By Mary Swann. Last Updated 16th September 2022. Have you experienced degenerative disc disease aggravated by a car accident? If someone else’s negligence caused your injuries, you may be entitled to compensation. In this guide, we will look at the circumstances that could entitle you to make a personal injury claim.
Degenerative disc disease aggravated by a car accident guide
The Road Traffic Act 1988 states that all road users have a duty of care to one another. These rules are in place to keep everybody safe and prevent accidents. You can find guidance on good road conduct in the Highway Code. This applies to drivers as well as those who ride motorcycles or people who cycle.
In this article, we aim to offer you as much information as possible about claiming for injuries caused by the negligence of someone else on the road. If you’d like to discuss making a personal injury claim, you can contact our friendly team of advisers.
An adviser would be happy to have a talk about your injuries and assess how much compensation you may be entitled to. If your claim is valid, you can be connected to an expert personal injury lawyer from our panel to discuss No Win No Fee agreements with you.
You can contact an adviser from our team by:
- Calling them on 0800 408 7825 to explore your options.
- Filing out our online claims form to get a response whenever is best for you.
- Speaking with them on our chat feature for an instant reply.
Select A Section
- An Overview Of Degenerative Disc Disease Aggravated By A Car Accident
- What Is Degenerative Disc Disease?
- What Are The Symptoms Of Degenerative Disc Disease?
- Can A Car Accident Cause Or Aggravate Degenerative Disc Disease?
- The Thin-Skull Or Egg Shell Rule
- Compensation For A Spinal Injury
- Speak To A Lawyer Today
- Related Back Injury Claims
An Overview Of Degenerative Disc Disease Aggravated By A Car Accident
If you already suffer from degenerative disc disease and then are involved in a road traffic accident, your condition may become worse. Road traffic accidents can cause significant injuries.
In order to pursue a claim for compensation, you will need to prove three things:
- That you were owed a duty of care
- That this duty was breached
- And that you were injured as a result of this breach
The below table includes statistics taken from the Department for Transport. It shows the number of fatalities of car road users in Great Britain in 2020 compared with 2019. As you can see, there were 763 fatalities in 2019 and 618 in 2020. This is a decrease of 118 fatalities.
What Is Degenerative Disc Disease?
In the spine, there are cushions of tissue that sit between the vertebra. Degenerative disc disease occurs when these discs become damaged over time. Once a person stops growing at around 20 years old, the discs in the spine naturally begin to wear down.
This happens with age and can’t be prevented. Although a car accident will not cause you to suffer from degenerative disc disease, it could make it worse if you already suffer from the condition.
This can cause your symptoms to become more painful and debilitating and might have an impact on your quality of life. If this happens due to someone else’s negligence, you may be able to make a personal injury claim.
You can contact our team of advisers today to have a chat about your case and see how much compensation you may be owed. They can then connect you to a personal injury lawyer from our panel if you have a legitimate claim.
What Are The Symptoms Of Degenerative Disc Disease?
Here are some symptoms of degenerative disc disease:
- Pain that becomes worse when sat down.
- Pain that worsens when twisting, lifting or bending.
- Feeling less pain when lay down or frequently changing your position.
- Feeling more comfortable walking than while sitting or standing.
- Tingling and numbness.
- Severe, intense flare-ups of pain. These can last for days or months.
If your degenerative disc disorder is aggravated by a car accident, these symptoms could get worse. If this has happened due to someone else’s negligence, you could be eligible to make a car accident claim.
An adviser from our team have a chat with you and see if you have a valid claim. If you do, they can connect you with a solicitor from our panel who may be able to represent you on a No Win No Fee basis.
Can A Car Accident Cause Or Aggravate Degenerative Disc Disease?
If someone already has this condition and then they suffer a car accident, it can make it worse, particularly if you suffer a broken back during the accident. Although a car accident can’t cause generative disc disease, as it occurs naturally with age, it can worsen it.
If you suffer generative disc disease aggravated by a car accident, your symptoms may become much worse. You may also need more intense treatment that takes longer than if you hadn’t had a car crash.
Back injuries can occur in car accidents if the force of the impact causes your neck and back to move backwards and forwards suddenly. If you’re already suffering from degenerative disc disease, this could cause additional damage to your discs and make your condition worse.
If you have been injured in a car accident caused by third-party negligence, you could claim. Our team of advisers are available 24 hours a day to offer you support and discuss whether you could be entitled to compensation.
The Thin-Skull Or Egg Shell Rule
The thin-skull rule, sometimes referred to as the eggshell skull rule, came about as a result of the case Owens v Liverpool Corp [1939]. This rule states that a defendant should take the claimant as they find them, and a pre-existing condition is not a defence against negligence.
The example used in the case is that “it is no answer to a claim for a fractured skull that its owner had an unusually fragile one”. Essentially, even if you suffer symptoms from the accident that you would not have experienced had you not had degenerative disc disease, this will not be taken into consideration when valuing the claim.
If you have suffered a worsening of your condition after a car accident, you may assume that you cannot claim or that your compensation will be reduced, but this isn’t the case. Speak to one of our advisors today. If you have a valid claim, you could be connected with a No Win No Fee lawyer from our panel.
Compensation For Spinal Injury
If you’ve had your degenerative disc disease aggravated by a car accident, you may be able to make a claim if the accident was the fault of someone that owed you a duty of care. In order to claim compensation for spinal injury, you need medical confirmation that your symptoms have indeed become worse since the car accident. Your spinal injury claim would compensate you for the additional pain and suffering caused by the aggravation of your injury, not your original injury.
Spinal injury claims could comprise general and special damages. While general damages compensate you for the pain and suffering, special damages is compensation for financial losses directly related to your injury.
The table below contains compensation amounts from the Judicial College, which legal professionals use to help value general damages. The amounts in the table are taken from the 2022 edition of the guidelines.
| Injury: | Severity: | Notes: | Compensation: |
|---|---|---|---|
| Back Injuries | Severe (i) | The nerve roots and spinal cord are damaged, leading to severe disability and pain. | £91,090 to £160,980 |
| Back Injuries | Severe (iii) | Where discs have been fractures, leading to chronic conditions that cause ongoing disability. | £38,780 to £69,730 |
| Back Injuries | Moderate (i) | A wide range of back injuries. For example, a lumbar vertebrae crush/compression fracture that heightens the risk of osteoarthritis. | £27,760 to £38,780 |
| Neck Injuries | Severe (ii) | Damage to cervical spine discs that results in disability, such as the brachial plexus being permanently damaged. | £65,740 to £130,930 |
| Neck Injuries | Severe (iii) | Injuries that cause chronic conditions and leave the injured person with significant and permanent disabilities | £45,470 to £55,990 |
| Neck Injuries | Moderate (ii) | Severe disc lesion that can result in cervical spondylosis and severely limit movement. | £13,740 to £24,990 |
| Neck Injuries | Moderate (iii) | Injuries that have exacerbated a condition over a shorter period of time. | £7,890 to £13,740 |
The compensation for spinal injury you actually receive may not match the amounts in the table since they are only a guide. You may reach out to our advisors for a more personalised guidance based on your individual circumstance.
Special Damages
If you had suffered monetary losses because of your accident and injury, you could also seek special damages as part of your claim. This is the term for the amount of compensation that addresses financial losses. Special damages could compensate you for losses such as:
- Loss of income
- Care costs
- Costs towards treatment
- Repair costs for your vehicle
Please speak to an advisor if you are looking for information about the average settlement for a degenerative disc disease that has been aggravated in a car accident and what you could seek in your claim.
Speak To A Lawyer Today
A No Win No Fee agreement, sometimes called a Conditional Fee Agreement, is an agreement between you and your solicitor. It outlines the terms your back injury lawyer must follow in order to receive payment. A personal injury lawyer from our panel may be able to work with you on a No Win No Fee basis.
If your claim loses, you won’t pay your solicitors fees. If your claim wins, your lawyer will take a small percentage of your awarded compensation. You will still receive most of your compensation.
If you’d like, an adviser can connect you to a car accident lawyer from our panel provided you have a legitimate claim. They can then discuss No Win No Fee agreements with you and help you receive the maximum amount of compensation you deserve.
You can contact an expert adviser from our team via:
- Telephone on 0800 408 7825 to discuss your situation.
- Our claims form online to receive a response at your nearest availability.
- Our instant chat pop-up box to speak with an adviser straight away.
Related Back Injury Claims
Below, we have included some more guides on claiming if you’ve experienced a back injury as a result of negligence.
Cycling Accidents – Have you suffered an injury in a cycling accident due to someone’s negligence? You may be able to make a personal injury claim.
Public Transport Accident – If you’ve suffered an injury in a public transport accident, you may be entitled to compensation.
Back Pain – If you’re suffering from back pain, this NHS guide includes important information.
Acute Lower Back Pain – This NHS guide includes guidance about acute lower back pain.
Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) – Find out how much you could receive in SSP if you have to take time off work because of an injury.
We also have some other guides you may find useful:
- Public accident claims hot spots
- Council slip and trip accidents
- Public transport accidents
- How to make a public liability claim
- Making a claim against the council
- Claiming for a pothole injury
- Making a claim against a shop
- Accidents in a public park
- Cycling accident claims
- Claiming for injuries suffered while shopping
Thank you for reading our guide about how to claim if your degenerative disc disease is aggravated by a car accident.
Article by OA
Publisher ET