A useful starting point
Understanding wrist injury compensation
A wrist injury can make working, driving, cooking, dressing and many ordinary tasks difficult. Compensation looks at the pain and disruption you have experienced, how long your recovery takes and whether any weakness or restriction remains.
The diagnosis is only the starting point. Your treatment, medical prognosis and the effect on your work, independence and everyday life all help build the fuller picture.
How the figures work
How much compensation for a broken wrist?
The amount of compensation that you get depends on the outcome and severity of your injury rather than the injury by name alone. For example, an uncomplicated Colles' fracture is shown at around £9,070, however if that injury resulted in permanent loss of movement, grip or function compensation amounts awarded can be substantially higher.
What changes the figure
What decides where a wrist claim sits in the range?
A recent fracture can be extremely painful without necessarily causing the permanent loss of movement described in the highest ranges. How well you recover, your medical prognosis and the effect on your everyday life provide the clearer picture.
Which hand and what you use it for
An injury to your dominant hand can have a greater practical effect, but there is no automatic uplift. The evidence needs to show what changed for you.
Movement, grip and rotation
A fracture can unite while stiffness, weakness or restricted forearm rotation remains. The lasting function is often more important than the original label.
Work and earning capacity
Grip, lifting, repetition and fine hand movement matter differently to an office worker, plasterer, hairdresser or mechanic. Any earnings loss is assessed separately.
Surgery, hardware and scarring
Plates, screws, wires, fusion and further surgery can indicate a more involved injury. A significant scar may also need separate consideration.
Prognosis and future arthritis
Where a specialist considers future deterioration or post-traumatic arthritis likely, that medical prognosis can affect the relevant category.
Fractures and Colles' fractures
Published figures for broken wrist injuries
A Colles' fracture is a break to the radius just above the wrist. These examples show why the eventual recovery matters more than the name of the fracture alone.
For an uncomplicated fracture of the distal radius.
Recovery takes longer than 12 months and is complete or nearly complete.
Some permanent disability remains, such as continuing pain and stiffness.
Diagnostic delay
Scaphoid fractures missed on the first X-ray
The scaphoid is a small wrist bone at the base of the thumb and the most commonly fractured bone in the wrist. The injury can be difficult to see on an initial X-ray, which is why the assessment, protection and follow-up plan can matter.
Why it can be missed
Scaphoid fractures can be subtle. Published clinical literature reports that initial X-rays identify about 70% of them, so continuing pain or tenderness may need further investigation.
Why healing matters
Much of the blood supply enters around the middle of the scaphoid and travels through the bone towards the end nearest the forearm. This can leave that part more vulnerable if the fracture is displaced or does not unite.
What a delay can change
If the bone does not join properly, it can lead to continuing pain, weaker grip and arthritis. One clinical review reports non-union in up to 12% of untreated fractures that were not visible at first.
A 2021 national cross-sectional study also found that 74 of 87 orthopaedic services used repeat radiographs.
What recognised guidance says
NICE says MRI should be considered as first-line imaging following a thorough clinical examination where a scaphoid fracture is suspected. Actual access and local pathways can differ.
Sources: NICE NG38 · Dean et al., 2021 · Kawamura & Chung
Different routes to claiming
Accident circumstances
Falls, unsafe access and machinery
Wrist injuries commonly follow a fall onto an outstretched hand, a fall from a ladder or platform, or contact with machinery. The useful early evidence is often the accident-book entry, any RIDDOR record, witness details and photographs of the hazard.
Slips, trips and unsafe premises
A wrist injury can happen when you slip on a wet floor, trip over an uneven surface or fall on damaged steps. Photographs of the hazard, witness details, an incident report and evidence showing when and where the accident happened can all help establish what went wrong.
Soft-tissue wrist injuries
A sprain that settles within weeks and one that remains painful after many months can start with the same diagnosis but have very different consequences. Ligament and tendon damage can also take longer to recover than expected.
The amount of compensation that you get will depend on how long your symptoms last and how they affect your grip, movement, work and everyday life.
See the full range of wrist injury compensation amounts by severity of injury ↓Full guideline range
Wrist injury compensation amounts by severity
The figures below are the wrist categories currently used on this site from the Judicial College Guidelines, 17th edition. They are broad guidance, not an individual valuation or a promise of outcome.
Complete loss of wrist function
£58,110 to £73,050For complete functional loss, including cases where the wrist has been surgically fused.
Significant permanent disability
£29,900 to £47,810Some useful movement remains, but disability is significant and permanent.
Less severe permanent wrist injury
£15,370 to £29,900Some permanent disability remains, such as continuing pain and stiffness.
Long recovery with minor residual symptoms
£7,420 to £12,630Recovery takes longer than 12 months and is complete or nearly complete.
Uncomplicated Colles' fracture
In the region of £9,070For an uncomplicated fracture of the distal radius.
Very minor wrist injury
£4,310 to £5,790A minor fracture or soft-tissue injury requires short-term support and resolves fully or virtually fully within about a year.
A sensible starting check
Do you have a wrist injury claim?
No checklist can decide a claim, but these four questions help establish whether it is worth taking the next step.
- 1
Someone else may have been at fault
That could be an employer, driver, occupier or another organisation. Shared responsibility does not automatically prevent a claim, although it can affect the final figure.
- 2
You are still within the relevant time limit
Court proceedings for personal injury must normally be started within three years. Different rules can apply to children and cases where the relevant facts were discovered later, so do not wait for the deadline.
- 3
There is evidence of the accident or injury
An accident report, message, photograph, medical record or record of time away from work can provide a starting point. Having both accident and medical evidence is stronger.
- 4
The injury had a meaningful effect
This is our practical screening view, not a legal rule. If you recovered within a few days and had no financial loss, making a claim may not be practical. Lasting pain, restricted movement or financial loss may need investigation.
Time-limit source: Limitation Act 1980, section 11. Limitation is fact-specific; obtain advice if a deadline may be close.
Building the evidence
What evidence can support a wrist injury claim?
The strongest evidence connects the accident, medical journey, recovery and financial effect rather than recording the diagnosis alone.
X-rays and any later MRI or CT scans, including the first images if a fracture was not identified immediately
Fracture-clinic, hospital, GP, surgical and physiotherapy records
The accident-book entry, incident report or police reference
Photographs or video of the hazard before it is removed or repaired
Payslips, absence records and evidence of changed duties or lost overtime
A short record of difficulties with driving, washing, carrying, sleeping, hobbies and independence
Common questions
Questions about broken wrist claims
How long do I have to make a wrist injury claim?
In England and Wales, court proceedings for a personal injury claim must normally be started within three years of the accident or the relevant date of knowledge. Exceptions can apply, including where the injured person was under 18, so early advice is important.
Do I need to have had surgery?
No. The value depends on the effect of the injury, recovery and prognosis rather than surgery alone. Claims can involve casting, splinting and physiotherapy without an operation.
My wrist has healed but still aches. Can that be considered?
Possibly. Continuing pain, stiffness, weakness or restricted rotation can be relevant even where the fracture has united. A medical expert would assess the symptoms and likely duration.
My employer says the accident was my fault. Does that end the claim?
Not necessarily. Responsibility can be disputed or shared. If you were partly responsible, compensation may be reduced to reflect that share rather than the claim automatically failing.
What if the fracture was missed at hospital?
That may raise a separate medical-negligence question. A missed fracture is not automatically negligent: the key issues include the assessment, follow-up plan and whether any delay caused an avoidable worse outcome.
What is a Colles' fracture?
It is a fracture of the radius just above the wrist, commonly caused by falling onto an outstretched hand. The guideline includes a separate example for an uncomplicated Colles' fracture.