TABLE OF CONTENT
A soft tissue injury consists of damage to soft tissue i.e., muscles, tendons, etc. They occur as a result of sudden movement. They are painful and can affect quality of life. Your finances may also be impacted by it. Soft tissue injury settlements seek to compensate for these effects. Here is a complete guide on how much settlement can you get for soft tissue injury.
Understanding the soft tissue injury:
Soft tissues have a very important role in the body. They provide support to the hard tissue. Their presence is of prime importance in many day-to-day tasks. A soft tissue injury can be disruptive of these along with being painful. Some of its common types are:
- Whiplash
- Strains and sprains in muscles
- Bruising
- Ruptures and lacerations
- Stress injuries
- Compression injuries
“Soft tissue injuries can be produced by different mecha-nisms, from pressure sore, low-energy to high-energy trauma, with a variety of compromise from skin injuries to tendinous, ligamentous, and even cartilage and bone as well as neurovascular structures.
The common symptoms for these injuries can be pain, bruising, and swelling.”
Cases for soft tissue injury settlements:
You can claim soft tissue injury settlements if you were owed duty of care. This duty was not fulfilled and you got an injury as a result. This criteria can be fulfilled in the following cases.
Traffic accident:
Road traffic users owe each other a duty of care. They should use roads in a way that should prevent harm to themselves and others. This means they should follow these rules:
- Road traffic act 1988
- Highway code rules that are relevant
Workplace accident:
According to the Health and safety at workplace act 1974, your workplace owes you a duty of care. This means that your employer should take all the steps that keep you safe at work.
Incident of public liability:
When you are in a public space, the duty of care is owed by the person who controls that space. They owe this to you under the Occupier’s liability act. This act states that controllers of a space should ensure the safety of visitors.
If you’re dealing with whiplash, our dedicated Whiplash Injury Compensation service can help you understand your compensation options.
Average soft tissue injury settlement:
There is no average soft tissue injury settlement. It depends upon several factors such as
- How severe is the pain
- How long is the recovery
- How many tasks can you not perform
So instead of average soft tissue injury settlement, here is a guideline for general damages.
General damages:
Like cases of personal injury, soft tissue injury settlement follows the Judicial College Guidelines. They are as follows.
| Type of damages | Description | Compensation |
|---|---|---|
| Severe | It contains cases of injury of spinal cord and nerve roots. It can lead to severe pain and partial paralysis. It impairs bodily functions. | £38,780 to £160,980 |
| Moderate (type 1) | It contains cases that have constant pain. Reduced mobility is also a part of it. | £27,760 to £38,780 |
| Moderate (type 2) | Back ache due to muscles and ligaments. Also contains soft tissue injuries that worsen any prior issue. | £12,510 to £27,760 |
| Minor | Strains, sprains, fracture or soft tissue injuries that don’t need surgery. | £2,450 to £12,510 |
Based on the general directions, soft tissue injury settlement guidelines can roughly look like the following.
| Type of soft tissue injury | Severity | Description | Compensation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Back | Severe | Present injury led to chronic conditions. | £47,320 to £85,100 |
| Moderate | Present injury enhanced a prior illness. | £15,260 to £33,880 | |
| Neck | severe | Present injury leads to permanent disability | £55,500 to £68,330 |
| Leg | moderate | Soft tissue damage causes nerve or cosmetic damage | £21,920 to £33,880 |
| Ankle | severe | Soft tissue damage leads to deformity | £61,090 to £85,070 |
| Wrist | moderate | Soft tissue injury takes more than 12 months to recover | £7,420 to £12,630 |
The soft tissue injury settlement amount is not definite. It varies from one case to another.
Special damages:
In some cases, your soft tissue injury settlement calculator can also account for special damages. Special damages consist of financial losses that occur due to soft tissue injury. Special damages may include:
- Your earnings for time you may have taken off work.
- Your medical bills (e.g., physical therapy costs)
- Domestic bills (f you had to hire help for period you couldn’t perform chores)
- Travel cost
- Your prescriptions
- Any mobility aids if applicable
- Childcare
To win the claim for these damages, you must establish
- Causation of injury
- Duration of injury
- Severity of injury
Learn more about general and special damages here.
Essentials for soft tissue injury settlement:
The two essentials for filing a claim are: time limit and evidence.
Time limit:
By law (Limitation Act 1980), there is a time limit for claiming these damages. This limitation can be based on age and sanity.
Over 18:
If you are an adult, you can claim damages three years from the day you got the injury.
Under 18:
If the injury is sustained by minors, the time limit of three years starts on the day they turn 18. Litigation friends, appointed by courts, can file claims on their behalf before this.
Not in mental capacity:
The option of litigation friend is also there for someone not in mental capacity to make a claim. If they are well again, their three year period starts on the day of their recovery.
Evidence:
Common soft tissue injuries like whiplash are hard to prove. This is due to the fact that they do not appear in medical imaging. It is, thus, crucial to gather all the necessary evidence for filing damages for these injuries. Even with medical images, gathering evidence is of absolute importance. It may include:
- All the medical reports: prescriptions, scans, etc.
- Footage or photograph of the accident
- Details of eye witnesses
- Some sort of personal records such as pain journal
- Receipts for special damages
- Photographs of your injuries
- Police records if applicable
- Physical evidence
Importance of evidence:
Whiplash is the most claimed injury in the UK as it costs £2 billion every year to the insurance industry. This has led to authorities criticizing it citing 11% of the cases as fraudulent. This led to a program called the Whiplash Reform Program. Due to all of this, it is extremely important to gather all the evidence.
FAQs
A soft tissue injury consists of damage to soft tissue i.e., muscles, tendons, etc. They occur as a result of sudden movement. They are painful and can affect quality of life. Your finances may also be impacted by it. Soft tissue injury settlements seek to compensate for these effects. Here is a complete guide on how much settlement can you get for soft tissue injury.
Understanding the soft tissue injury:
Soft tissues have a very important role in the body. They provide support to the hard tissue. Their presence is of prime importance in many day-to-day tasks. A soft tissue injury can be disruptive of these along with being painful. Some of its common types are:
- Whiplash
- Strains and sprains in muscles
- Bruising
- Ruptures and lacerations
- Stress injuries
- Compression injuries
“Soft tissue injuries can be produced by different mecha-nisms, from pressure sore, low-energy to high-energy trauma, with a variety of compromise from skin injuries to tendinous, ligamentous, and even cartilage and bone as well as neurovascular structures.
The common symptoms for these injuries can be pain, bruising, and swelling.”
Cases for soft tissue injury settlements:
You can claim soft tissue injury settlements if you were owed duty of care. This duty was not fulfilled and you got an injury as a result. This criteria can be fulfilled in the following cases.
Traffic accident:
Road traffic users owe each other a duty of care. They should use roads in a way that should prevent harm to themselves and others. This means they should follow these rules:
- Road traffic act 1988
- Highway code rules that are relevant
Workplace accident:
According to the Health and safety at workplace act 1974, your workplace owes you a duty of care. This means that your employer should take all the steps that keep you safe at work.
Incident of public liability:
When you are in a public space, the duty of care is owed by the person who controls that space. They owe this to you under the Occupier’s liability act. This act states that controllers of a space should ensure the safety of visitors.
If you’re dealing with whiplash, our dedicated Whiplash Injury Compensation service can help you understand your compensation options.
Average soft tissue injury settlement:
There is no average soft tissue injury settlement. It depends upon several factors such as
- How severe is the pain
- How long is the recovery
- How many tasks can you not perform
So instead of average soft tissue injury settlement, here is a guideline for general damages.
General damages:
Like cases of personal injury, soft tissue injury settlement follows the Judicial College Guidelines. They are as follows.
| Type of damages | Description | Compensation |
|---|---|---|
| Severe | It contains cases of injury of spinal cord and nerve roots. It can lead to severe pain and partial paralysis. It impairs bodily functions. | £38,780 to £160,980 |
| Moderate (type 1) | It contains cases that have constant pain. Reduced mobility is also a part of it. | £27,760 to £38,780 |
| Moderate (type 2) | Back ache due to muscles and ligaments. Also contains soft tissue injuries that worsen any prior issue. | £12,510 to £27,760 |
| Minor | Strains, sprains, fracture or soft tissue injuries that don’t need surgery. | £2,450 to £12,510 |
Based on the general directions, soft tissue injury settlement guidelines can roughly look like the following.
| Type of soft tissue injury | Severity | Description | Compensation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Back | Severe | Present injury led to chronic conditions. | £47,320 to £85,100 |
| Moderate | Present injury enhanced a prior illness. | £15,260 to £33,880 | |
| Neck | severe | Present injury leads to permanent disability | £55,500 to £68,330 |
| Leg | moderate | Soft tissue damage causes nerve or cosmetic damage | £21,920 to £33,880 |
| Ankle | severe | Soft tissue damage leads to deformity | £61,090 to £85,070 |
| Wrist | moderate | Soft tissue injury takes more than 12 months to recover | £7,420 to £12,630 |
The soft tissue injury settlement amount is not definite. It varies from one case to another.
Special damages:
In some cases, your soft tissue injury settlement calculator can also account for special damages. Special damages consist of financial losses that occur due to soft tissue injury. Special damages may include:
- Your earnings for time you may have taken off work.
- Your medical bills (e.g., physical therapy costs)
- Domestic bills (f you had to hire help for period you couldn’t perform chores)
- Travel cost
- Your prescriptions
- Any mobility aids if applicable
- Childcare
To win the claim for these damages, you must establish
- Causation of injury
- Duration of injury
- Severity of injury
Learn more about general and special damages here.
Essentials for soft tissue injury settlement:
The two essentials for filing a claim are: time limit and evidence.
Time limit:
By law (Limitation Act 1980), there is a time limit for claiming these damages. This limitation can be based on age and sanity.
Over 18:
If you are an adult, you can claim damages three years from the day you got the injury.
Under 18:
If the injury is sustained by minors, the time limit of three years starts on the day they turn 18. Litigation friends, appointed by courts, can file claims on their behalf before this.
Not in mental capacity:
The option of litigation friend is also there for someone not in mental capacity to make a claim. If they are well again, their three year period starts on the day of their recovery.
Evidence:
Common soft tissue injuries like whiplash are hard to prove. This is due to the fact that they do not appear in medical imaging. It is, thus, crucial to gather all the necessary evidence for filing damages for these injuries. Even with medical images, gathering evidence is of absolute importance. It may include:
- All the medical reports: prescriptions, scans, etc.
- Footage or photograph of the accident
- Details of eye witnesses
- Some sort of personal records such as pain journal
- Receipts for special damages
- Photographs of your injuries
- Police records if applicable
- Physical evidence
Importance of evidence:
Whiplash is the most claimed injury in the UK as it costs £2 billion every year to the insurance industry. This has led to authorities criticizing it citing 11% of the cases as fraudulent. This led to a program called the Whiplash Reform Program. Due to all of this, it is extremely important to gather all the evidence.
