If you have suffered a spine injury, this can have varying aspects on your daily life and finances. You may also be wondering whether you could be eligible for compensation. In this guide, we’ll explain everything you need to know about how to sue for spine injury compensation. Personal injury claims can seem confusing, and it can be hard to know where to start; we’ll discuss when you could be eligible for compensation and what your compensation could cover.
We’ll also discuss time limits for spinal injury compensation claims. In some cases, you may be unable to make your own claim, so we’ll talk about your options and how a litigation friend could help you.
Finally, we’ll cover how to claim for a spinal injury on behalf of somebody else, and how a solicitor could help you claim compensation. Working with an expert serious injury claims solicitor can come with a number of benefits; we’ll explore these, as well as the ways in which a solicitor from our panel could help you.
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Read on to learn more about spinal cord injury claims. Or, if you have more questions, you can get in touch with our helpful team by:
- Calling us on 0800 408 7827
- Using the live chat feature
- Contacting us online
Browse Our Guide
- What Is A Spinal Cord Injury?
- Can I Claim Spine Injury Compensation?
- How Much Spinal Injury Compensation Could I Receive?
- What Else Could My Spine Injury Compensation Cover?
- What Is The Time Limit For Spinal Injury Compensation Claims?
- Can I Claim On Someone’s Behalf For Spinal Cord Injuries?
- How Can A No Win No Fee Spinal Injury Solicitor Help Me?
- Read More About Making Personal Injury Claims
What Is A Spinal Cord Injury?
The spinal cord runs from the brain stem down to the lower back and is one of the main structures of the nervous system. It’s made up of tissues, nerve bundles and cells and is used to carry messages from your brain to different parts of your body. It’s responsible for things like reflexes, movement, and sensation.
There are three main parts of the spinal cord: your cervical spine, thoracic spine, and lumbar spine. If you suffer a spinal cord injury, this can cause a number of severe consequences. Keep reading to find out if you could claim for a spinal cord injury, or contact our team to learn more.
Can I Claim Spine Injury Compensation?
To make a claim for spine injury compensation, you need to be able to prove that negligence happened. In terms of making a back injury claim, negligence occurs when:
- You were owed a duty of care.
- There was a breach in this duty.
- You suffered a spinal injury because of this.
When someone owes you a duty of care, this means that they are responsible for your health and safety. Different people owe you a duty of care at different times, for example:
Accidents At Work
Your employer owes you a duty of care while you’re working. The legislation that sets out this duty of care is called the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 (HASAWA), and this states that they need to take all reasonably practicable steps to ensure your safety.
For example, your employer needs to provide free training when you need it. If they don’t give you proper training before asking you to move a heavy box, you could suffer a manual handling injury to your back. In this case, you may be able to make an accident at work claim.
Accidents in a Public Place
While you’re in a public place, the person in control of that space owes you a duty of care, which means they need to make sure that you’re reasonably safe as per the Occupiers’ Liability Act 1957 (OLA).
For example, spillages should be signposted with a wet floor sign or cleaned up as soon as possible. If a freezer leaked in a supermarket and the employees knew but did not clear this up or signpost the hazard, and you suffered a spinal injury after slipping and falling, then you could potentially make a public liability claim.
Road Traffic Accidents
Road users owe each other a duty of care, and this means they need to make sure they don’t cause harm to themselves or others. They’re expected to follow the Highway Code and the Road Traffic Act 1988 to uphold this duty.
For example, if you were a passenger in a car and suffered a spinal cord injury when a drunk driver sped through a red light and hit the side of your car, then you could potentially make a road traffic accident claim.
Our team of helpful advisors can tell you whether or not you could be eligible to make a spinal cord injury claim for free when you get in touch. Or, you can keep reading to find out how much spine injury compensation you could potentially receive.
How Much Spinal Injury Compensation Could I Receive?
If you make a successful claim, you will receive general damages. This primary head of claim covers your spinal injury, and the way in which it has affected your life. For example, if your spinal cord injury paralysed you, then the injury itself would be considered alongside the way it has affected your independence, psychological well-being, and ability to work.
The Judicial College Guidelines (JCG) can be used to get a broad idea of how much spinal injury compensation you could receive. This document provides professionals with guideline compensation brackets for various injuries, some examples of which you can see below relating to spinal injuries.
| Injury | Compensation |
|---|---|
| Multiple Severe Injuries + Special Damages | Up to £1,000,000+ |
| Tetraplegia (also known as Quadriplegia) | £396,140 to £493,000 |
| Paraplegia | £267,340 to £346,890 |
| Severe Back Injuries (i) | £111,150 to £196,450 |
| Severe Back Injuries (ii) | £90,510 to £107,910 |
| Severe Back Injuries (iii) | £47,320 to £85,100 |
| Moderate Back Injuries (i) | £33,880 to £47,320 |
| Moderate Back Injuries (ii) | £15,260 to £33,880 |
Please be aware that the first entry in this table hasn’t been taken from the JCG, and that these amounts are not guaranteed; they are guidelines only.
Contact our helpful team today to learn more about how to claim compensation for spinal cord injuries.
What Else Could My Spine Injury Compensation Cover?
In general, most personal injury claims contain up to two heads of compensation. The first heading, general damages, we discussed above. The secondary head you could receive is known as special damages.
Under special damages, you can potentially get back any financial losses caused by your spinal injuries. For example, if your injuries render you unable to work, then special damages could cover current and future lost earnings, pension contributions, and bonuses.
Spinal cord injuries can be extremely serious and cause paralysis, quadriplegia, and brain damage.
Reflecting this, special damages can help cover the cost of mobility aids, like a wheelchair or cane, and home adjustments. This might include widening doorways to fit a mobility scooter or installing a stairlift.
You need to provide proof of any financial losses caused by your injuries in order to reclaim them. Contact our team today to find out how to do this, or keep reading to learn more about spinal injury compensation claims.
What Is The Time Limit For Spinal Injury Compensation Claims?
You’ll usually have three years to start a spinal injury compensation claim. This is the same for all personal injury claims. The time limit for making a claim starts on the date that you suffer your injuries, and lasts for three years.
However, you may still be able to make a personal injury claim if you fall outside of these three years. This is because the Limitation Act 1980, which outlines the time limits for making a claim, also provides some exceptions to this rule.
You can contact our team today to find out if you are within the time limit to make a personal injury claim. Alternatively, you can learn about the exceptions to the Limitation Act in the next section.
Can I Claim On Someone’s Behalf For Spinal Cord Injuries?
If someone else suffered a spinal cord injury and they are unable to make a claim, you could potentially claim on their behalf as a litigation friend. This means that you make the claim for them, and have to do all you can to make sure that you act in their best interests.
For example, under the Limitation Act, children under the age of 18 can’t claim for themselves. Instead, they have to wait until the time limit comes into play on their 18th birthday unless someone else chooses to claim for them as a litigation friend.
The same applies to those who lack the mental capacity, for whatever reason, to make their own claim. A litigation friend can start their claim on their behalf at any time, and the time limit does not come into force unless they recover the needed mental capacity.
To see whether you could claim on someone else’s behalf, you can contact our advisory team.
How Can A No Win No Fee Spinal Injury Solicitor Help Me?
We always recommend that you work with a legal professional when you make a spinal injury claim. This is because the claims process can often seem complex and stressful, and spinal injury solicitors can use their years of education and training to ease the load.
For example, a solicitor could help make the spinal cord injury compensation claims process feel easier by:
- Explaining complicated legal terms.
- Helping you prepare your case for court if this step is necessary.
- Communicating with the Court or the defendant.
- Negotiating a settlement and giving you an idea of how much compensation you could receive.
One of the personal injury lawyers from our panel could help you make a spinal injury compensation claim on a No Win No Fee basis through a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA). This means that you can access their services without paying a fee upfront, as the claim goes on, or at all if it fails.
If you successfully claim, then a success fee will be deducted from your compensation. Your solicitor will take this a small percentage, which has a legal cap.
Contact Us
Contact our team today to find out if a spinal injury claims solicitor from our panel could help you claim compensation by:
- Calling us on 0800 408 7827
- Using the live chat feature
- Contacting us online
Read More About Making Personal Injury Claims
To learn more about making a personal injury claim:
- Learn how to sue for a scald injury.
- Find out how to claim for a broken toe at work.
- Get help suing a university for a personal injury.
Or, for further information:
- Get general help and guidance for workplace safety from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).
- Find out about back pain from the NHS.
- Learn how to request CCTV footage of yourself to use as evidence from Gov.UK.
Thank you for reading our guide to claiming spine injury compensation.