Broken Cheekbone Compensation Claims In The UK
By Lewis Aaliyah. Last Updated 18th January 2023. The topic of this article is to explain how you could be eligible for broken cheekbone compensation if your face was injured in an accident that was not your fault. Perhaps you slipped on a wet floor at work due to no wet floor signs? You may have been in public and a faulty door banged you in the face. Or was it a reckless driver causing an accident? Our aim is to offer you comprehensive advice so you can judge whether your accident leading to an injury could make you eligible for compensation.
How to claim broken cheekbone compensation
Here at UK Law, our advisors can offer you free advice about the merits of your case. If they can see your case has a chance of being awarded compensation they could put you in touch with a No Win No Fee personal injury solicitor. Simply contact our advice team for free, no-obligation guidance on how to start your case. You can:
- Call us on 020 3870 4868
- Write or email on UK Law.co.uk
- Use the ‘live support’ option, bottom right
Services And Information
- Everything You Need To Know About Broken Cheekbone Compensation Claims
- What Is A Broken Cheekbone Injury?
- What Structure Makes Up The Cheekbone?
- Symptoms Of Cheekbone Fractures
- Causes Of Facial Fractures
- Compensation For A Personal Injury
- How Are Facial Fractures Diagnosed?
- Missed Fractures Of The Cheekbone
- Why Cheekbone Fracture Could Be Misdiagnosed
- How Long After A Fracture Could You Claim?
- I Broke My Cheekbone, What Should I Do?
- Broken Cheekbone – Claim With A No Win No Fee Solicitor
- Frequently Asked Questions
Everything You Need To Know About Broken Cheekbone Compensation Claims
Firstly, this article aims to explain the process of evaluating a personal injury claim from scratch. At UK Law, we understand that this may be the first time you have ever considered starting a claim against anyone, and maybe feeling daunted at what’s involved. We aim to answer any questions you may have and cover all the important points in an easy to understand way.
A damaged cheekbone can be the type of injury that greatly affects your appearance. It can lead to eating and speaking difficulties and create a tremendous amount of disruption in your life as you learn to adapt and recover. So, after looking at the symptoms of a shattered or fractured cheekbone, we discuss recovery, treatment and any long term issues you may be faced with.
We explain how two types of damages can be calculated to acknowledge this damage – the physical impact and the financial. Finally, we conclude by explaining the benefits of working with a No Win No Fee personal injury lawyer to help you do this.
What Is A Broken Cheekbone Injury?
We tend to think that our facial structure is as robust as the skull, but in reality, the bones on the front of our face can be remarkably fragile. If you are reading this as someone who has just suffered a cheekbone fracture, you can probably confirm that it was an unpleasant surprise to feel the bone in your face crack as easily as it did.
Any force that strikes the face has the potential to cause a hairline or splinter of the cheekbone. Significant force can snap the bone in two or shatter it completely. The tell-tale black eye usually presents itself and any movement on that side of the face is painful in the extreme. Even rotation of the eye can be painful. A broken cheekbone injury usually entails a healing time of at least 4 – 6 weeks (minimum) and the NHS offers useful information about diagnosis and prognosis here.
What Structure Makes Up The Cheekbone?
The cheekbones protrude slightly from the face. These celebrated arches are considered one of the most desirably aesthetic parts of our face. They can be very pronounced and elegant in their symmetry on some people. They protrude slightly, making them vulnerable to heavy impact. Cheekbones are made up of;
- Zygomatic bone – is the main part of the cheekbone
- Zygomatic arch – this is the slimmer part of the cheekbone located near the ear.
- Orbital bones – there are 7 orbital bones and the part of the structure that houses the eyeball
There can be additional damage to the head in cases of cheekbone fracture. The frontal bone, sphenoid and maxilla, for example. Hearing, smell, speech and general facial movement can all be included in the injuries because of the structure of cheekbones. Furthermore, the cheekbones are required to be agile and in relatively constant motion. Chewing, speaking and even breathing may cause pain if the cheekbone is fractured.
Symptoms Of Cheekbone Fractures
An impact to the cheekbone is likely to be very noticeable to you. The proximity of this bone to the eye makes any impact highly alarming and there are very definite symptoms that will present themselves immediately after a fractured cheekbone:
- Immediate pain in that area
- Tenderness and swelling or numbness
- A flattened appearance to that side of your face
- A split to the skin and bleeding
- Vision difficulties
- A bruised, blood-filled or ‘black eye’ above that cheekbone
- Numbness and tingling
- Nausea and faintness
Depending on the severity of the impact, a crushed, fractured or shattered cheekbone can be hugely debilitating. Bruising and swelling would accompany an injury of any severity but in extreme cases, temporary sight loss, hearing problems and long-lasting facial disfigurement can result without proper care. Please refer here for more guidance about identifying a broken bone properly.
Causes Of Facial Fractures
How exactly does a cheekbone fracture happen? There are some obvious examples where it’s easy to imagine how a heavy impact in the facial area could shatter the zygomatic bone. It may be that your particular scenario is different and if you’re unsure how an accident similar to yours might be eligible, give our team a call to discuss. Some common causes of facial fractures are:
- Tripping or slipping downstairs
- During a sporting event, a ball or projectile in the face
- When your face collides with a hard object during a slip, trip or fall
- As part of a road traffic accident
- As a result of violence or criminal assault
Laws exist to protect us in all of these areas of life. Below are links to legislation that protects your safety and wellbeing in the workplace, in public and on the roads. These laws seek to ensure that a standard of diligence and care is adhered to as a way of preventing risk. We have a responsibility ourselves to take care. But if you can demonstrate that employer negligence or a lapse in the legal duty of care of someone in control of a public place caused your injuries, you could have a claim. Furthermore, the last link refers to medical negligence law.
- The Health and Safety At Work etc Act 1974
- The Occupiers’ Liability Act 1957
- The Highway Code
- The Health and Social Care Act 2008
All these pieces of legislation outline a need for safety assessment and the deliberate avoidance of hazards. When you can demonstrate that an essential requirement under these laws was not complied with (and it directly resulted in you suffering harm) you have a very good foundation for a broken cheekbone compensation claim. Speak to our team for details.
Compensation For A Personal Injury
If you decide to make a claim for a broken cheekbone, you could receive general damages if your claim is successful. General damages aim to compensate you for your injury, including the pain and suffering you have endured and how this has affected your quality of life.
To help you understand how much you could receive in compensation for a personal injury claim, we have created the following table. We have used the amounts listed in the 16th edition of the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG) when creating this table. This is because the JCG provides compensation brackets for various injuries and is used by many legal professionals when valuing claims.
It is important to note that for a personal injury claim, payouts can vary as how much you could receive will depend on your specific claim. Please only use this table as a guide.
| Injury | Notes | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Fractures of Jaws (i) | Multiple fractures that are very serious requiring prolonged treatment and result in permanent consequences, such as severe pain and eating restrictions. | £30,490 to £45,540 |
| Fractures of Jaws (ii) | Permanent consequences due to a serious fracture, such as difficulty eating and opening the mouth. | £17,960 to £30,490 |
| Fractures of Jaws (iii) | A full recovery following a simple fracture that required immobilisation. | £6,460 to £8,730 |
| Fractures of Nose or Nasal Complex (i) | Multiple or serious fractures that require multiple operations and may have caused permanent damage to the airways, making it difficult to breathe. | £10,640 to £23,130 |
| Fractures of Nose or Nasal Complex (ii) | A displaced fracture that requires surgery, but there will be a complete recovery. | £3,950 to £5,100 |
| Fractures of Nose or Nasal Complex (iii) | A displaced fracture that only requires manipulation. | £2,520 to £3,150 |
| Fractures of Nose or Nasal Complex (iv) | A full recovery from a simple undisplaced fracture. | £1,710 to £2,520 |
| Fractures of Cheekbones (i) | Serious cheekbone fractures that will require surgery. There will also be lasting consequences, such as paraesthesia in the lips or cheeks. | £10,200 to £15,780 |
| Fractures of Cheekbones (ii) | Some reconstructive surgery is necessary after suffering a simple fracture of the cheekbone. However there will be a complete recovery. | £4,350 to £6,460 |
| Fractures of Cheekbones (iii) | The cheekbone has suffered a simple fracture, however no surgery is needed and there is a complete recovery. | £2,320 to £2,990 |
Call an advisor today for further guidance on how to make a claim for a cheekbone injury.
Special damages
These amounts are based on all the receipts, bills and statements that you can provide which demonstrate how the injuries have impacted you financially. Any out-of-pocket expenses could be considered, so for example:
- Did you miss work due to your shattered cheekbone injury? Has this left you out of pocket?
- Perhaps you had to pay out for cosmetic surgery to restore your looks?
- Were there childcare costs as a result of the disruption?
- Travel costs and medicines
- Care costs – did someone have to look after you as you recover? Did you need to find the money in an emergency to pay them?
Speak to our team now to see how you can demonstrate these financial losses and get them included as part of your broken cheekbone compensation settlement. It may be possible for a lawyer to identify others you have not thought of.
How Are Facial Fractures Diagnosed?
Any accident to the face requires immediate medical attention. It’s important that damage to the eyes or ears is attended to as a matter of emergency. With this in mind, you should gain as much detailed evidence from your medical notes as you can. Permission to access your medical notes is required when building a compensation case, therefore you can follow this link to allow that to happen.
At the hospital, you will need to undergo one or several of the following medical procedures to learn the extent of your facial fracture:
All these procedures enable doctors a window into the body. It also gives a much clearer indication of the treatment you will need to recover. This is all essential information in your claim against the liable party.
Treatment for fractured cheekbones
A cast or a sling would not be appropriate on a cheekbone and so in cases of severe cheekbone fractures, you may require surgery. In cases of severe fracture, steel pins can be inserted to help the bones to knit together.
The main reason for specialist and urgent treatment for a fractured cheekbone is to prevent the disfigurement that can result. A fractured cheekbone that is left improperly treated can result in a sunken or flattened appearance on that side of the face, drastically altering the symmetry of the face and creating a disfigured appearance. Also, the eye can droop on that side if proper treatment is not administered. These radical and life-long deformities can be distressing long after the initial pain of the accident has subsided.
Missed Fractures Of The Cheekbone
A missed fracture could be when a medical professional fails to diagnose you with a fractured cheekbone. If this was to happen it may mean you go on to suffer avoidable further injury because your fracture is not getting the treatment it needs. You will see in the next section why a missed or misdiagnosed fracture could happen.
Did the doctor, nurse or GP miss your injury? Were you sent home without the proper care being shown to your cheekbone? Because of this negligence, did you then go on to suffer additional harm or financial suffering? Give our team a call now to discuss how missed and misdiagnosis of either medical or clinical assessments could form the basis of a claim.
Why Cheekbone Fracture Could Be Misdiagnosed
What reason would a medical professional have for missing your injury? Obviously, the overwhelming majority of people who work in the NHS or a health trust do so to the best of their ability. The NHS performs millions of procedures every day and it may only be reasonable to think that some injuries might go undetected. What reasons could cause this?
- Tired or distracted staff
- Referring to incorrect patient notes
- Disagreement amongst care providers
- Language barriers between patients and medical staff
- Lack of properly trained or suitably experienced medical staff
- Incorrect use of MRI or CT scan equipment
Undetected fractures can result in infection, deformity, sepsis and disability. It is vital that when we visit a doctor or nurse about a health complaint we inform them of all our symptoms. Failure to do so could mean our injury is not diagnosed correctly. So we have a duty over our own health. But also health practitioners owe their patients a duty of care. If you are not sure if you have been negligently misdiagnosed call our advisors for some free advice.
How Long After A Fracture Could You Claim?
There are time limits to starting a personal injury or medical negligence compensation claim. You have three years to initiate your claim from the date that you first became aware of the problem. If you suffered injuries under the age of 18, the time scale starts from the date of your 18th birthday.
Those who lack the mental capacity to claim for themselves can have a litigation friend do it for them. The time period does not start until they have made a recovery. If they make a recovery and no claim has been made they have 3 years to start their own claim.
Speak to our team to discuss who you could sue in cases such as this.
I Broke My Cheekbone, What Should I Do?
To recap on all the main points we’ve discussed, below is a step by step action plan you can follow to give yourself the best chance of receiving compensation for negligence at work, in public or at the hospital. If there are any aspects that you’re unsure of, please feel free to get in touch with our team who can advise you.
- Firstly, ensure that you receive the proper medical attention for your injuries
- Secondly, be as mindful as you can be at the time to collect evidence of your injuries. You can request CCTV footage and get witness details. Take photos.
- If the accident happened at work, ensure you report it.
- Track and monitor the expenses your injuries are creating in the short and long term. Some costs can take time to accumulate. Be patient.
- Either launch a claim independently,
- Or reach out to our team who could help.
Broken Cheekbone – Claim With A No Win No Fee Solicitor
After suffering a broken cheekbone because of somebody else’s negligence, you may be ready to pursue a personal injury claim. If you have evidence to support your fractured cheekbone injuries and that it was a breach of duty of care that caused your accident, you may have grounds for a valid claim.
An injury lawyer could help you gather evidence following a cracked cheekbone injury. However, you may be concerned about working with a solicitor that requires payment upfront.
If you were to work with a solicitor under a Conditional Fee Agreement, which is a type of No Win No Fee arrangement, this wouldn’t generally be a requirement. You also won’t be responsible for paying their legal fees if your claim is not successful. Should you receive compensation, a success fee is deducted from your award by your solicitor. However, the percentage solicitors take is restricted under the Conditional Fee Agreements Order 2013, so you won’t be overcharged.
Find out how to work with a No Win No Fee solicitor from our panel. All you need to do is speak to our advisors for an initial consultation. They can offer advice on a number of topics, including how to claim for a hairline fracture to your cheekbone.
You can get in touch by:
- Using our live chat widget in the bottom right-hand corner of your screen
- Calling our 24/7 advice line 020 3870 4868
- Completing a claim online form, and we’ll be in touch
Frequently Asked Questions
Some commonly asked questions relating to the subject of broken cheekbone compensation.
How do you know if you have a broken cheekbone?
Broken cheekbones and eye socket damage injury are usually very noticeable, therefore the symptoms will present themselves in no uncertain terms. If the fractured cheekbone is on a child, it’s possible to claim compensation on their behalf by acting as a ‘litigation friend’ which you can read more about here.
What happens if you break your cheekbone?
If you are suffering fractured cheekbone symptoms, get along to your accident and emergency ward at the local hospital or secure an emergency appointment with your GP or clinic.
How do they fix a broken cheekbone?
What is the best way to treat a broken cheekbone? Whether it’s a hairline fracture or a shattered zygomatic arch, an x-ray will always disclose the best course of action. In severe cases, you may require the insertion of steel pins and screws into the cheekbone.
Writer FE
Checked by EI.
