This is a guide on serious spine injury claims. Severe injuries to the spine can significantly affect your life. If you have suffered harm in an accident caused by a third-party breaching their duty of care, you may wonder whether you’re eligible to make a personal injury claim. As you move through this guide, you will find information on the eligibility criteria that need to be met in order to have valid grounds to seek compensation for your injuries, as well as the time limits for starting legal proceedings.
How To Make Serious Spine Injury Claims
We will also outline the duty of care owed by different third parties, and give examples of how an accident could result in a spinal injury if this duty is breached.
Furthermore, we discuss personal injury settlements and how they are calculated.
Finally, we will highlight how the support of a No Win No Fee solicitor from our panel could help you and benefit your claim.
Our dedicated advisors can assess your potential serious injury claim for free. To speak with an advisor today, you can:
- Call 0161 696 9685;
- Contact us online;
- Open the live chat feature below.
Select A Section
- Determining Eligibility For Serious Spine Injury Claims
- Types of Accidents And Injuries That Could Cause A Serious Spine Injury
- Evidence To Support Serious Spine Injury Claims
- Examples Of Payouts In Serious Spine Injury Claims
- No Win No Fee Serious Spine Injury Claim
Determining Eligibility For Serious Spine Injury Claims
Serious spine injury claims must meet the following criteria to be valid:
- A third party owed you a duty of care;
- They breached their duty;
- This breach led to an accident which caused your physical and/or psychological injury.
What Limitation Period Is There For Serious Injury Claims?
Generally, a personal injury claim will need to start within the three-year time limit set out by The Limitation Act 1980. The time limit usually starts from the accident date. However, certain circumstances could bring about an exception to the normal limitation period.
To learn more about how long you have to claim for a spine injury, call our team on the number above. An advisor can also provide further guidance on the eligibility criteria for personal injury claims.
Types of Accidents And Injuries That Could Cause A Serious Spine Injury
The following sections will examine the different pieces of legislation that set out the duty of care for road users, employers, and occupiers. You can also find examples of how an accident could occur if this duty is breached.
Accidents On The Road
The duty of care road users owe is to prevent harm or damage to themselves and others by navigating the road safely. Road users must follow the rules in the Road Traffic Act 1988 and Highway Code to help them uphold their duty of care. If they failed to do so, it could lead to an accident on the road that causes a serious spine injury.
For example, the driver of a car uses their phone while operating their vehicle. As a result, they don’t notice the traffic coming to a stop in front of them causing them to crash into the back of another vehicle at a high speed. This leads to the other driver sustaining a severe back injury in a car accident involving spinal cord damage leading to paralysis.
Accidents At Work
Employers owe a duty of care to their employees as per the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. Section 2 of the Act states that all reasonably practicable steps must be taken to keep employees safe. A breach of duty could lead to an employee sustaining a serious back injury in an accident at work.
For example, an employer instructs an employee to use a forklift without any training on how to safely and correctly operate the workplace vehicle. As a result, the employee loses control of the forklift and crashes into a stationary object causing them to sustain a fractured back.
Accidents In Public Places
The Occupiers’ Liability Act 1957 outlines the duty of care occupiers have to take steps to ensure the reasonable safety of visitors on the premises. If they don’t, it could lead to an accident in a public place.
For example, despite multiple reports about a faulty drainage grid on the pavement, no steps are taken to fix the issue or reduce the risk of an injury. As a result, a member of the public falls through the grid and sustains a severe back injury involving multiple disc fractures.
You can discuss the specific circumstances and nature of your case by calling an advisor on the number above. They can offer further insight into the eligibility criteria for serious spine injury claims.
Evidence To Support Serious Spine Injury Claims
Serious spine injury claims require evidence showing the accident occurred due to a third party breaching the duty of care they owed, and that this caused your injuries. As such, you could benefit from gathering the following evidence to support your claim:
- An official record, such as a police report of a road traffic accident or a workplace accident book entry.
- Medical records showing your spine injury, like an X-ray.
- A diary recording your treatment and symptoms.
- Witness contact information.
- CCTV or dash cam footage of the accident and its cause.
- Photographs of the accident scene and your injuries.
Please speak to our advisors if you need guidance on gathering evidence. They may be able to connect you with a solicitor from our panel to assist you, provided you have valid grounds to seek compensation.
Examples Of Payouts In Serious Spine Injury Claims
A personal injury settlement can be made up of to two heads of claim. Firstly, general damages compensate for the pain and suffering you have experienced due to your spine injury. Consideration can also be given to the overall impact on your quality of life.
Your medical evidence and a document called the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG) can help legal professionals value the general damages portion of your claim.
The below table uses some of the guideline award brackets from the JCG. Please note that this should only be used as a guide, as settlements awarded can vary from case to case.
Compensation Table
| INJURY | COMPENSATION | NOTES |
|---|---|---|
| Severe Spine Injury With Other Serious Injuries | Up to £1,000,000+ | A severe spinal injury with other serious injuries. Compensation is also awarded for special damages. |
| Paralysis | £324,600 - £403,990 | Tetraplegia; the paralysis of both legs and arms. |
| Paralysis | £219,070 - £284,260 | Paraplegia; the paralysis of both legs. |
| Severe Back Injury (i) | £91,090 - £160,980 | Injuries considered most severe and including spinal cord or nerve root damage. |
| Severe Neck Injury (i) | In the region of £148,330 | This bracket covers cases of paraplegia that is not incomplete or spastic quadriparesis of a permanent nature from neck injuries. |
| Severe Neck Injury (ii) | £65,740 - £130,930 | This bracket covers cases of damage to the discs in the cervical spine and serious fractures causing disabilities of a considerable severity. |
| Loss of earnings | Up to £100,000 and above | Under special damages, compensation can be awarded to reimburse any lost income incurred due to taking time off work because of your injuries, either on a permanent or temporary basis. |
What Are Special Damages?
You could also be awarded special damages as part of your payout, which compensate for the financial losses caused by your injuries. For example:
- A loss of earnings from being unable to go to work.
- Travel made necessary by your injuries, including the cost of travel to and from appointments.
- Domestic care costs.
- The cost of home adaptations or mobility aids like a wheelchair.
- Medical expenses, such as prescription charges.
You should gather evidence of these costs, including bank statements, wage slips, and receipts.
Please be sure to contact our advisors if you want to know more about personal injury payouts for serious spine injury claims.
No Win No Fee Serious Spine Injury Claim
Our panel of solicitors have experience handling serious spine injury claims and can offer guidance throughout the personal injury claim process. If you have valid grounds to claim, a solicitor may offer to take your case under a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA).
This type of No Win No Fee contract typically means you will not pay for them to begin working on your case at the start of your claim. Nor will you pay for their work as your claim proceeds, or if it fails.
Should your case win, your solicitor will recoup a success fee. This is taken as a percentage of your compensation, and is capped by The Conditional Fee Agreements Order 2013.
Contact Our Team
If you would like further information on serious spine injury claims, and whether a solicitor from our panel could offer their services on a No Win No Fee basis to assist you in seeking compensation, contact an advisor. To do so, you can:
- Call 0161 696 9685;
- Contact us on our website;
- Send a message on live chat.
Find More Guidance On Serious Spinal Injury Claims
For more guides from us, see below:
- Details on making a public liability claim against a council.
- Exploring how to claim against your employer for an injury on the job.
- A general guide to road traffic accident claims.
- Find out how to make a broken chair accident claim.
- This case study details a potential payout for a £300,000 fractured vertebrae injury.
Here are some further resources you could look at:
- NHS – Spine injury information and support.
- GOV.UK – Statutory Sick Pay.
- National Highways – Request traffic camera footage.
Thank you for reading this guide on serious spine injury claims. Please reach out to our advisors if you require any further information.
Written by EM
Edited by MMI