If you have suffered a tendon injury as a result of negligence, you may be entitled to claim compensation for your injury. Our team of Queensland no win, no fee lawyers can provide free initial advice and our claims are run with no upfront costs.

Whether you suffered a tendon injury in a car accident, were injured at work, fell over in a public place or due to medical negligence, any of your losses and pain and suffering can be claimed as compensation. If your claim happened in Queensland then our Brisbane personal injury lawyers can offer advice.

What is a tendon?

A tendon is a strong piece of soft tissue that connects a muscle to a bone. They are different to ligaments, which instead connect bone to bone. 

You can think of tendons as being like ‘tough cords’ that provide a little more stretch compared to ligaments.

The largest tendon in the human body is the Achilles tendon, which attaches your calf muscle to your heel bone. 

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Types of tendon injuries

Broadly speaking, there are 3 different types of tendon injuries:

• Tendinitis – which is inflammation of the tendon;
• Tendinosis – which is where tiny tears appear in the tendon; and
• Tendon rupture – which is where the tendon is either partly or entirely torn or severed.

When it comes to a tendon rupture, the 4 most common areas of the body for this to happen are the:

• Quadriceps tendon;
• Achilles tendon;
• Rotator cuff tendon; and
• Biceps tendon.

Most common causes of tendon injuries

Most tendon injuries occur at the joints of our bodies, such as our shoulders, knees, wrists and ankles.

These injuries can occur in a number of ways. However the most common causes of tendon injuries include:

• Slips, trips and falls;
• Car accidents;
• Accidents in public places;
• Accidents at work; and
• Sport accidents.

Treating tendon injuries

Generally, it is advised by medical experts that tendon injuries are to be treated as follows:

• Rest the injured tendon to prevent further injury or aggravation;
• Apply ice to the injured tendon to help reduce inflammation;
• Compress the injured area to reduce swelling;
• Elevate the injured area to help reduce swelling.

In some circumstances however (especially when the tendon is ruptured) surgery may be required to successfully treat the injury. 

Occupations at higher risk

Tendon injuries at work are extremely common. In fact, the Australian Workers’ Compensation Statistics report of 2018-2019 Traumatic joint/ligament and muscle/tendon injuries accounted for 45% of all injury and musculoskeletal disorders claims that were made.

Unsurprisingly, Sprains and strains have been found to be the most common workplace injury for workers who perform manual handling tasks. According to the 2019 report of Safe Work Australia ‘Musculoskeletal Disorders in Australia’ the most common industries which cause serious musculoskeletal injuries were:

• Health care & social services;
• Manufacturing;
• Construction; and
• Retail and trade.

How to claim compensation

If you think you have suffered a tendon injury, you should seriously consider taking the following steps:

1. Get a diagnosis: Make an appointment to see a doctor, explain the circumstances of how you became injured and follow their expert advice. They may suggest that you have some further tests performed (such as scans and x-rays).

2. Seek legal advice: Contact Murphy’s Law and speak with one of our compensation lawyers as soon as possible. You may be entitled to not only make a compensation claim, but you could also be entitled to have your upfront medical costs and rehabilitation paid for by an insurance company.  

3. Commencing your claim: We will give notice of you claim to the party at fault for your injury. That format of that notice will depend upon how you became injured. In Queensland:

1. Car accidents - we will be notifying the compulsory third party (CTP) insurance provider of the at-fault driver by serving them with a Notice of Accident Claim Form.

2. Work incidents - we will notify your worker’s compensation insurer (which will most likely be WorkCover QLD) by serving a Notice of Claim form;

3. Medical negligence – we will notify the at fault party by serving them with an Initial Notice;

4. All other incidents – we will notify the at faly party by serving them with a Part 1 Notice of Claim Form.

4. No upfront fees: If you engage a “No win, no fee” law firm like Murphy’s Law, there will be no upfront costs while your claim is running.

5. Gathering Evidence and building your claim: We will gather all relevant evidence that we need to maximise your compensation. Once we have all the evidence we require, we will arrange a settlement conference with the at fault party to resolve your claim.

How is compensation for tendon injuries calculated?

If you have suffered a tendon injury, the law allows you to recover compensation for a large number of things.

For tendon injuries, the most common categories for which people receive compensation includes the following:

• General Damages (also known as ‘pain and suffering’);
• Past Economic loss;
• Future Economic loss;
• Lost superannuation benefits;
• Past medical and rehabilitation costs;
• Future medical and rehabilitation costs;
• Past and future care.

Generally, the greatest amount of compensation that people with tendon injuries can claim is for the past and future economic loss which occurs due to the injury.

How long do you have to claim tendon injury compensation?

The time in which you are required to give notice to the at fault party for your injury depends upon the circumstances in which you came to be injured.

Generally speaking though, a common law claim for compensation for a tendon injury must be commenced with the court within 3 years of the date of your injury. In some circumstances, a claim can still be brought outside that 3 year period if strict criteria are met.

To determine what time limits apply to your tendon injury, you should immediately seek legal advice from one of our lawyers at Murphy’s Law Accident Lawyers.

Free initial legal advice

If you’ve suffered a tendon injury due to someone else's negligence at work, on the road or in a public place within Queensland then you may have rights to seek compensation.

We act on a ‘No win, no fee’ basis, which means no upfront costs. Give us a call today to speak with one of our friendly lawyers.