£15,000 Compensation for a Dislocated Shoulder

In this case study, we look at the situation which lead to an elderly woman in her 70s claiming £15,000 in compensation for a dislocated shoulder following a fall in a retail store.

The  woman was alone, on a shopping trip, and was entering the main entrance of a retail store when the accident that lead to the injury occurred. Her right foot became stuck in a faulty piece of flooring just inside the entrance, and this caused her to trip, falling forward and down a number of steps.

The victim visited the hospital after the accident and was treated for a dislocated shoulder. It turned out that the initial diagnosis was incorrect. She returned to the hospital the following day and it was discovered that she was suffering from a more complex injury, a dislocation as well as three separate fractures to her proximal humerus.

Following a successful compensation claim, she was awarded a total of £10,000 for her injuries.

How Did the Dislocated Shoulder Accident Happen?

This was a very typical example of a high street retail store failing to maintain a safe environment for its customers. Every public place is required under Health & Safety legislation to be safe for people to enter. In this specific case, the floor covering was faulty just inside the entrance to the store.

The fault in the floor covering caused the victim’s heel to become lodged in the floor. She subsequently lost her balance and was tipped down a short flight of stairs, which caused the significant injuries she sustained.

Dislocated Shoulder Symptoms

Shoulder injury

The initial (wrong) diagnosis of here injuries lead to the victim being given dislocated shoulder treatment. The next day, when she returned to the hospital complaining that she was still in considerable pain it was discovered that dislocated shoulder symptoms were not the full extent of her symptoms. She had also broken her arm in three separate places.

These fractures took several surgical procedures to pin the bones in place so that they could begin to heal. The elderly woman remained hospitalised for the duration of this process. Four months later, the bones had begun to heal, and it was not until 12 months later following a period of rehabilitation and dislocated shoulder exercises, was it confirmed the arm had healed fully.

The Allegation and Compensation

It was alleged that the store owner was at fault, and indeed, this liability was never refuted, the store owner admitted they were liable. Once this was clear, a claim could be made.

Alongside the significant dislocated shoulder pain suffered in the short-term, the extended period of a year of dislocated shoulder recovery time caused her a specific set of problems. She had problems sleeping and was unable to lift her arm above her shoulder for many months. This meant that she was incapable of caring for herself and undertaking general household chores for the best part of a year. She was forced to hire in help to assist her for many months and she felt she should also be able to claim these costs. It should also be noted that her husband suffered his own medical condition which prevented him from helping out around the house, so without additional hired in help, care level for both the victim and her husband would have been affected seriously.

An interim payment of £5,000 was made to cover her short-term expenses whilst a full prognosis of her injury could be made. An expert in Orthopaedic and Accident Surgery gave this prognosis.

Based on this expert prognosis, an out of court settlement was agreed. This is quite typical in such cases, as around 90% of all compensation claims are settled out of court. The total amount of compensation the victim received was £15,000 after the out of court negotiations were complete.

No Win No Fee Accident in a Shop Compensation Claims

If you have suffered a serious injury such as a dislocated shoulder you could use a shoulder injury compensation calculator to find out how much compensation you might be able to claim. However, it is far better to talk to a No Win No Fee solicitor who will be able to give you a much more accurate idea of the payout for dislocated shoulder.

Under a No Win No Fee agreement a solicitor will take up your compensation claim without you having to pay anything at all. You don’t pay any of the ongoing legal costs no matter how long your claim takes, or how complex the proceedings are. In fact, you don’t pay anything until you are actually paid compensation. It is only at this time that the solicitor will levy their fee. And if the solicitor fails to win your case, then you walk away without paying anything at all.

How Legal Expert Can Help You

If you have recently suffered a serious injury such as a dislocated shoulder and somebody else is to blame, then you will likely have a valid cause to claim some form of compensation. We can help you begin the claims process if you call us today on 0800 073 8804. When you call us, we will spend a little time going over the details of your injury and how it occurred. Once we know all of the facts, we will make a recommendation what we think you should do next. In many cases, the recommendation will be that you use our No Win No Fee claims service to make a compensation claim on your behalf.

Useful Links

Shoulder injury claims guide

A Legal Expert detailed claims guide to compensation amounts for shoulder injuries.

NHS information about dislocated shoulder injuries – www.nhs.uk/conditions/dislocated-shoulder/

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