By Cat Stardew. Last Updated 2nd August 2023. If you have suffered nerve damage in an accident that resulted from a third party breaching the duty of care they owed you, you may be wondering if you could be entitled to make a personal injury claim for nerve damage compensation. In this guide, we will explain the criteria your case must meet in order to be valid, including the time limits for beginning legal proceedings. We will also explore the evidence you could gather to strengthen your case.
Following this, we’ll touch on personal injury compensation and how it aims to address the different ways you were impacted by the nerve damage.
Finally, we will explain the benefits of working with a No Win No Fee solicitor from our panel when you make a nerve damage claim, and the services they could offer.
Our team of advisors are on hand to answer any questions you may have about the claims process. An advisor from our team can provide a free consultation, during which they can offer advice and could potentially connect you with a solicitor from our panel.
To get started:
- Call us on 0161 696 9685
- Contact us online
- Use the live chat feature
Jump To A Section
- A Guide On Claiming Compensation For A Nerve Injury
- What Is A Nerve Injury?
- Causes Of A Nerve Injury
- Road Traffic Accidents Causing A Nerve Injury
- Medical Negligence Causing A Nerve Injury
- Workplace Accidents Causing A Nerve Injury
- Average Payout For Nerve Damage- Compensation Calculator
- Average Payout For Nerve Damage – Other Types Of Compensation
- Steps To Take If You Suffer A Nerve Injury
- How Legal Helpline Could Help You To Make A Personal Injury Claim
- Compensation For Nerve Damage – Claim With A No Win No Fee Lawyer
- Nerve Injury Claim Resources
A Guide On Claiming Compensation For A Nerve Injury
Nerve injury compensation claim
Claiming for a nerve injury can be quite a complex thing to prove. That’s because, unlike other types of injury, there aren’t always any visible signs. Therefore, our advice is that you should have a specialist on your side who understands what evidence is needed to prove such a claim.
Ordinarily, for a solicitor take on a claim, they’ll need to be shown that:
- You’ve been involved in an accident.
- That was caused by somebody who owed you a duty of care and was negligent.
- And you suffered nerve damage in that accident.
As we go through this guide, we’ll look at different types of a nerve, the symptoms of a nerve injury, how they can become injured and when somebody else might be liable for your suffering. Then we’ll look at potential compensation amounts and what evidence you should try and collect to support your claim.
It’s important to note that we can’t list every type of accident or injury within this guide. Therefore, even if your injury isn’t listed, we could still help you make a claim. So long as your suffering was caused by another person’s negligence, you could be entitled to compensation.
When you’ve finished reading this guide, if you have any further questions, or want to begin a claim, please contact the number at the top of the page.
Personal Injury Claims Process – Are There Exceptions To The Time Limit?
You generally have 3 years from the date of injury to begin making a claim. However, there are 2 exceptions to this rule.
One of these exceptions is if the injured party is under 18. If so, the time limit does not begin until they turn 18. However, before this time, a child cannot make their own claim. If one is to be made, a litigation friend must be appointed to do so on behalf of the injured party.
Similarly, a litigation friend must claim on behalf of any individual with a reduced mental capacity who is unable to do so themselves. Their time limit is also suspended. It would only start if they ever make a recovery.
Reach out today if you have any questions about the process of personal injury claims and the time limits involved.
What Is A Nerve Injury?
A nerve injury is when one of the three different types (details in the next section) of nerve become injured. Nerves are involved in almost everything the body does so, even in accidents which don’t seem too serious, if a nerve has been injured it can cause serious problems for the victim. Some nerve injuries can be treated successfully meaning a nerve injury compensation claim could be for short-term suffering.
However, some injuries can cause serious and permanent life-changing injuries meaning a compensation claim might become quite complex. Claims for changes to the home, loss of income and ongoing pain might be all be required for more serious nerve injuries.
Some of the more common nerve injuries you could claim for include:
- A spinal nerve injury
- Shoulder nerve injuries
- A nerve injury in the hand
- A sciatic nerve injury
Whatever type of injury you’ve sustained, we could help you begin your claim. Please contact an adviser today for free advice on the claims process.
Causes Of A Nerve Injury
The types of scenario we’re going to look at in the next few sections of this guide are workplace accidents, road traffic accidents or medical negligence claims but, in reality, there is a much longer list of incidents that could be the reason for a nerve injury.
It’s important to reiterate here, that for the purposes of claiming compensation, a nerve injury is one which has been caused by somebody else’s negligence.
Road Traffic Accidents Causing A Nerve Injury
All road users have a duty of care to one another. This means that if a collision happens because another road user was negligent, then you could claim compensation from them if you suffer a nerve injury or other associated injuries. You could claim as a pedestrian, cyclist, motorcyclist, driver or passenger injured in this way.
It’s advisable to try and swap details with the other driver, write down the details of their vehicle and ask witnesses for their details and copies of dashcam footage where possible.
Medical Negligence Causing A Nerve Injury
When a medical professional treats you, there has to be an element of trust placed in their ability to keep you safe. If a medical professional treats you in a substandard way, which is below what could be reasonably expected of a competent professional, and that treatment causes you to become injured, then you could sue them for your suffering.
Some examples of medical negligence causing nerve damage that might lead to a nerve injury compensation claim could include:
- Avoidable nerve damage during surgery
- Nerve damage after a tooth extraction
- Nerves severed during knee replacements
- Damaged nerves during hernia surgery
If you’d like us to help you claim for a nerve injury caused by medical negligence, please let a member of our team review your case with you by calling the number at the top of the page.
Can I Sue For Nerve Damage After A Blood Draw?
Medical professionals owe a duty of care to provide an expected standard of care. If this is not provided, and you are injured as a result, they could be held liable for medical negligence.
If you’ve suffered nerve damage because you had blood drawn, you may be asking yourself, ‘can I sue for nerve damage from a blood draw?’. If the negligence of a medical professional caused you to be injured, you may have grounds to seek a settlement for nerve damage in the hand.
If you want to start a nerve damage from blood draw lawsuit, medical evidence might be needed to prove that your nerve injury was caused by the negligent blood draw. Our specialist solicitors, who have years of experience in medical negligence cases, are able to support you in gathering the evidence you need to support your claim.
Workplace Accidents Causing A Nerve Injury
When you are in your workplace, your employer has a duty of care towards your safety. This means that they should take steps to identify any dangers and remove the risks where possible.
If they fail to do so, and you suffer an injury at work caused by the employer’s negligence, then you could be entitled to claim against them. Injuries caused by any of the following could lead to a claim:
- A lack of training
- Inadequate safety equipment
- Faulty or poorly maintained machinery
- A lack of information on the company’s safety procedures
A workers’ compensation settlement for nerve damage could be made against the company’s insurance policy if any of the above were the cause of the injury. Your employer can’t sack you, treat you differently or discipline you for claiming so don’t be afraid of asking for the compensation you could be entitled to.
Average Payout For Nerve Damage – Compensation Calculator
It can be difficult to offer you an accurate average payout for a nerve damage claim as a lot of factors can influence the awarded compensation. Factors that played a part in one claim might not apply to your claim, and so can give you an inaccurate idea of the compensation you could seek.
What we can do, is explain how compensation is calculated and offer you potential figures for a compensation amount that could be awarded for the injury you have suffered and the pain and distress it may have caused you. This figure is known as general damages. You could use a nerve damage compensation calculator but they aren’t always accurate. Instead, you could use the table below.
The figures in our table come from the 16th edition of the Judicial College Guidelines released in April 2022 and feature several injuries that could be associated with nerve damage.
| Injury | Compensation Range | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Severe Back injury: (i) | £91,090 to £160,980 | Injuries affecting the nerve root causing excessive pain are covered in this bracket. |
| Severe Back injury: (ii) | £74,160 to £88,430 | Nerve root damage that could result in loss of sensation as well as other issues is covered in this bracket. |
| Moderate Back injury: (i) | £27,760 to £38,780 | This bracket includes irritation to the nerve root due to disc damage. |
| Severe Shoulder Injury | £19,200 to £48,030 | Cases of shoulder injuries in this bracket often involve a neck injury that involves brachial plexus damage. |
| Serious Shoulder Injury | £12,770 to £19,200 | Dislocation affecting the lower part of the brachial plexus. |
| Serious Thumb Injury | £12,590 to £16,760 | Nerve damage requiring surgery and implants is an injury covered in this bracket. |
| Moderate Thumb Injury | £9,670 to £12,590 | Injuries causing tendon or nerve damage are covered in this bracket. |
| Work-related Upper Limb Disorders | £21,910 to £23,130 | Examples of injuries in this bracket include carpal tunnel syndrome that has resulted in an ongoing disability even with surgery. Employment may also be impacted. |
This is only part of the compensation you can seek. You can also seek an amount to address financial losses from your injury. We explain more about that below but if you are looking for information about the average payout for Sciatica from a car accident, or more specifically what you could be awarded in your claim, then please reach out to one of our advisers.
Average Payout For Nerve Damage – Other Types Of Compensation
If you are able to make a successful claim for sciatic nerve damage compensation, you could be potentially eligible to claim special damages if you have suffered financial loss as a direct result of your injury. This is partly why we are unable to provide an average payout for nerve damage in the UK as special damages will likely vary significantly between claims.
Special damages can be requested for losses and costs caused by effects such as:
- Being unable to work and losing out on income
- Paying for medicine or treatment
- Care requirements costs
- Requiring aids or modifications for your home to help you cope with your nerve injury
As said, any amount you request should account for your personal needs and factor in the length of your injury. For example, a settlement for nerve damage in the hand could take into account a loss of earnings if you were unable to perform your job duties due to it being highly physical.
If you get in touch with our advisors today, they can discuss everything you may be able to include in your claim and provide a free compensation estimate.
Steps To Take If You Suffer A Nerve Injury
If you suffer nerve damage from an accident and decide to make a nerve injury compensation claim, you’ll need to try and provide evidence to support you. Ideally, you’ll be able to show what happened, who was to blame and what injuries you sustained. To try and do this, you could provide:
- Medical records from any doctor or hospital that treated you.
- Photographs of the accident scene. Where possible, this should be done ASAP to try and capture the cause of the accident before it’s removed or repaired.
- Witness statements from anybody who saw what happened.
- A copy of an accident report. If your accident happened in a public place, or at work, then, so long as you report the incident, the business operator should record the date, time, details of the incident and any advice given in an accident book or similar.
- Photographs of any visible injuries.
Once you have as much evidence as possible, you could speak with one of our advisers so that they can assess your chances of being compensated.
How Legal Helpline Could Help You To Make A Personal Injury Claim
If you’ve decided to make a damaged nerve compensation claim, we hope that you’re considering letting Legal Helpline assist you. Here is some more information about us and how we can help:
- All claims taken on by our panel of solicitors are done so on a No Win No Fee basis
- Our claims line is open 24-7 so you can claim whenever it suits you
- Our team of advisers offer a no-obligation assessment of all claims and also free legal advice
- The solicitors on our panel always work hard to ensure you receive the correct level of compensation
- If your claim is taken on, you’ll receive updates throughout the case, so you’ll know what’s happening
If you need any further information about how we could help you, please call the number at the end of this guide.
Compensation For Nerve Damage – Claim With A No Win No Fee Lawyer
Starting a claim for nerve damage can seem intimidating, and it can be hard to know where to start. If you’re interested in claiming compensation for nerve damage, a lawyer from our panel may be able to help.
Our panel work on a No Win No Fee basis. They do this by offering their work under a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA), which is a type of No Win No Fee contract. Working under a CFA means they won’t ask for a fee to start working on your claim, nor will they take a fee for their continued services. Similarly, if your claim doesn’t succeed, your lawyer won’t take a fee for their work on the case.
However, if your case is successful, your lawyer will take a small percentage of your compensation as their success fee. This percentage is legally capped, allowing you to keep the majority of what you receive.
Contact Our Team
Working with a lawyer can come with many benefits; they can offer more information on the average payout for nerve damage, help you collect evidence, and explain any legal jargon that may come up throughout the claims process.
To find out if a lawyer from our panel could help you with your nerve damage compensation claim, get in touch with our team today by:
- Calling us on 0161 696 9685
- Using the live chat feature.
- Contacting us online.
Nerve Injury Claim Resources
You’ve now reached the end of this guide about claiming for an injured nerve. Hopefully, the information has proved useful and helped you decide whether to claim or not. Listed below are some more or our guides plus some other relevant resources.
Peripheral Neuropathy: This NHS guide explains when nerve damage occurs in the body’s extremities like the feet, hands and arms.
The Brain And Spine Foundation: A UK charity set up to support those affected by neurological problems.
Sciatica Information: An NHS guide abut sciatic which is caused when the sciatic nerve is irritated.
Head Injury Claims: If you’ve endured a head injury through no fault of your own, you could make a personal injury claim. Read our guide about it.
Arm Injury Claims: Nerve damage in the arms can cause concern. Our guide could help you see if you’re able to claim.
Assault Claims: You might not be aware that you could claim compensation for assault. Read our guide to find out how.
Nerve Injury Compensation Claim FAQs
Can you get compensation for nerve damage?
You could get compensation for nerve damage providing that it was caused by a third party. An accident at work, road traffic accident or public injury could lead to nerve damage, but you might not be able to claim if you were liable for the incident.
How much can I claim for nerve damage in the UK?
How much you claim for nerve damage is weighed up by how serious your injury is, how it’s affected your mental health and how your finances have been impacted as a consequence. Call our advisors for an estimate of what you could claim.
How do you prove you have nerve damage?
In a personal injury claim, you could prove nerve damage through medical evidence. An independent medical expert would create a report based on their assessment of your injuries. It could then be used to support your nerve injury compensation claim.
Article by BH
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