The Process Of Making Personal Injury Claims For Spinal Cord Injuries

This guide will discuss personal injury claims for spinal cord injuries. An injury to the spinal cord can have a permanent impact on your life, both physically, emotionally and psychologically. In some cases, you may be able to seek compensation for the ways it has affected you. However, you need to provide evidence that several criteria are met in order to do so. We will look at these in further detail throughout this guide.

personal injury claims for spinal cord injuries

The Process Of Making Personal Injury Claims        For Spinal Cord Injuries

There are several types of accidents for which a personal injury claim could be made, including accidents at work, road traffic accidents and public place accidents.

In each of these scenarios, you are owed a duty of care by a third party. We will explore the legislation that outlines their responsibilities and how a failure to uphold these could lead to an accident in which you sustain harm.

If you have suffered a spinal injury, you may be entitled to compensation if you meet the eligibility criteria. We will explore the settlement you could receive, what it may be made up of and how it is often calculated.

Additionally, we will discuss the steps that you could take as part of the personal injury claims process, such as gathering evidence to support your claim. We will offer some examples of evidence you should consider gathering and how a solicitor could help you do so.

For more information, you can get in touch with an advisor. To reach them, you can:

Select A Section

  1. What Are Personal Injury Claims For Spinal Cord Injuries?
  2. Types Of Spinal Cord Injuries
  3. What Evidence Is Needed For A Spinal Cord Injury Claim?
  4. Spinal Injury Compensation Payouts In The UK
  5. Contact Us About Personal Injury Claims For Spinal Cord Injuries
  6. Learn More About Spinal Cord Injury Claims

What Are Personal Injury Claims For Spinal Cord Injuries?

In order to make a personal injury claim, you must satisfy the eligibility criteria. This means you need to prove the following:

  • Firstly, that you were owed a duty of care.
  • Secondly, this duty was breached.
  • Thirdly, this breach resulted in your injuries. This is negligence, for which you could seek compensation.

Additionally, you must begin your claim within the claim time limit set out in the Limitation Act 1980. This states that you generally have three years from the date of the accident to begin your claim. There are some exceptions to this time limit, however. If you want to learn more about these, get in touch with an advisor on the number above.

Alternatively, continue reading the sections below to learn more about the duty of care certain third parties owe to one another.

Workplace Accidents

The Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 sets out the duty of care that employers owe their employees. As such, they must take reasonable steps that are also considered practical in order to prevent their employees from experiencing harm in the workplace.

For example, they must provide adequate training to ensure their employees are able to carry out their work-related duties safely. A failure to do so could lead to an employee sustaining harm to their spinal cord when operating a forklift that they had no training to operate.

Road Traffic Accidents

Road users are expected to navigate the roads in a way that prevents harm to themselves and others. This is the duty of care they owe under the Road Traffic Act 1988. Additionally, the Highway Code sets out guidance on the responsibilities different road users have. 

A failure to do so could mean a road user experiences harm in an accident. For example, a driver may fail to check their mirrors before overtaking on a narrow road resulting in them crashing into another driver head on. As a result, they may experience spinal cord damage.

Accidents In A Public Place

The Occupiers’ Liability Act 1957 states that the party in control of a public space has a duty to take steps as a way to ensure the reasonable safety of those visiting the space. This is the duty of care they owe. If they breach this duty, it could lead to an accident in the a public place.

For example, a restaurant owner may carry out a risk assessment and become aware of a trip hazard caused by inadequate lighting in the stairwell. After failing to address this hazard, a member of the public falls down the stairs and sustains a broken back.

To discuss personal injury claims for spinal cord injuries, get in touch with an advisor. They can assess whether you’re eligible to seek compensation for your injuries.

Types Of Spinal Cord Injuries

A spinal cord injury involves damage to the tight bundle of cells and nerves that send and receive signals from the brain to the rest of the body. The damage can either be temporary or result in a permanent injury. Also, the way the injury impacts you can depend on which part of the spinal cord is damaged.

Different types of injuries to the spinal cord include:

  • Paralysis, including tetraplegia and paraplegia.
  • Partial spinal cord injury.
  • Cervical spinal cord injury.
  • Thoracic spinal cord injury. 
  • Lumbar spinal cord injury. 
  • Atlas fracture injury.

What Evidence Is Needed For A Spinal Cord Injury Claim?

Evidence is important as it can help to strengthen your claim. It can be used to prove that negligence caused your injury, as well as the extent of your physical injuries and any psychiatric injuries.

Examples of the evidence you could gather include:

  • CCTV footage of the accident.
  • Dashcam footage, for a road traffic accident.
  • A diary of your symptoms, treatment and recovery to illustrate the effects on your mental and physical health.
  • A copy of your medical records, such as X-ray scans.
  • The contact information of any witnesses that could provide a statement at a later date.

One of the services our panel of solicitors provide is to help claimants collect evidence to support their case. To find out whether you could be eligible to have them represent your case, get in touch using the details provided above.

Spinal Injury Compensation Payouts In The UK

Following a successful claim, you may receive compensation from up to two heads. Accounting for the pain and suffering caused by your injuries, general damages is the primary head that can make up your settlement.

Below is a guideline compensation table with figures taken from the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG). The JCG is a tool used by legal professionals to help them value general damages for claims made in England and Wales.

Compensation Table

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Injury Guideline Value Notes
Paralysis £324,600 to £403,990 Cases of tetraplegia or quadraplegia are covered in this bracket.
Paralysis £219,070 to £284,260 Cases of paraplegia are covered in this bracket.
Severe Back Injuries (i) £91,090 to £160,980 Spinal cord and nerve root damage leading to serious consequences such as severe pain and disability alongside incomplete paralysis and other issues.
Severe Back Injuries (ii) £74,160 to £88,430 Nerve root damage associated with loss of sensation, impaired mobility and other issues.
Severe Back Injuries (iii) £38,780 to £69,730 Fractures of discs or the vertebral bodies that cause several issues despite surgery, such as impaired agility.
Moderate Back Injuries (i) £27,760 to £38,780 This bracket includes a prolapsed intervertebral disc that requires surgery.
Moderate Back Injuries (ii) £12,510 to £27,760 Prolapsed discs requiring a laminectomy or leading to repeated relapses.

Please note that these figures are guidelines only. 

How Are Special Damages Calculated?

The other head of claim is special damages. Special damages account for the financial losses incurred due to your injury. Some examples of the costs you could claim back under this head include:

Evidence is important when claiming these monetary losses back. As such, you could provide payslips and receipts.

If you would like an accurate estimate of what your claim could be worth, you can contact us for free today and speak with an advisor.

Contact Us About Personal Injury Claims For Spinal Cord Injuries

Our panel of solicitors can offer their services on a No Win No Fee basis. This means that they can offer you a type of No Win No Fee contract called a Conditional Fee Agreement.

Under the terms of this contract, you won’t be charged any upfront or ongoing costs for their services. Additionally, you won’t be charged for the work they do on your claim if it doesn’t succeed.

Following a successful claim, your solicitor will deduct a small success fee from your compensation; this fee will be legally capped under The Conditional Fee Agreements Order 2013, which means you cannot be overcharged. 

Contact Us

You can speak with one of our advisors for free regarding your potential case. If they believe you have a valid claim, they may refer you to a solicitor from our panel with a history of handling claims similar to yours. To get in touch, you can:

Learn More About Spinal Cord Injury Claims

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Thank you for reading our guide on personal injury claims for spinal cord injuries. If you have any questions, please get in touch using the details provided above.

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