Personal injury advice from
Thompsons Solicitors
Hand Injury, Thumb Injury and Finger Injury Claims
If you have suffered a hand injury, finger injury or thumb injury as the result of an accident caused by the negligence of someone else, you may be entitled to claim compensation.
Our specialist personal injury lawyers can provide you with expert injury claim advice and assistance on a cost-free basis. Contact The Legal Line on 0800 0328511, or by completing a claim enquiry form online. You keep 100% of your compensation. We will not charge you a penny in legal fees.
Causes of Hand and Finger Injuries
Finger, Thumb and Hand Injuries
Making a Hand Injury Claim
Hand and Finger Injury Compensation
Specialist Personal Injury Solicitors
Previous Hand Injury, Thumb Injury and Finger Injury Claims
Causes of Hand and Finger Injuries
We use our hands in most of the tasks we complete throughout our daily lives and also instinctively as protection, lifting them to our faces or putting them out to break a fall. It is therefore no surprise that hand injuries, thumb injuries and finger injuries are quite common, but this also means that if our hands are injured we may be left unable to perform our usual activities.
Some of the common causes of injuries to the hands, fingers and thumb include:
• Factory accidents – a prominent cause of hand and finger injuries is factory accidents, particularly accidents involving machinery when a person’s hand is pulled into the mechanism, perhaps due to a missing guard or insufficient health and safety training.
• Accidents at Work - Many workers have to handle sheets of metal or components with very sharp edges or heavy awkward loads on a frequent daily basis. Suitable personal protective equipment such as the right gloves or lifting / handling equipment must be issued if the risk of the laceration / manual handling injury is not eliminated. Suction pad grips are freely available to safely handle glass sheets. The sharp edges on sheet panels can be chamfered or otherwise covered with protective strips.
• Faulty work equipment – defective tools or equipment can cause hand injuries and damage to the fingers.
• Vibration – prolonged exposure to vibration can cause a condition called hand arm vibration syndrome (also known as vibration white finger, HAVS or VWF).
• Falls – in many slips, trips and falls, hand injuries occur when the person tries to break their fall by putting out their hands.
• Animal bites – animal bites, particularly dog bites, often cause finger and hand injuries. Those affected may work with animals or the attack can occur whilst out in public or visiting the home of an animal owner.
• Lack of PPE – personal protective equipment such as gloves and gauntlets can often help to prevent hand, finger and thumb injuries.
• Sports accidents – hand injuries and injuries to the fingers or thumbs are not uncommon in sporting accidents, sometimes occurring due to unsafe equipment or facilities, or because of dangerous tackles in contact sports.
• Fingers trapped in doors – a very common cause of finger injuries, particularly so in the home, at schools and in public buildings.
• Road accidents – although hand injuries will sometimes occur in car accidents, they are somewhat more likely in road accidents involving cyclists, motorcyclists and pedestrians, as these road users do not benefit from the protection offered by a car and are more likely to fall onto an outstretched hand.
• Contact with irritants – skin conditions or burns can result from exposure to irritant substances.
• Sharp objects – sharp, dangerous objects, for example those found in badly maintained facilities or faulty products (say, a nail sticking out from an office desk or a poorly finished child’s toy with sharp edges), can cause serious hand wounds.
Finger, Thumb and Hand Injuries
Our hands are complex and consist of numerous bones, joints, tendons, ligaments, muscles and nerves so that they can perform many different movements and functions. There are a range of hand injuries, finger injuries and thumb injuries that can occur, including:
• Fractures – this would include a fractured finger, fractured hand, fractured thumb or fractured scaphoid.
• Dislocation – dislocated finger, dislocated thumb.
• Tendon / muscle / ligament – sprained thumb, sprained finger, sprained hand, hand strain.
• Lacerations - lacerations, i.e. cuts and wounds, are often caused by sharp objects.
• Fingernail injuries – if there is bruising under the fingernail a build-up of pressure can occur, which may need to be drained. Sometimes a fingernail may also be torn off during an accident and this will also require treatment.
• Crush injuries – crush injuries can be difficult to treat as they often involve damage to multiple structures. For example there may be fractures, lacerations and soft tissue damage.
• Nerve damage – deep wounds and crush injuries can also cause nerve damage, which has symptoms including numbness, pain and loss of function.
• Burns – excessive heat or cold, or exposure to caustic substances can cause burns to the hand or fingers.
• Amputations – partial or total amputation of the thumb, fingers or hand.
• Bruising – hand bruising may just cause minor discomfort for a few days or it can be more serious, causing severe pain and swelling and limiting use of the affected hand.
• Degloving – this refers to injuries where the skin is torn completely away from the tissues underneath (similar to removing a glove) and it is a serious injury.
• VWF / HAVS – hand arm vibration syndrome, also known as vibration white finger, is a work related condition of the hands and fingers caused by exposure to excessive vibration.
• Dermatitis – contact with certain chemicals or hazardous substances can cause occupational dermatitis.
Making a Hand Injury Claim
If you are considering making a personal injury claim in respect of injuries to your hand, fingers or thumbs, there are certain steps that you should take. You should obtain prompt medical attention, so that you receive any treatment you require and there is a note of your injury on your medical records. Where possible, your accident should also be reported, for example to your employer if you suffer an accident at work, or a member of staff if your injury occurred in, say, a shop or supermarket.
In every hand injury case, medical evidence will be required, and in any personal injury claim it is necessary to show that the person you are making a claim against owed you a duty of care, that they breached that duty of care (were negligent), and that the injury you sustained was a reasonably foreseeable consequence of that negligence. There may also be a breach of a statutory regulation.
It is important to seek the advice and assistance of a specialist personal injury lawyer with extensive experience in recovering compensation for victims of hand and finger injuries. They can collate and prepare all of the necessary evidence to put forward the claim and deal with the matter on your behalf to achieve the best possible outcome.
You should try to record as much information as possible about the accident and your injuries, including details of any medical treatment that you have received. Remember to keep receipts for any injury related costs and expenses, as these may be useful in your claim.
For further information, visit our guide on what to do if you’re involved in an accident.
Hand and Finger Injury Compensation
There are two elements to a hand injury compensation award. The first, called general damages, is for the pain and suffering you have gone through and any loss of amenity (perhaps an inability to take children to school, look after your garden, go out walking). The award for loss of amenity can be for a short period after an accident or for ever if that is what the medical evidence supports.
The second element of a compensation award, for your losses and expenses, (known as special damages) aims to put you back in a position financially as if the accident had never occurred. It is important to keep receipts for any expenditure you have related to your hand or finger injury so that these can be reclaimed.
In serious cases, where a person is no longer able to continue their employment, this can be taken into account. Costs for care, equipment, transport and housing modifications can also affect the calculations. If the person is still able to work but not in the same role as before, particularly if they held a public service role such as a doctor or police officer, an extra amount may be awarded for loss of ‘congenial employment’. A court can also make a financial award to recognise that an injured worker's prospects on the open labour market may be limited.
Specialist Personal Injury Solicitors
As experts in the field of personal injury, with a wealth of experience in hand injury, thumb injury, finger injury and industrial disease claims, our lawyers can provide you with specialist accident claim advice and assistance.
We never work for employers or insurance companies, so you can be sure that we will always act in your best interests to achieve the maximum compensation possible in the shortest time.
Previous Hand Injury and Finger Injury Claims
You can read details about some of the many hand injury, thumb injury and finger injury compensation claims handled by our solicitors, by following the links below:
Factory Worker’s Hand Trapped by Dangerous Conveyor in Workplace Accident
Vehicle Polisher Receives Compensation for Hand Arm Vibration Syndrome
Compensation Claim for Woman Injured by Contractor’s Fencing
Successful Accident At Work Compensation Claim
Driver Knocked from Trailer in Accident at Work
Damages Obtained by The Legal Line Solicitors for a Client Badly Injured by Dangerous Flooring in a Public Area
Vibration White Finger Claim for Council Worker
Factory Worker Injured in Accident at Work
Roger's Story – Serious Injury at Work
Compensation for Driver Injured by Unsuitable Van Door at Work
Compensation Claim for Employee Injured in Accident at Work
Factory Worker’s Hand Trapped by Dangerous Conveyor in Workplace Accident
Accident at Work Caused by Faulty Handrail
Missing Machine Guard Causes Workplace Injury
Lack of Workplace Safety Causes Employee’s Injury at Work
Personal Injury Caused by Lack of Risk Assessment and Training
Faulty Work Equipment Causes Personal Injury
Electrician Injured at Work is Awarded Compensation
Council Employee Receives Compensation for Injury at Work
Personal Injury Claim for Employee Left Disabled by Accident at Work
Cyclist Hit by Car Receives Compensation for Fractured Hand and Wrist
Baggage Handler Injured Due to Faulty Work Equipment
Groundskeeper Receives Compensation for Vibration White Finger
Employee’s
Thumb Amputated by Drill in Accident at Work
Ferry Employee’s
Fingers Crushed in Accident at Work
Pedestrian Injured by Fall on Defective Pavement
Successful
Claim for Child’s Injury at Nursery
Lack of Equipment
Causes Serious Hand Injury
Production
Worker Receives Compensation for Hand Arm Vibration Syndrome
Details of further cases can be found in our personal injury news and success stories sections.
Contact us
Testimonials
"It wasn't realistic for me to work any more and the loss of my income placed an additional strain on us."
Jane Evans
Mother of Rebecca
Personal Injury News
