How To Claim Compensation For A Bulging Disc

Last Updated 27th February 2025. Have you suffered pain in your neck or back and been diagnosed with a bulging disc? Did you know that if your job was the cause of your injury you could make a bulging disc claim?

This guide has been created to help those who are considering making a personal injury claim for compensation for a bulging disc suffered because of their employment.

In the guide that follows, we offer guidance on the criteria that need to be met for you to claim bulging disc workers’ compensation in the UK, as well as how much your case could achieve.

We also discuss how a personal injury solicitor from our panel could help you make such a claim against your employer, and how Legal Helpline could help you move forward with a claim.

If you have any questions about this guide or would like to begin a claim right away, simply call our team on 0333 000 0729 today.

Jump To A Section

Can I Claim Compensation For A Bulging Disc?
What Types Of Work Could Cause A Bulging Disc?
What Are The Average Bulging Disc Compensation Payouts In The UK?
What Steps Should I Take If I Had A Bulging Disc Injury At Work?
About No Win No Fee Agreements
Learn More About Accident At Work Claims

Can I Claim Compensation For A Bulging Disc?

While you are in the workplace performing your work-related duties, your employer must take reasonable actions to help prevent you from harm. This is their duty of care as outlined in the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974.

Some steps your employer could implement to ensure they are maintaining their duty of care could include:

Providing all staff with appropriate training to complete their duties.
Performing regular risk assessments.
Providing personal protective equipment (PPE) that is suitable when required.
Performing regular maintenance checks.

To be able to claim for a workplace back injury, such as a bulging disc, you would need to prove:

A duty of care was owed to you by your employer.
They failed to adhere to their duty of care.
This caused you to suffer an injury.

Continue reading this guide for examples of potential bulging disc compensation payouts. You can also contact our advisors to check the eligibility of your case.

How Long Do I Have To Claim For An Injury At Work?

Another eligibility requirement you must meet when making a bulging disc claim is that you must start it within a specific time frame. Under the Limitation Act 1980, you have three years from the date you sustained your injury to begin your compensation claim.

There are some exceptions to this rule to ensure everyone has the opportunity to start a claim, for example:

Minors legally cannot start a claim. Therefore, if the claimant is a minor, the three-year time limit will be paused until they reach the age of eighteen and they have until they are 21 to start their claim.
If the claimant lacks mental capacity, the time limit on their claim will be indefinitely frozen. However, if the claimant regains mental capacity, the three-year time limit will commence from that time.

If the time limit is paused or frozen, a litigation friend may be appointed to go through the claims process on behalf of the claimant. If the claimant requires a litigation friend to work with a solicitor to get a bulging disc compensation payout, our helpful advisors are willing to discuss this with you in more detail.

If you would like to know more about the time limit on your claim or about bulging disc compensation amounts, do not hesitate to contact our friendly advisors today.

What Types Of Work Could Cause A Bulging Disc?

An accident at work could happen in any workplace. Falls from height in particular could cause a bulging disc injury. If you’ve suffered a fall from height or another type of accident at work that has led to such an injury, we could check your eligibility to make a claim for compensation. A valid claim would involve proving the accident would not have happened had your employer taken better care of your health and safety at work.

While accidents at work could cause bulging disc injuries, some people could attribute their bulging disc injury to the type of work they do on a normal day. If you haven’t been provided with manual handling training or tools and equipment necessary to do your job safely, and you suffer a bulging disc injury because of this, you may find you have solid grounds to pursue bulging disc workers compensation in the UK too.

What Are The Average Bulging Disc Compensation Payouts In The UK?

Following a successful claim for a bulging disc at work, the compensation awarded may include general damages and special damages. General damages compensate you for the pain and suffering caused by your injuries or illness.

The table you can see below shows some of the compensation guidelines included in the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG). This document may be used by those valuing your bulging disc claim for general damages, as it lists numerous kinds of injuries, including back injuries, alongside guideline compensation brackets.

Take note that this table should be viewed as a guide only and the first entry is not taken from the JCG.

Injury	Severity	Compensation Bracket	Notes
Multiple Serious Injuries plus Special Damages	Serious	Up to £250,000+	Compensation for multiple injuries that are serious and special damages such as medical costs, lost wages and care expenses.
Back injury	Severe (i)	£111,150 to £196,450	Severe nerve root or spinal cord damage leading to a severe disability and pain.
Back injury	Severe (ii)	£90,510 to £107,910	Nerve root damage that causes a loss of sensation with impaired bladder and mobility.
Back injury	Severe (iii)	£47,320 to £85,100	Cases of disc fractures or lesions that lead to continuing severe pain, even despite receiving treatment.
Back injury	Moderate (i)	£33,880 to £47,320	Injuries could include a prolapsed intervertebral disc that needs surgery or damage to this disc with nerve root irritation.
Back injury	Moderate (ii)	£15,260 to £33,880	Injuries could include prolapsed discs that need a laminectomy ir result in repeated prolapses.
Back injury	Minor (i)	£9,630 to £15,260	Injuries such as a disc prolapse that fully recovers within 2 to 5 years without needing surgery.
Neck injury	Severe (ii)	£80,240 to £159,770	Serious damage or fractures to the discs in the cervical spine.

Those eligible to claim general damages may possibly be able to claim special damages as well. This compensates you for any financial expenses or losses you’ve experienced due to your work injury. Examples of expenses or losses that could potentially be claimed as special damages include:

Loss of earnings if you’ve needed to take unpaid time off work during your recovery.
Travel expenses paid towards attending vital appointments.
The cost of certain medications or treatments you’ve required while recovering from the bulging disc injury.

Evidence will be required to claim special damages, which could include documents such as wage slips or bank statements.

To learn more about potential bulging disc compensation payouts in the UK, contact our advisors for free today.

What Steps Should I Take If I Had A Bulging Disc Injury At Work?

Whether or not you intend to claim herniated disc workers compensation in the UK or not, there are certain steps it could be wise for you to take if you believe you’ve suffered such an injury:

Seek medical attention – seeing a doctor whether you intend to make a claim or not could give you the best chance of making an optimal recovery
Take photos of the scene of your injury (if you’ve had a workplace accident, photographs of the scene could be useful in proving your claim).
Take witness details. If anyone has witnessed an accident in which you were injured, it might be a good idea to take down their details so they could provide a statement if it is required.
Seek legal advice. Even if you are not considering claiming bulging disc workers compensation initially, you could get advice on your eligibility. If you’d like free advice based on your own unique case, we’d be happy to provide you with this over the phone.

About No Win No Fee Agreements

Claiming compensation from an employer could be rather daunting, but a personal injury lawyer could make the process less stressful by taking on the legwork of proving your claim and negotiating a compensation settlement for you.

You could instruct a solicitor that doesn’t ask for any legal fees upfront or until your claim was completed. This is what is known as a No Win No Fee claim.

You’d first need to sign a No Win No Fee agreement. This is a contract between you and the lawyer which sets out how much you’d pay them if they achieved a compensation payout for you.

The success fee is capped and represents a small proportion of your payout. It is only payable if compensation is achieved. If your lawyer doesn’t get you compensation, you don’t have to pay them for the costs they’ve incurred while they were fighting your claim, nor would you pay them the success fee.

If you’d like to learn more about making a No Win No Fee claim, or you’d like to be connected with a personal injury solicitor from our panel who could take your case on under these terms, please do not hesitate to get in touch.

After verifying your back injury claim, you may be connected with a No Win No Fee solicitor from our panel. For a consultation, all you need to do is:

Call for free on 0333 000 0729
Send an email to [email protected]
Fill in a contact form to receive a callback

Learn More About Accident At Work Claims

Below, you can find some more guides that you may find useful on accident at work claims.

Thank you for reading our guide to bulging disc workers’ compensation settlements in the UK.

A Guide To Claiming For A Bulging Disc Injury At Work

Jump To A Section

Can I Claim Compensation For A Bulging Disc?

How Long Do I Have To Claim For An Injury At Work?

What Types Of Work Could Cause A Bulging Disc?

What Are The Average Bulging Disc Compensation Payouts In The UK?

What Steps Should I Take If I Had A Bulging Disc Injury At Work?

About No Win No Fee Agreements

Learn More About Accident At Work Claims

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