Make A Serious Spine Injury Claim | No Win No Fee

This guide will outline when you may be able to make a serious spine injury claim. You may have an eligible serious injury claim if you are injured in an accident due to a third party’s breach of duty of care.

serious spine injury claim

Serious spine injury claim guide

Serious spinal injuries can result in mobility issues and, in some cases, might result in physical deformity. We will talk you through the compensation that can be awarded and the different ways you could be affected that would be taken into consideration.

We will also inform you of the time limit for personal injury claims and the criteria your claim must meet to go ahead. Furthermore, the guide will take a look at the evidence you should collect to support your case. Lastly, we will explain how our solicitors could help your case under No Win No Fee terms.

A spinal injury can be life-changing and have a big impact on your quality of life. If you have been affected in this way by third-party negligence, our team of dedicated advisors is ready to help you with any questions about making a compensation claim. You could be connected to a personal injury solicitor if you have valid grounds to seek a settlement. You can speak to our team by:

Select A Section

  1. Determining Eligibility For A Serious Spine Injury Claim
  2. Time Limits To File A Serious Injury Claim
  3. Establishing The Key Elements For Proving Serious Injury Claims
  4. Estimated Settlements For A Serious Spine Injury Claim
  5. Pursuing Your Claim With No Win No Fee Serious Spine Injury Claim Solicitors

Determining Eligibility For A Serious Spine Injury Claim

Certain eligibility criteria must be met for a personal injury claim to proceed. If you are making a serious spine injury compensation claim, you will need to show that:

  • A third party owed you a duty of care;
  • They breached their duty of care;
  • This breach led to an accident which caused your injuries.

The duty of care for third parties is governed by different legislation and guidance, which we will look at below.

Criteria To Claim For A Serious Public Accident

Those in control of public spaces are referred to in the legislation as “occupiers”. They have a responsibility to reasonably protect visitors from harm. The Occupiers’ Liability Act 1957 lays out this duty of care. An accident could occur if this is breached. 

For example, a shop owner is aware of a spill but does not signpost or clean up a wet floor. A customer has a slip and fall, which causes a spinal fracture.

Criteria To Claim For A Serious Work Accident

A serious spine injury claim could be valid if you are injured because an employer fails to adhere their duty of care, and this resulted in the accident in which you were injured. Section 2 of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 sets out that employers have a duty to take practicable and reasonable steps to keep employees safe in the workplace. If they do not take such steps, which can include performing risk assessments and providing necessary training, employers could be liable if an employee is hurt in an accident at work that occurs as a result.

For instance, an employer gives their employee too much to carry, obstructing their vision. The employee sustains a broken back after falling down the stairs due to an inability to see over the load.

Criteria To Claim For A Serious Road Accident

The duty of care for road users is that they must navigate roads in a manner that protects themselves and others. Road users can uphold this duty by following rules and guidance established by the Road Traffic Act 1988 and the Highway Code. 

An accident could occur if an HGV driver is not looking at the road because they are looking at their phone. They strike a pedestrian using a zebra crossing, leading to the pedestrian experiencing permanent lower-body paralysis.

If you have been injured in an accident resulting from third-party negligence, our solicitors may be able to help you make a claim. Please call our advisors on the above number to discuss your experience and get a free consultation.

Time Limits To File A Serious Injury Claim

If you are making a serious spine injury claim, you typically have three years from the date of your injury-causing accident to start proceedings. This is the general time limit for personal injury claims set out by The Limitation Act 1980.

However, if the injured person is mentally incapable of claiming, the time limit is paused. A litigation friend can be appointed to start a claim on your behalf. A litigation friend is someone who can pursue compensation on behalf of someone who is unable to. 

The time limit also pauses for claimants under the age of 18. A litigation friend can begin a claim for them at any point while they are underage; if this isn’t done, the injured person would have three years from their 18th birthday to begin their own claim.

Our solicitors could help your case run smoothly by ensuring it proceeds within the time limit. To learn more about this service and personal injury time limits, please give our team a call.

Establishing The Key Elements For Proving Serious Injury Claims

Evidence is central to any serious spine injury claim. It can highlight the cause of an accident and provide a link between it and your injuries. To that end, you could collect:

  • Photographs of the accident scene.
  • Footage from CCTV or a personal device like a dash cam.
  • Official records such as a police report or a copy of a workplace accident book entry.
  • Medical records, such as an X-ray, showing the extent of your injuries.
  • A diary charting your symptoms and treatment.

Collecting and presenting evidence is one of the tasks our solicitors can help you with. Please get in touch with our advisors for further advice on gathering proof and seeking a solicitor’s support.

Estimated Settlements For A Serious Spine Injury Claim

Personal injury claim settlements can be made of up to two heads of claim. Your serious spine injury claim could include:

  • General damages, accounting for the physical and mental effects of injuries.
  • Special damages, covering reasonable financial losses caused by your injuries.

If you claim special damages for a financial cost or loss, such as a loss of earnings or the cost of necessary travel, you would need to provide documented proof like bank statements or payslips.

Along with medical evidence, the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG) will be used to help assign a value to the general damages head of a claim. We have used JCG figures to collate the below table of guideline compensation brackets for spinal injuries.

The outcome of a claim depends on numerous factors. As a result, the figures below are not a definite projection of what your serious spine injury claim would get.

Compensation table

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INJURY SEVERITY COMPENSATION NOTES
Severe Spine Injury And Other Injuries With Special Damages Severe Up to £1,000,000+ A severe spinal injury with other injuries. As well as compensation for the injury, the claimant will also be awarded special damages.
Paralysis Tetraplegia £324,600 to £403,990 Paralysis in the upper body, also known as quadriplegia.
Paralysis Paraplegia £219,070 to £284,260 Paralysis of the lower half of the body.
Back Severe (i) £91,090 to £160,980 A severe injury features spinal cord and nerve root damage with unusual and very serious consequences.
Neck Severe (i) In the region of £148,330 An example of these most serious injuries is where the injured person has a neck injury with associated incomplete paraplegia.
Neck Severe (ii) £65,740 to £130,930 Injuries in these bracket often involve fractures or damage to discs in the cervical spine, to a serious degree.
Special damages Loss of earnings Up to £100,000 and above A claim accounting for a loss of payment or pay opportunities due to missed work.

If you would like an assessment of your claim’s value that is based on your own circumstances, speak with a member of our team today. You could be connected with a No Win No Fee lawyer if your case is legitimate.

Pursuing Your Claim With No Win No Fee Serious Spine Injury Claim Solicitors

Your serious spinal injury claim could benefit from one of our experienced solicitors. If you have a valid claim, a solicitor could take on your case under a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA.)

A CFA is a type of No Win No Fee contract where you do not pay for a solicitor’s services:

  • Upfront;
  • During the claim;
  • At all, in the event of an unsuccessful case.

Should your claim win, you will receive compensation. Your solicitor would then collect a small percentage of the settlement, with a legal cap applied to the percentage by The Conditional Fee Agreements Order 2013. This is known as their success fee. 

Speaking To Our Team

Our advisors can further explain the topics we have covered in this guide. In addition to this, they can perform a free assessment of your potential serious spine injury claim and put you through to a personal injury solicitor if you have a legal basis to seek compensation. To speak to our team today, you can:

Learn More About Serious Injury Claims

For further guides from us:

Here are some useful resources to also look through:

Thank you for reading our guide on making a serious spine injury claim. Please contact our advisors if you need any support.

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