For those of us who are able-bodied, the idea of losing an arm, leg, hand or foot is truly horrifying. If the worst were to happen due to an accident that wasn’t your fault, you would most likely feel claiming compensation was an absolute must. However, the loss of the use of a part of the body can take in a wide range of situations, some of which are not nearly so severe but still lead to claims.
One such possible situation is what we’d refer to as ‘the effective loss of a hand’. That doesn’t always have to be ‘as it sounds’. In many personal injury claims, the victim of an accident that wasn’t their fault, may have lost the use of the hand through something like a broken wrist. Which isn’t to say a broken wrist isn’t a nasty and painful injury – it most clearly is for many people. Not to mention the massive inconvenience it can cause to their life and work. And that’s the point.
When considering a claim relating to the loss of a hand, there are a range of possible scenarios to look out for – and a range of possible compensation claim amounts too. Here’s a rundown for you:
Lacerations (cuts) – many hand injuries are caused by very bad cuts suffered during an accident which prevent effective use of your hand for life and work purposes. This can also be taken to refer to the loss of part of the fingers or thumb (see separate category for amputation).
Fractures and dislocations – we’ve already highlighted the broken wrist as a common hand injury leading to compensation claims. But this category can also include broken or dislocated fingers or thumbs. Again, if that results in the effective loss of the use of your hand, you may have a claim.
Soft tissue injuries and amputations – it’s horrible to imagine but many accidents can lead to the loss of fingers, thumbs or even most of/all of the hand. There’s also the possibility of other parts of the hand (e.g the palm) being ripped or having the soft tissue or nerves irreparably damage.
Infection – as straightforward as it sounds, this is when an accident results in trauma to the hand and digits which subsequently leads to infection, causing effective loss of the use of the hand.
Burns – the last major category of hand injury that can result in compensation claims is burns. Again, as with infection, this is self-explanatory. If you suffer burns to the hand due to an accident that result in the loss of the use of the hand for life and work purposes, you may have a claim.
What does all of this mean in terms of compensation though? Well, just as with every type of personal injury compensation, each claim must be viewed as an individual case. But it may prove useful to give you an outline guide of what you could expect to receive for different hand injuries.