A Guide About How To Make A Neck Injury Claim

If you suffered a neck injury because of someone else’s negligence, you could be eligible to make a claim for compensation. This guide, while discussing personal injury claims, will tell you everything you need to know about being eligible to make a neck injury claim and what the claims process can entail. 

how to make a neck injury claim

A guide on how to make a neck injury claim

You can also speak directly with one of our advisers for information. They offer free legal advice, can discuss your situation with you and answer questions you might have about making a personal injury claim. 

You reach out to one via: 

Select A Section 

  1. What Is A Neck Injury Claim? 
  2. What Neck Injuries Could You Claim For? 
  3. Changes To Whiplash Injury Claims 
  4. How Do I Make A Neck Injury Claim? 
  5. Calculating Neck Injury Compensation Payouts UK 
  6. Start Your Neck Injury Claim Today 

What Is A Neck Injury Claim? 

In various areas and situations, you are owed a duty of care. This means there is a responsibility placed on people around you or people in charge of an area to do everything they can to make sure  

  • Their actions do not impact your health and safety 
  • The area they are in charge of has been made as safe as it practically can be to prevent people from suffering injuries 

These situations include: 

Work: Where, as per the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 (HASAWA) the duty of care and responsibility largely falls on your employer. 

Public Space: Where, as per the Occupiers’ Liability Act 1957, the duty falls on the party in control of a place to ensure it’s safe for visitors.  

On The Road: Where, as per the Road Traffic Act 1988, a duty of care is shared by all road users. They should ensure they use the roads with care to prevent accidents. 

Liability

Your employer has a responsibility to make the work you do, and the environment you work in, as safe as is reasonably practicable. If you suffered a neck injury because they did not do enough, within reason, to make your work safer, you could be eligible to make a claim for compensation against them. For more information about workplace accidents, please read our guide to accident at work claims. 

If the controller of a place that’s accessible to the public fails to look for and deal with health hazards in an area, they can be found liable for an injury then caused by the hazard; for example, an injury from a slipping hazard in a supermarket can be grounds for a claim. 

On the road, all road users, including drivers, pedestrians or cyclists, should follow road traffic laws and the standards set out in The Highway Code. This is so they do not put any other road user at harm. If, for example, a driver drove dangerously, and this led to your neck injury, you could be able to make a road traffic accident claim against them. 

For information on who could be found liable for your neck injury, please speak to one of our advisers. 

What Neck Injuries Could You Claim For? 

One common form of neck injury is a whiplash injury. This is a sprain to the soft tissue found in the neck and is caused by a sudden movement of a person’s head. 

Other types of neck injuries include: 

  • Herniated discs 
  • Cervical fractures 
  • Neck arthritis 
  • Ligament tears 
  • Nerve damage 

If you would like a free compensation valuation for a neck injury claim, please reach out to one of our advisers. 

Changes To Whiplash Injury Claims 

The Whiplash Reform Programme (WRP) was officially launched on the 31st May 2021. As part of the reforms, whiplash injuries valued at £5,000 or less are now made through a government portal. You can only do this if you were the passenger or driver of a vehicle and were over 18. 

The portal is intended to streamline the process of making a whiplash injury claim. If fault is found, a compensation payout will be in line with a fixed tariff for the injury. 

Will The New Small Claim Rules Affect Me? 

This will depend on the type of neck injury you suffered.  You will be categorised in the small claim rules if:

  • Your injuries are valued at £5,000 or less
  • Your accident occurred on or after the 31st May 2021 
  • You were either a driver or a passenger (as cyclists and pedestrians can’t claim through the WRP) 
  • The accident occurred in England & Wales 
  • You are over 18 

It’s important to not undervalue your claim. If you get in touch with our advisers, they can let you know whether you could make a personal injury claim without having to use the portal.

How Do I Make A Neck Injury Claim? 

Evidence of the injury will be important in a personal injury claim. Before beginning a claim, you may have visited a medical professional about your injury. The entry in your medical records could be used as evidence in your claim. 

As part of the claims process, an independent medical assessment with an independent medical expert can result in a report to use in your claim. A personal injury solicitor can help you arrange this. 

A solicitor can also help you gather evidence of the circumstances that led to your injury. This could be evidence of:

  • Your party’s breach of their duty of care.
  • The hazard that led to your injury. 
  • The actions leading to your injury. 

Evidence could come in the form of the below.

  • Witness Statements
  • CCTV (or similar recordings like photographs)  
  • Documents/Emails: (that prove your employer was not taking the required steps to keep you safe, for example) 
  • Dashcam Footage (for road traffic accidents)

If you would like to speak to a personal injury solicitor, please reach out to one of our advisers now. They can value your claim for merit, and potentially put you through to a solicitor to help begin your claim. 

Calculating Neck Injury Compensation Payouts UK 

You can seek compensation for both the injury you suffered and any financial effects it had on you. 

You would seek compensation for the injury under general damages. This is the compensation amount awarded for the distress and pain of the injury. 

To show you potential compensation awards for neck injuries, we have included figures listed in the April 2022 edition of the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG) in the table below. 

InjuryNotesAward
(a) Severe Neck Injuries: (i)Examples of injuries in this bracket include a neck injury that results in spastic quadriparasis of a permanent nature.In the region of
£148,330
(a) Severe Neck Injuries: (ii)Injuries in this bracket include serious fractures or cervical disc damage causing disabilities of a considerable severity.£65,740 to
£130,930
(a) Severe Neck Injuries: (iii)Injuries in this bracket include fractures or dislocations that cause disabilities of a significant nature and chronic conditions.£45,470 to
£55,990
(b) Moderate Neck Injuries: (i)This bracket includes cases where immediate symptoms present themselves after fractures or dislocations. A spinal fusion may be needed.£24,990 to
£38,490
(b) Moderate Neck Injuries: (ii)Cases in this bracket might include those with limited movement and recurring pain from a soft tissue injury.£13,740 to
£24,990
(b) Moderate Neck Injuries: (iii)Cases in this bracket include soft tissue injuries with a long recovery time.£7,890 to
£13,740
(c) Minor Neck Injuries: (i)Minor soft tissue injury that sees a full recovery within two years.£4,350 to
£7,890
(c) Minor Neck Injuries: (ii)Minor soft tissue injury that sees a full recovery within three months to a year.£2,450 to
£4,350
(c) Minor Neck Injuries: (iii)Minor soft tissue injury that sees a full recovery made within three months.Up to £2,450
(a) Severe Shoulder Injury There will have been brachial plexus damage causing a significant disability.£19,200 to £48,030
 

If you had suffered financial effects because of your neck injury, you would seek special damages. This can be any financial losses or costs you have suffered because of the injury such as: 

  • Loss of earnings.
  • Costs towards treatment or care. 
  • Adaptation costs, if you have had to make changes to your home due to a disability, for example. 

If you want a compensation valuation of your neck injury claim, please reach out to one of our advisers. 

Start Your Neck Injury Claim Today 

A solicitor can help you make your claim on a No Win No Fee agreement. This agreement can be beneficial as it means you would not have to pay an upfront fee to hire them, and you would not have to pay an ongoing solicitor’s fee.  

Their payment comes as a success fee, which is dependent on your claim being successful. If it is successful, they would take a legally capped percentage of your compensation as payment. If it is not successful, you do not have to pay them a success fee.  

This can make accessing legal representation easier. To see if you could claim with a No Win No Fee  solicitor, please reach out to one of our advisers now. They are available by 

Related Whiplash Claim Resources 

Other resources that could be helpful include:

Thank you for reading our guide to neck injury claims. We also offer guides on: 

Written by MC

Edited by RV