Our quick guide to assessing the severity of your injury – simply click on the relevant link below for a more detailed explanation of the severity of your injury
Ankle
Minor: Modest sprains, fractures and ligament damage from which a full recovery is made.
Moderate: More serious fractures and ligament tears resulting in permanent features including awkwardness on stairs, difficulty in walking on uneven ground and unsightly surgical scarring.
Severe: Significant fractures and soft tissue injuries requiring extensive treatment and resulting in permanent deformity and limited walking ability.
Arms
Minor: Simple soft tissue injuries and fractures of the forearm from which any disability was minor and a full recovery is made.
Moderate: Serious fractures of one or both forearms resulting in significant functional or cosmetic disability.
Severe: Injuries resulting in amputation or permanent loss of function.
Back
Minor: Includes soft tissue injuries, strains and less serious disc prolapses from which a full recovery is made within 5 years.
Moderate: Includes fractures resulting in spinal fusion, disc prolapses resulting in moderate permanent discomfort and repeated relapses.
Severe: Serious fractures resulting in any number of permanent features including paralysis, impotence, depression, personality change, impaired bladder.
Elbow
Minor: Simple fractures, tennis elbow and lacerations causing no permanent loss of function.
Moderate: Injuries resulting in impairment of function but falling short of requiring surgery.
Severe: Serious injuries with long lasting disabling effects.
Fingers
Minor: Simple fracture from which a full recovery is made.
Moderate: More complicated fractures causing features including disfigurement, permanent stiffness and impairment of grip.
Severe: Total or partial loss of finger(s) or serious fractures resulting in deformity, loss of grip, reduced function and disturbed sensation.
Foot
Minor: Metatarsal fractures, ligament damage and lacerations from which a full recovery is made.
Moderate: Grievous burns and displaced fractures resulting in permanent scarring or some deformity and persistent discomfort.
Severe: Serious fractures of the feet or heels causing substantial restriction of movement, significant deformity preventing the wearing of ordinary shoes, continuous pain.
Hand
Minor: Soft tissue injuries and lacerations resulting in some permanent minor disability or from which a full recovery has been made.
Moderate: Severe crush injuries and/or fractures resulting in significantly impaired function.
Severe: Includes, permanent significant loss of function, reduction in grip, loss of fingers, disturbed sensation.
Knee
Minor: Twisting, bruising and lacerations from a full recovery is made or where any ongoing discomfort occurs infrequently.
Moderate: Dislocation, torn cartilage, muscle wastage resulting in permanent mild disability and weakness of the knee.
Severe: Serious injury involving disruption of the joint, gross ligamentous damage, loss of function, constant permanent pain, limitation of movement.
Leg
Minor: Simple fractures and soft tissue injuries from which a complete recovery is made or any lasting effects are very minor.
Moderate: Single or multiple fractures from which an incomplete recovery is made. There will be any number of ongoing problems including impaired mobility, limp, sensory loss, muscle wastage, unsightly scarring, instability in the knee.
Severe: Extensive degloving of the leg. Serious fractures from which surgery has resulted in imperfect union, bone grafting, shortening of the leg, serious deformity.
Neck
Minor: Soft tissue injuries where full recovery is achieved within 2 years.
Moderate: Injuries leaving lasting effects including permanent recurring pain or increased vulnerability to further trauma, or which have resolved either fully or to nuisance level within a few years.
Severe: Serious injuries, including fractures resulting in significant permanent disability and restriction of movement.
Pelvis and hips
Minor: Injuries from which there is either a complete recovery or minor residual disability.
Moderate: Hip replacement has been necessary but permanent disability and future risk are minimal.
Severe: Extensive fractures and/or dislocations causing intolerable pain and resulting in any number of features including loss of bladder function, leg instability, sexual dysfunction.
Shoulder
Minor: Soft tissue injuries from which a full recovery is made within 2 years.
Moderate: Clavicle fractures, frozen shoulder and dislocation injuries resulting in weakness of grip and restricted shoulder movement.
Severe: Damage to the Brachial Plexus resulting in severe associated neck pain and significant disability.
Toes
Minor: Straightforward fractures of one or more toes, or minor lacerations and bruising, from which a complete or near complete recovery is made.
Moderate: Crush injuries and multiple fractures resulting in permanent pain and discomfort.
Severe: Severe crush injuries resulting in loss of function, loss of the great toe or partial amputation of other toes.
Thumb
Minor: Pain, stiffness and minor fractures from which a full recovery is made within a few months and no lasting effects.
Moderate: Dislocation injuries and damage to tendons resulting in impaired sensation and function.
Severe: Total or partial loss of thumb, nerve damage resulting in permanent deformity and impairment of function.
Wrist
Minor: Uncomplicated fractures and soft tissue injuries from which a full recovery is made.
Moderate: Injuries resulting in some permanent disability, pain and stiffness.
Severe: Injuries resulting in significant permanent disability or complete loss of function.