By Marlon Redding. Last Updated 2nd September 2022. A spinal cord injury is damage to any part of the spinal cord or the cauda equina, which are the nerves at the bottom of the spinal canal. A person who has a spinal cord injury can become partially or completely disabled below the injury site. Consequently, their life may change forever.
Why Choose A Specialist Spinal Cord Injury Solicitor?
Spinal cord injury solicitors
Legal Helpline can help you if you have experienced a spinal accident that was not your fault. We can connect you with an experienced spinal cord injury solicitor from our panel who can manage your claim.
To see if you can begin a spinal cord personal injury claim, please get in touch with Legal Helpline using the details below:
- Call our advisors on 0161 696 9685 to speak to an advisor.
- Use our live chat for instant answers.
- Or contact us in writing via LegalHelpline.co.uk.
Jump To A Section
- A Guide To Spinal Cord Injury Solicitors
- What Is A Spinal Cord Injury Solicitor?
- Types Of Spine Injuries
- What Causes Acute Spinal Injuries?
- What Are The Symptoms Of Acute Spinal Cord Injuries?
- How Could An Acute Spinal Injury Affect You?
- Eligibility To Claim With A Spinal Cord Injury Solicitor
- Calculating Compensation For Spinal Cord Injuries
- What Other Damages Can You Claim?
- Steps To Take If You Have Suffered A Spinal Cord Injury
- Claiming With A No Win No Fee Spinal Cord Injury Solicitor
- Contact Us
- Useful Links
- FAQs About Working With A Spinal Cord Injury Solicitor
A Guide To Spinal Cord Injury Solicitors
A spinal cord injury can have life-changing consequences. Spinal cord injuries can cause permanent disability or paralysis. Therefore, a spinal cord injury patient may also experience emotional and psychological difficulties following their injury.
Have you experienced injuries because another party acted negligently? You may be eligible to claim compensation for a spinal cord injury.
Your compensation payout can include compensation for the pain, suffering and loss of amenity your injuries have caused. In addition, your compensation payout may include special damages. Special damages will cover the costs of any expenses caused by your injuries, such as the cost of putting in a ramp to your home.
Legal Helpline can connect you with a spinal cord injury solicitor to handle your claim. Don’t hesitate to contact us today for free legal advice and start your spinal injury compensation claim.
What Is A Spinal Cord Injury Solicitor?
The spinal cord is a group of nerves that runs along the spinal column’s length (backbone). The spinal cord begins at the brain and ends at the cauda equina. Moreover, the brain and the spinal cord make up the central nervous system (CNS). The spinal cord allows the brain to send and receive information to and from the rest of the body.
A person with a spinal cord injury may experience a loss of sensation, motor control and strength. In other cases, the injured person may suffer permanent paralysis. You may be eligible to claim compensation if you have experienced a spinal cord injury that was not your fault.
What is a spinal cord injury solicitor?
They are solicitors that specialise in spinal cord injury compensation claims.
Under what circumstances can you claim compensation for a spinal cord injury?
- Firstly, another party needed to have owed you a duty of care. For example, if you were at work, your employer would have owed you a duty of care. They should take reasonable measures to ensure your safety.
- Secondly, the other party needs to have breached that duty of care. Consequently, this must have led to an accident or incident.
- And thirdly, the accident needs to be a direct cause of your injuries.
We will look at the causes of spinal cord injuries later in this guide.
Types Of Spinal Cord Injuries
The severity of a spinal cord injury depends on whether it is a complete spinal cord injury or an incomplete spinal cord injury.
- A complete spinal cord injury patient loses all motor control and sensory function below their injury site. In other words, the injury causes the patient to become paralysed.
- A patient with an incomplete spinal cord injury loses some motor control and sensory function. Incomplete spinal cord injuries vary in severity.
Patients with a spinal cord injury experience the symptoms below the site of the injury.
- Tetraplegia, also called quadriplegia, means that the spinal cord injury has affected all four limbs. Tetraplegia can also affect the torso and pelvic organs.
- Paraplegia affects the legs and pelvic organs. And paraplegia also affects all or part of the torso, depending on where the injury took place.
What Causes Acute Spinal Injuries?
Acute spinal cord injuries are caused by trauma to the spinal cord. It can often cause permanent changes in strength and mobility.
Trauma from an accident can cause a spinal cord injury. Here are some examples of accidents that could cause a spinal cord injury.
- Road traffic accidents can cause spinal injuries. A car occupant may suffer a broken spine injury or fractured vertebrate. As a result, the break or fracture may damage the spinal cord.
- Slips, trips and falls can cause spinal cord injuries. If the injured person falls from a height or falls down the stairs, they are likely to be more severe.
- If a victim experiences a violent attack or assault, they may become paralysed. For example, being stabbed in a knife attack or gunshot wound can cause a spinal cord injury.
- Serious sporting accidents can result in spinal cord injuries. Therefore, pitches and other areas where sports are played should be clear of hazards.
- A patient’s medical condition can also damage the spinal cord. For example, spinal cord inflammation, arthritis, osteoporosis and cancer can all cause spinal cord injuries. Sometimes, the patient’s condition can worsen because of medical misdiagnosis.
If you have experienced a spinal cord injury that was caused by negligence, you may be eligible to claim compensation. Contact Legal Helpline today about finding a spinal cord injury solicitor to handle your compensation claim.
What Are The Symptoms Of Acute Spinal Cord Injuries?
The full effects of a spinal cord injury are not always apparent straight away. So you should seek emergency medical treatment right away to limit the effects of your injury. If you’re experiencing these emergency symptoms, please seek medical intervention immediately.
These can be some emergency signs of a spinal cord injury:
- A loss of sensation or numbness in your hands, feet or digits.
- Extreme pain, or feelings of extreme pressure in your back, neck, head or all three.
- The hands and feet are tingly or numb.
- Parts of the body become weak or uncoordinated.
- Difficulty breathing without assistance.
- Incontinence and loss of bowel control.
How Could An Acute Spinal Injury Affect You?
Spinal cord injuries can be life-changing and permanent. People who have spinal cord injuries may experience the following symptoms:
- A loss of motor control and fine motor control.
- A loss of feeling and altered sensation. For example, the person cannot experience touch or temperature.
- Loss of the ability to control bowels and bladder.
- A person with a tetraplegic injury may have difficulty breathing, clearing their lungs or coughing.
- The person may experience a loss of or change in their sexual function.
- The person may experience muscle spasms.
- And the person may experience intense pain or stinging sensations because of damage to the nerve fibres in their spinal cord.
People with spinal cord injuries can live full lives. However, spinal cord injuries present many physical challenges, especially if the patient has a complete spinal cord injury.
But, the challenges of living with a spinal cord injury are not only physical. For instance, the person’s mental health may suffer following their injury, and they may need counselling. People who become paralysed may find they are no longer able to work or have to change careers. A spinal cord injury can also affect a person’s social life.
Eligibility To Claim With A Spinal Cord Injury Solicitor
You could claim spinal cord injury compensation for yourself if another party is responsible for your injuries. For example, your employer may have neglected to fix a safety railing at work, causing you to fall from a height and hurt your back.
Consequently, you may have experienced damage to the spinal column and a damaged spinal cord. Your employer is responsible for taking reasonable measures to protect your health and safety whilst you are at work. Therefore, your employer would be liable for your spinal injuries if they didn’t take appropriate steps to prevent you from being harmed. You could be eligible to claim compensation for a work back injury.
Can you claim on behalf of someone else?
Yes, you could claim compensation for a next-of-kin relative who has experienced a fatal accident. Similarly, certain adults can claim compensation on behalf of someone who is not capable of claiming for themselves.
For example, if you are the parent or guardian of a child who has experienced a spinal cord injury caused by someone else’s negligence, you could claim compensation on your child’s behalf. You would be acting as a litigation friend.
You can also claim on behalf of a person who lacks the mental capacity to claim.
Legal Helpline can appoint spinal injury solicitors to work on your claim. To begin your spinal injury claim, please get in touch with Legal Helpline today.
Calculating Compensation For Spinal Cord Injuries
Spinal cord injuries can be life-changing and cause serious disabilities. If you have suffered a spinal cord injury, your compensation payout will reflect the severity of your injuries.
How would a spinal cord injury solicitor value your compensation claim?
As part of the claims process, you’d attend a medical assessment. (Our panel of solicitors could be able to arrange this locally for you.) An independent medical professional would assess your injuries and create a report. The purpose of this report is to:
- Show how severe your injuries are.
- Conclude whether the injuries were caused, worsened or not linked to the incident.
If the injuries aren’t linked to the incident, you could find it difficult to claim. However, if they are, your solicitor could use the medical report as evidence in your claim.
They could also use it to help calculate your injuries alongside guidelines set by the Judicial College. These guidelines contain a list of injuries, their severities and what general range of compensation could align.
You can use the below table to estimate how much compensation you could claim for a damaged spinal cord. The compensation amounts in the table are based on Judicial College guidelines. However, please be aware that valuing a personal injury claim is a complex process. So the final amount of compensation you could receive may vary. What’s more, this table does not estimate how much compensation you could claim in special damages.
| Injury Type | Degree Of Iinjury | Notes | Award |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paraplegia | (b) | Settlements will take the following into consideration, whether the person is in pain and the degree of pain, how independent they are, if they have depression, their age and how long they are expected to live. | £205,580 to £266,740 |
| Tetraplegia (Quadriplegia) | (a) | The victim is not in pain and is fully aware of the disability they have. They are expected to live for more than 25 years. | £304,630 to £379,100 |
| Neck Injury | Severe (i) | Where there is incomplete paraplegia, or where the injury results in permanent spastic quadriparesis. The person could have also been left with little movement in the neck and head pain. | In the region of £139,210 |
| Neck Injury | Severe (ii) | Serious damage or fractures affecting the cervical spinal discs. | £61,710 to £122,860 |
| Neck Injury | Moderate (i) | A dislocation or fracture. There are immediate and severe symptoms. The victim could need a spinal fusion. | £23,460 to £36,120 |
| Back Injury | Severe (i) | Unusual consequences from severe injury involving spinal cord damage to damage to nerve roots. | £85,470 to £151,070 |
| Back Injury | Severe (iii) | Disc lesions or disc fractures leading to chronic conditions. | £36,390 to £65,440 |
Alternatively, please call our claims helpline. And an advisor can provide you with a personalised quote.
What Other Damages Can You Claim?
If you claim spinal cord injury compensation, you could receive up to two heads of claim. You could receive general damages to compensate for the pain, suffering and loss of amenity you have experienced. And you can receive special damages which cover any costs associated with your injuries.
You may have suffered disabilities caused by spinal injuries and have extensive costs associated with these injuries. You may require occupational therapy to help you to cope with the injuries. In addition, you may need specialist mobility equipment to help you move around.
You may need to adapt your home. For example, you may need a wheelchair ramp so you can enter their home. Your compensation payout can include special damages to help recover the financial losses accrued due to these costs.
Here are some examples of what special damages can cover:
- Mobility equipment expenses
- Car or home adaptation expenses
- Travel costs (to and from hospital appointments, for example)
- Medical and physical therapy costs that aren’t covered by the NHS
- Specialist care costs that aren’t covered by the NHS
- Loss of income
Steps To Take If You Have Suffered A Spinal Cord Injury
If you wish to claim compensation for a spinal cord injury, you can collect evidence to support your compensation claim. If you use the services of a spinal cord injury solicitor, they may use the evidence to support your compensation claim.
- Firstly, your spinal injury solicitor could use your medical records to support your claim, including records that diagnose you with a spinal cord injury.
- Secondly, you or a friend can collect evidence to support your claim. For example, a colleague can photograph a hazard at work that caused your back injuries.
- And finally, contact Legal Helpline for support and free legal advice. Moreover, we can appoint a spinal cord injury lawyer to handle your compensation claim.
Spinal Cord Injury Solicitors – What Are The Benefits Of Working With Them?
The experience spinal cord injury solicitors have with claiming for this type of injury can be of benefit when making a claim. They can use their legal knowledge and experience to help you and hiring a solicitor who has previously managed claims for a spinal cord injury will mean you are working with a solicitor who could better understand your medical needs.
A solicitor can help you through every step of a claim, including:
- Collecting evidence for your claim
- The long term care financial needs you should be compensated for
- Knowing medical experts you could use to help you get a medical report of your injury
- How to potentially seek interim payments
A consultation with one of our advisers is free, and it could give you a chance to hear about how one of our spinal cord injury solicitors could help you, and how they have helped previous claimants. Please reach out for any inquires you have about spinal cord injury claims.
Claiming With A No Win No Fee Spinal Cord Injury Solicitor
A No Win No Fee solicitor handles your claim without charging you an upfront solicitor’s fee. For many claimants, this is the more affordable way to claim as they don’t have to worry about paying to claim compensation upfront.
Instead, the solicitor deducts a success fee from the compensation payout. If you do not win the claim, they will not change a success fee. Therefore, you’re taking less of a risk financially when funding the services of a solicitor.
You also would have to pay any ongoing solicitor fees during the claim. What’s more, the success fee is capped by law.
You can consult our guide if you want to learn more about making a No Win No Fee claim.
Contact Us
To begin your spinal cord injury compensation claim, why not reach out to us? We can connect you with a spinal cord injury solicitor to potentially handle your claim.
You can reach out in any of the following ways:
- Call Legal Helpline on 0161 696 9685
- Fill out our online claims form.
- Alternatively, chat with an advisor using the popup on the bottom right-hand side of your browser.
Useful Links
We hope that this guide to claiming compensation for an injury to the spinal cord has helped you. We also have some further reading materials below.
- How To Make A Lumbar Spine Injury Compensation Claim
- £2 million Compensation Payout For A Broken Back And Paralysis In An RTA
- How To Claim Compensation For A Herniated Disc/Slipped Disc
- An NHS guide to paralysis
- An NHS guide to living with a spinal cord injury
- A guide to back pain, from the NHS
FAQs About Working With A Spinal Cord Injury Solicitor
We will now answer some frequently asked questions about making a personal injury claim.
What time limits do you need to be aware of?
There is generally a three-year personal injury claims time limit. Please get in touch with Legal Helpline as soon as possible to avoid falling outside the time limit.
Why choose a specialist solicitor?
A specialist personal injury solicitor can value your claim accurately. What’s more, the solicitor will negotiate with the defendant to try and ensure you receive the right compensation settlement for your injuries.
What if you were partially at fault?
If you were partially at fault for causing an accident, you might be able to make a split liability claim. Please read our guide to making split liability claims to learn more.
How do you pay for long term care?
You can claim special damages to cover the costs of any long term care you need as part of your personal injury claim.
How could spinal injuries affect other parts of your life?
Your spinal injury may affect your mental health and social life. Furthermore, your spinal injury can make it harder to take part in activities you enjoy.
Thanks for reading our article on the ways in which a spinal cord injury solicitor can help.
Written by HC
Edited by RV