Broken rib - claim?

[deliakate]

Just been to the dr today who suspects I have a broken rib. About six weeks ago, one of those mini-van people carrying things that they use in stations reversed out of a lift at Manchester picadilly and smacked into my side. I was standing trying to text my friend in an open, indoor area for pedestrians. I has 2 small kids with me, luckily I was hit before the pushchair could be.

So, the driver shouted at me for not looking (quite why i should look around me when standing still, inside..... well there was no reason.)I shouted at him for not looking before reversing out, at some speed. A bystander intervened and stood up for me, also gave me her address in case I was badly hurt.

The driver buggered off, and I stood there trying to get it together. Eventually he came back after dropping off the passengers and said I looked pale, was I ok. Still didn't apologise. To get rid of him, I said don't worry, I'm not going to report it.

Now I kind of want to, since I have been in pain, and doc suspects fracture. But I no longer have the bystanders address. Is it worth it? Should I stay out of the component culture? Thoughts?

I would let the station know but I wouldn't claim.

No doctor would Xray for a suspected broken rib 6 weeks after an injury if the person was otherwise well - what would be the point? It wouldn't change the outcome or the treatment. Broken ribs heal, and there isn't much you can do with them, even when the injury is new - it's basically pain killers and get on with it. You have my sympathies - it's horribly painful, but 6 weeks on you should be well on the road to recovery and I don't think you would get anywhere with a claim. Put it down to experience and move on. Write to the station if it makes you feel better, but it's very unlikely that anything will change.

Wow, you were run into whilst with your children, broke your rib. It was a pedestrianized area. The driver did not bother to find out if you were ok. You have a witness. But of course, its your fault, you couldnt possibly prove it and you its more than likely you broke your rib sneezing. Op, I would just get in touch with a solicitor. The advice and reaction you have had on here has been a little weird.

Ummm - it's a pedestrian area in a station. Likely to have.... Um.... pedestrians. Why was the driver not looking? It is far far far more foreseeable that there would be pedestrians there than it is for there to be a vehicle.

So not Op's fault but I'm not sure that makes it claim able. Especially as she didn't complain at the time or within a week or so.

I would complain Op but I don't thI k I'd be trying to sue - it was an accident. Think about what you actually want out of this - money or to make the station more safe?

FWIW - many years ago my dh was injured in a preventable accident. It took two operations to fix the problem so that part of his body was functional on a day to day basis although it is still not perfect. (And not very pretty aesthetically.) We used the threat of legal action to make the company make changes to make the situation safe so it wouldn't happen to someone else. Once they had we agreed to drop it. We were lucky - dh is an ex junior international at a sport and still plays competitively. The injury was on his left side. If it had been on his right then it would have prevented him playing again properly. In that case we may have continued to sue but as it was we didn't feel his life was damaged enough for it to be appropriate to sue.

If you were in a fight and someone punched you and broke your rib you couldn't claim compensation from the criminal injuries compensation authority...

Ps sorry to be vague. The accident was unusual and the damage very visible so if I gave details it would be very identifying to anyone who knows us even slightly.

My landlady who was retired claimed when she was run over. So it is more than just financial loss.

So how are claims made for children after an RTA if the child suffers minor injuries they are going to have no financial loss.

By that logic anyone who gets sick pay couldn't claim because they are unlikely to have any financial loss!

You can't only claim for a financial loss. That is completely incorrect.

Compensation for injuries is based on pain, suffering and loss of amenity. If you suffer (reasonably proximate and foreseeable) financial losses you can claim for those too.

However, you have to be able to prove that you sustained the injury in an accident, and that the accident was someone else's fault. On the facts provided, I suspect the OP will struggle to do so.

There is some clap trap on here. OP, you'll struggle to prove it and thus, you'd be very unlikely to get any pay out. I mentioned that you can break a rib coughing not because you might have injured yourself coughing but because I was trying to explain how difficult it is to prove your injury.

So many people picked up on your 'observant' comment because it clearly wasn't true! Regardless, the accident was not your fault and they should have apologised. I would make merry hell at the station and complain for all you're worth but you really don't have a legal leg to stand on.

Can I just clarify that you do not have to have a financial loss to claim for third party injury. In this case if it were a strong case the Op could claim under the station or contractors Public Liability policy. Injury to third party is normally insured under a companies liability policy.

Saying all this, Op my opinion is you have no chance of getting a penny. Following the accident you carried on with your life as normal, if you were that injured the insurer would logically assum you must have seeked medical help. A broken rib can be very painful. To progress this claim you need to:

1. Prove the incident happened (CCTV, witnesses etc.)
2. Prove your broken rib was caused by the incident (its been 6 weeks could have happened any time so this will raise flags with the insurer that this is a potentially fraudulent claim - I am not saying it is)
3. Insurer will investigate whether this type of incident can actually cause this kind of injury
4. Questions will be asked as to why you didn't seek immediate medical assistance when the injury was at its worst /most painful
5. You will need to provide medical evidence showing this injury exists and was caused 6 weeks ago
6. The insurer WILL argue that these types of injury heal within 4 to 6 weeks so you must have injured yourself post the incident 6 weeks ago. They will probably claim you are trying to pin this on them purely for financial gain - taking us back to the fraud investigation

The station will have a broker that looks after the corporate risk and lability programme. No half decent broker would allow this sort of claim to be paid. If it came to us I would be advising the client to strongly defend and decline liability.

Really sorry you are injured and hope you get better soon.

If you've been managing OK for 6 weeks it can't have been that bad.

I've done mine and I couldn't lie down for over a week due to crushing pain. Moving was agony. By 6 weeks it's well on the way to mended and can take a few months before cleared up. There isn't much a Doctor can do for broken ribs - they heal on their own. Most likely you tore the tissues surrounding the ribs - this is the same sort of pain, very severe for weeks, then eases off.

Your problem would be proof, very easy to damage the tissue round the ribs.