Tendon Injury At Work Claim

By Olivia Simpson. Last updated 23rd February 2021. Welcome to our guide to making a tendon injury at work claim. There are certain duties of care your employer owes you while you’re in the workplace or conducting your work-related duties elsewhere. One of these duties is to minimise the risk of injury as much as possible. If you suffer a workplace tendon injury you could be entitled to make a compensation claim. Whether it is tendonitis or an injured ligament, our personal injury solicitors could help you claim compensation if your employer caused or contributed to your injury by neglecting workplace health and safety.

This guide has plenty of information that you will need for making a personal injury claim. Throughout this guide, you will find links to more resources, some on our website, some on others, like the NHS.

Below, you can find the contact details of our team of friendly claim advisors who will answer any question you may have. And if you’d like to proceed with a claim, they’ll talk through your circumstances and put you in touch with a specialist solicitor from our panel.

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A Guide To Workplace Tendon Injury Claims
What Is A Tendon Or Ligament?
Major Ligaments And Tendons
What Are Ligament And Tendon Injuries?
Your Employers Duty Of Care
Symptoms Of A Tendon Or Ligament Injury
Types Of Ligament And Tendon Injuries
Tendon Injury Causes
Tendonopathy And Flexor Tendonitis Injuries
Workplace Tennis Elbow Injury Claims
Calculating Compensation For A Workplace Tendon Injury
Special Damages Which May Be Claimed As Part Of Your Settlement
How We Could Help You Claim Compensation
No Win, No Fee Workplace Tendon Injury Claims
Begin Your Tendon Injury Claim
Medical And Claims Resources

A Guide To Workplace Tendon Injury Claims

tendon injury at work claim

This tendon injury at work claim guide is designed to inform you about whether or not to start a personal injury claim. The key information it covers includes:

What tendon and ligament injuries are.
What are the causes of tendon and ligament injuries in the workplace?
What your health and safety rights at work are.
What types of compensation you could be entitled to and how it is calculated.
How No Win, No Fee claims work and how they can benefit you.
How you can benefit from working with our panel of specialist solicitors.

To get a free consultation or to discuss making a personal injury claim with Legal Helpline, please get in touch with us using the contact details at the bottom of this page. Alternatively, for more information on how workplace injury claims work, visit this page.

What Is A Tendon Or Ligament?

Ligaments and tendons are connective fibres in your body. They play a crucial role in holding together and stabilising your muscular-skeletal system. Tendons and ligaments are distinct from each other, however, and play quite different roles. Ligaments are the tissues that hold bones together and help stabilise them. Tendons are located at the end of each muscle. They are responsible for keeping muscles attached to the bones. Without tendons and ligaments, your body would not be able to move, so having a tendon or ligament injury can cause serious mobility issues.

Major Ligaments And Tendons

Every part of your body that moves has tendons in it. They attach muscles to bones, thus allowing your muscles to move your limbs and other body parts. Tendons come in all shapes and sizes. There are even tendons for opening and closing your eyelids. Some of the tendons which allow the body’s most common movements include:

In the arms and shoulders: Teres minor tendons, Infraspinatus tendons, Supraspinatus tendons, Subscapularis tendons, Deltoid tendons, Biceps tendons, Triceps tendons, Brachioradialis tendons, Supinator tendons.
In the hips and legs: Iliopsoas tendons, Obturator internus tendons, Adductor longus, brevis, magnus tendons, Gluteus maximus and gluteus medius tendons.
In the head, neck and torso: Trapezius tendons, Sternocleidomastoid tendons, Semispinalis capitis and splenius capitis tendons, Mylohyoid and thyrohyoid tendons and Sternohyoid tendons.

To learn more about the injuries that can justify a tendon injury at work claim, please get in touch with our team.

What Are Ligament And Tendon Injuries?

Like any other part of the human body, there are limits to the stresses and pressures tendons and ligaments can be put under before they break or get damaged. Being put under sudden strain can cause ligaments and tendons to break, this can occur when a body part, such as the neck, arms, ankles, legs or ankles are suddenly pulled or move suddenly at an awkward angle. It can also be caused by a fall or sudden impact.

When a ligament is torn it is referred to as a sprain, such as a sprained wrist or a sprained ankle. When a tendon is damaged it is known as a strain.

Your Employers Duty Of Care

Your employer owes you a duty of care while you’re in the workplace or conducting work-related tasks elsewhere. That means that they are responsible for your health safety. The law requires that they take all measures at their disposal to identify potential safety hazards and do everything reasonably possible to remove these hazards or mitigate the risk of injury as much as possible. There are many rules and regulations that dictate workplace health and safety, but the most important piece of workplace safety legislation in the UK is the Health And Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, which lays out the principle we have just described.

Employers can not only face charges for breaching their duty of care, but they can also be liable for damages sustained by those affected by their failures. In other words, if you are injured in an accident at work that wasn’t your fault, and which could have been prevented by your employer taking greater safety precautions, you could have the right to sue them for compensation.

To learn more about how to make a tendon injury at work claim, please get in touch with our personal injury advisers.

Symptoms Of A Tendon Or Ligament Injury

When a tendon injury initially occurs you may physically feel the painful sensation of it snapping. In the hours and days that follow you will likely experience continued pain, swelling and bruising. If the injury was in a joint it may feel weak or you may have difficulty moving it. If the injury occurred in one of your legs, particularly if it was in the ankle, you may have difficulty bearing weight on the affected leg or you may develop a limp. You may also experience cramping in the muscles affected. You can read an NHS guide to tendon and ligament injuries here.

In cases of whiplash (tendons and ligaments in the neck being injured), you may experience dizziness, headaches, lightheadedness, nausea, difficulty swallowing, and pain when turning your head. You can read more about whiplash injuries in this NHS guide.

If you experience any of these symptoms you should consult your doctor.

Types Of Ligament And Tendon Injuries

There are many different ligaments and tendons in your body, each performing various roles. As a result, there are numerous possible tendon and ligament injuries. Here are some of them.

Whiplash. This is when the tendons and ligaments and other soft tissues in the neck are damaged by strain. Whiplash usually occurs as a result of the head and neck being suddenly jolted back and forth. Car accidents are a very common cause of whiplash injuries.
Severed tendons. This occurs when a tendon has been entirely broken and severed.
Ruptured or torn tendons. Cases in which a tendon has received damage, but remains intact.
Damaged or severed ligaments.
Tendonitis. This is a type of tendon injury that will be explained in a later section.

Any of these types of injuries could be the justification for a tendon injury at work claim. To discover more, get in touch with our specialist advisers on the number at the top of the page.

Tendon Injury Causes

- Repetitive strain injuries/tendonitis. Some injuries can occur when an employee has to perform the same repetitive task over and over again over a long period of time. Both manual and office workers can be at risk of this as the tasks of working on an assembly line and at a computer can cause repetitive strain injuries (RSI). Employers should ensure workers get regular breaks and rotate tasks, if possible, to prevent these injuries from occurring.
- Constrained posture injuries. Tendons and ligaments can be damaged if the worker adopts a constrained posture (i.e. kneeling, bending over or squatting) for prolonged periods as this can put a strain on tendons and ligaments over time. Employers should ensure that the workspace is set up to ensure that all tasks can be performed in a more comfortable sitting or standing position, if at all possible, in order to prevent this. Employees doing tasks that necessitate constrained postures for prolonged periods should be given regular breaks and rotated tasks to reduce the risk of this kind of injury.
- Manual Handling injuries. Manual handling can cause sudden rupture of tendons, usually when the worker has tried to lift something too heavy or with a bad lifting posture. Employers can reduce the risk of this by ensuring that workers are not tasked or expected to lift something beyond their strength and that all employees tasked with manual handling receive training on safe manual handling techniques. Where possible machinery or lifting equipment should be used.
- Slips, trips and falls can cause people to twist their legs and ankles at awkward angles, leading to sprains and strains. The impact of landing can also rupture tendons. Employers can prevent this by making sure that the workplace is free of slipping and tripping hazards. You can read more about slip, trip and fall claims here.
- Tendon injuries can be caused by repetitive strain, by sudden heavy blows, or by being stretched with greater force than they can withstand. This can happen in many different situations, a very common one being injuries sustained while playing sports like football or rugby. However, this article is referring to tendon or ligament injuries being caused by accidents or health and safety issues at work. There are several ways that you could suffer a ruptured tendon at work.

Tendonopathy And Flexor Tendonitis Injuries

Tendonopathy is the term given to symptoms of pain and tenderness in and around a tendon which can have multiple potential causes, such as:

Inflammation of a tendon as a result of an injury.
Tendinosis – cellular degradation of a tendon causing results similar to a tendon injury.
Pain and tenderness of the tendon which does not have a clear medical cause.

These tendon injuries can be caused by workplace injuries of various kinds. If there is reasonable proof that the injury was caused by the negligence of your employer, you could have grounds to make a tendon injury at work claim.

Workplace Tennis Elbow Injury Claims

Tennis elbow, or to give it its medical name lateral epicondylitis, is a form of repetitive strain injury in the tendons connecting the muscles in your arm and elbow to the elbow joint. It occurs where strain and inflammation develop in these tendons as a result of repetitive, forceful overuse.

One example of the kind of activity which can cause it is playing tennis, hence the name. It can also occur if you are overusing your elbows for certain tasks at work, for example. Your employer is obliged to recognise any risk of their employers developing this kind of injury at work and take the appropriate steps to avoid it.

If you suffer from tennis elbow because your employer did not take the measures which could have prevented it, you could be entitled to make a tendon injury at work claim.

Calculating Compensation For A Workplace Tendon Injury

Compensation is awarded in proportion to the severity of the injury and its impact on your health, social life, work and mental health. Generally, a compensation package will consist of two heads of claim: general damages and special damages. General damages are designed to compensate you for the pain, suffering and loss of amenity inflicted by your injuries. We’ll come onto special damages below.

It’s possible to gain an idea of the value of general damages at this stage thanks to a legal publication known as the Judicial College Guidelines. Used by solicitors and the courts, it details injuries and their potential. It’s important to note, however, that this is just a guide. The value of each case is dependent upon its unique set of facts.

Injury	Notes	Compensation
Moderate back injuries (ii)	Damage to soft tissues in the back which cause pain and exacerbate pre-existing conditions.	£11,730 to £26,050
Serious leg injuries (iii)	Injuries which causes instability, require prolonged treatment, prevent weight bearing and which are likely to cause arthritis to ensue.	£36,790 to £51,460
Modest foot injuries	Ruptured ligaments in the foot, causing limping and pain.	Up to £12,900
Severe neck injuries (iii)	Damage to soft tissues in the neck which cause permanent and chronic pain issues and disabilities.	£52,540
Wrist injuries (d)	Where there is a complete but lengthy recovery from a soft tissue injury.	Rarely exceed £9,620
Wrist injury (f)	Where a recovery takes place in under 12 months	£3,310 to £4,450
Minor shoulder injuries (i)	A Soft tissue injury to the shoulder which heal within two years.	£4,080 to £7,410
Minor shoulder injuries (ii)	Soft tissue injury to the shoulder which heals within one year.	£2,300 to £4,080
Minor shoulder injuries (iii)	Soft tissue injury to the shoulder which heals within three months.	Up to £2,300
Less serious leg injuries (iii)	Where there has either been a full recovery or there are only very minor persisting symptoms.	Up to £11,110

Special Damages Which May Be Claimed As Part Of Your Settlement

As mentioned above, it’s also possible to claim special damages as part of a tendon injury at work claim. There are a number of ways that an injury could cost you financially. Therefore compensation for the injury alone may not be enough to redress the effects of an injury. That is why you could be entitled to claim back the value of your financial losses and expenditures as part of your claim, such as:

Losing income. If you took sick leave because of your injury or taking a lower paid job because your injury prevented you from continuing your old one, you could claim back lost income.
Medical care. If you had to pay for rather than receiving from the NHS, physiotherapy or medication bought from pharmacies can also be counted under medical costs.
Travel expenses. If you have to spend money on public transport to get to the hospital after your injury, or subsequently to hospital appointments, you could claim back the costs as part of your compensation.
Adaptation costs. If an injury has long-term or permanent effects on your mobility then you could be forced to make adaptations to your home or your vehicle. The costs of doing so can be claimed back as compensation.
Cancelled plans. If you have already paid for future plans, such as holidays or concerts that you are no longer able to attend, you could claim back the money you have wasted as part of your compensation.

For these expenses to be paid back, you would have to provide the paperwork from these expenses to substantiate them. This can be anything from an invoice you signed to a bus ticket from the journey to one of your appointments. Anything you cannot provide evidence for cannot be compensated, so keep all the relevant paperwork from your expenses in a safe place.

How We Could Help You Claim Compensation

You can rely on Legal Helpline’s panel of solicitors for expert, professional legal support and advice. Whether that’s through providing you with a free consultation of expert advice or making a No Win, No Fee compensation claim, we want to do everything in our power to give you the best chance possible of winning the full amount of work injury compensation you could be entitled to.

Making a compensation claim requires no small amount of legal know-how and a technical process of gathering information and evidence, such as medical examinations, witness statements about the incident, CCTV footage of the incident or paperwork relating to expenses caused by the injury, to name just a few examples. While you are recovering from the effects of an injury you will not want to have this additional work and stress to contend with. Working with a personal injury lawyer can either make these tasks easier or can relieve you of them altogether. While your personal injury solicitor takes on most of the work of putting a claim together you would still be entitled to receive regular updates on the status of your claim and its progress.

No Win, No Fee Workplace Tendon Injury Claims

We can offer you a potentially less risky way of making a personal injury claim that does not require you to pay upfront costs to your personal injury solicitor. It is called a No Win, No Fee claim. If you decided to make a claim through us, we could put you in touch with a specialist solicitor from our panel who would offer to represent you under a No Win, No Fee agreement, also known as a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA). If you sign a CFA with a solicitor from our panel, you will not have to pay any fees upfront, nor will you have to pay any fees during your claim either. And if your claim is unsuccessful, you will not have to pay any of the fees your solicitor has incurred in pursuing your case.

If your claim is successful, your solicitor may seek a small contribution towards their costs. This is known as a ‘success fee’ and would be deducted from the compensation awarded at the end of the claim. Don’t worry, the success fee is legally capped!

Tendon Injury at Work Claim FAQs

Here are some questions commonly asked by prospective claimants suffering a tendon injury at work.

Can I claim compensation for an injury at work?

If you’re injured at work through no fault of your own, you could be able to make a claim. Providing that those owing you a duty of care failed to uphold their duty and you were injured as a result, you could be eligible for compensation.

How much can I claim for work injury?

There is no such thing as a typical settlement for a tendon injury at work claim. Personal injury claims are valued according to the amount that the claimant has suffered. If you work with our panel of lawyers, they’ll organise an appointment with an independent medical specialist for you, so you can get your condition assessed to support your case.

Begin Your Tendon Injury Claim

Your next step towards making a tendon injury at work claim will be to get in touch with our team members. This can either be to ask further questions about how personal injury claims work, or it can be to discuss getting started with a work injury claim.

Our phone number is 0161 696 9685, you can use this to get straight on to one of our claims team members.
Alternatively, you can use this page to arrange a call from a team member at a time of your choosing.

Medical And Claims Resources

HSE’s Guide to Preventing Slips and Trips at Work

Website Of The Health And Safety At Work Executive

Thank you for reading our guide to making a tendon injury at work claim.

Guide by JY

Edited by REG

Tendon Injury At Work Claim Specialists

A Guide To Making A Tendon Injury At Work Claim