor symptoms for longer than two years.	£7,410 - £11,980
Minor soft tissue shoulder injury (i)	Soft tissue injury that heals in less than two years	£4,080 - £7,410
Minor soft tissue shoulder injury (ii)	Soft tissue injuries that heal within a year	£2,300 - £4,080
Minor shoulder soft tissue injury (iii)	Soft tissue injury that heals within three months	Up to £2,300
Fracture of clavicle	Broken clavicle. Exact amount depends on the degree of lasting symptoms and whether or not there is a full fusion.	£4,380 - £11,490

No Win No Fee Injured Shoulder Accident Claims

With a no win no fee claim it’s quite simple; if you win the case, your solicitor will subtract a pre-arranged amount from the compensation you are awarded as a “success fee” for their services. If you don’t win, you won’t be asked to pay your solicitor.

Why Choose To Claim Through Legal Helpline?

We recommend you work with us at Legal Helpline, as our panel of personal injury solicitors has much experience working with personal injury claims. You can make shoulder injury compensation claims on a no win no fee basis with our panel of experienced personal injury solicitors. For a free consultation, please free-phone our specialist advisors today.

Talk To Legal Helpline Today

There are two ways that you can get in contact with us to make a claim; one would be to call us directly on 0161 696 9685 or to fill out an online enquiry form.

Shoulder Injury Compensation Claims FAQs

At this point in our guide, we’ll look at some common queries.

How much compensation will I get for shoulder injury?

It’s hard to say how much compensation you could get for a shoulder injury without looking at the unique circumstances of your case. As each claim is valued according to the damage suffered by the claimant, you could benefit from a consultation with our specialist team to see how much you could be entitled to.

What is a good settlement offer?

Some example compensation brackets by the Judicial College Guidelines are provided earlier in this guide. Alternatively, call us for a free consultation today.