When Can You Make A Serious Spine Injury Claim?

When making a serious spine injury claim, you will need to show that your accident and injury were directly caused by a relevant third party breaching the duty of care they owed you. This guide will explain the various places and situations where you are owed a duty of care, and when you could have a valid personal injury claim. It will also share a figurative case study to help you understand how the serious injury claims process works and the steps you might need to take to seek compensation.

Serious Spine Injury Claim

When Can You Make A Serious Spine Injury Claim?

Additionally, we will look at the various types of evidence that could be used to support a serious injury claim.

Furthermore, we will discuss how compensation is calculated and the benefits of working with a No Win No Fee solicitor from our panel.

Our friendly team of advisors can also help answer any questions you may have, as well as provide free advice. They can be reached by:

Choose A Section

  1. When Are You Eligible To Make A Serious Spine Injury Claim?
  2. Evidence That Could Help You Claim For A Serious Injury
  3. Case Study: £1.8 Million Payout For A Serious Spine Injury Claim
  4. How Much Spine Injury Compensation Could You Receive?
  5. Make A No Win No Fee Spine Injury Claim
  6. Learn More About How To Make A Personal Injury Claim

When Are You Eligible To Make A Serious Spine Injury Claim?

To be eligible to pursue a serious spine injury claim, certain criteria must be met. This is:

  1. You were owed a duty of care by a relevant third party.
  2. This duty was breached.
  3. Due to this breach, you suffered an injury.

There are various situations where you are owed a duty of care. Some examples of when you are owed a duty of care are set out in the sections below.

Accidents In A Public Place

The Occupiers’ Liability Act 1957 sets out the duty of care for those in control of public places. It states that they must take steps to ensure the reasonable safety of those using that space for its intended purpose. For example, they must perform regular risk assessments and address any hazards posing a risk of injury within a reasonable time frame.

An example of how a serious spinal injury could occur in public could be in a slip or trip accident. For example, if a spillage in a supermarket hasn’t been clearly signposted or cleaned, a customer could slip and fall causing them to sustain a fractured disc in their spine.

Accidents At Work

The Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 (HASAWA) outlines the duty of care all employers owe their employees. This means they need to take reasonable steps to ensure your safety at work. This could include performing regular maintenance checks on workplace equipment, and ensuring you have received sufficient training.

If an employer were to breach this duty of care, it could lead to a serious spinal injury. For example:

  • Failure to put up safety guards when employees are working from a height could cause them to fall and sustain damage to their spinal cord.
  • A faulty ladder could give way and cause severe spinal injury.

Road Traffic Accidents

Road users must navigate the roads in a way that prevents causing harm and damage to themselves and others using the roads. This is their duty of care. Furthermore, they must follow the rules and regulations set out for them in the Highway Code and the Road Traffic Act 1988.

If a road user breached this duty of care, this could cause a road traffic accident where you suffer a serious spinal injury. Some examples could include:

  • You were front or rear-ended because another driver was looking at their mobile phone whilst driving.
  • If a motorist failed to check their mirrors before exiting a junction and collided with you on your bicycle or motorbike.
  • A speeding or intoxicated motorist collided with you on the pavement, potentially causing multiple injuries, including spinal cord damage leading to paralysis.

To check if you are eligible to make a serious spine injury claim, you can contact a friendly advisor from our team.

Evidence That Could Help You Claim For A Serious Injury

Gathering evidence is an important step when making a serious spine injury claim. It could help with proving who was liable, how the accident occurred, and the impacts your injury will have on your daily life. Some examples of the evidence you could gather to support your claim include:

  • CCTV or dashcam footage of the accident taking place.
  • The contact details of any witnesses to your accident.
  • Medical evidence regarding your injury and treatment, such as a copy of your medical records.
  • Photographs of the accident scene and any visible injuries.

If you are eligible to seek compensation for a spine injury, you might consider instructing a solicitor from our panel to assist you. They have experience handling claims for serious injuries and can guide you through the process of building a strong body of evidence. To find out more about how they could help, you can contact our advisors on the number above.

Case Study: £1.8 Million Payout For A Serious Spine Injury Claim

The following case study is figurative and has been included for guidance purposes only.

Mr Roberts was a 30-year-old operative in a large furniture warehouse. Part of his job was to stack and store objects on the higher level shelving which were accessed by fixed ladders. Despite raising concerns about a ladder that was faulty, his employer failed to address the issue and instructed Mr Roberts to continue using the faulty ladder.

One day the ladder gave way as Mr Roberts was using it and he fell from a height to the concrete floor below. As a result of this, Mr Roberts suffered a fracture in three different parts of his spine and a serious head injury. This left him paralysed from the neck down and he was confined to a wheelchair for the rest of his life.

After seeking legal advice from a solicitor, he decided to make a serious spine injury claim. His solicitor helped him gather evidence and submit his claim in full within the relevant time limit.

After a successful outcome, he was awarded £1.8 million. His personal injury solicitor successfully negotiated this settlement by looking at the loss of his employment prospects for the remainder of his life, the extensive surgical and rehabilitation costs, as well as the devastating impact on the quality of his life.

Speak to our team now to learn more about how a personal injury solicitor could help you with seeking a settlement for your serious spine injury.

How Much Spine Injury Compensation Could You Receive?

When making a successful serious back injury claim, there are two heads of loss that could be awarded. These are general and special damages.

General damages is the head of claim that aims to compensate you for the physical and psychological pain and suffering your injury has caused you, including the impact it has had on your quality of life.

Legal professionals can refer to the compensation guidelines found in the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG) to help them when they are valuing this head of your claim. This publication lists a variety of injuries at different severities and assigns them guideline compensation brackets.

We have included some of the entries listed for spinal injuries from the JCG in the table below. Please only use this table for guidance.

Compensation Guidelines

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Injury Type Severity Description Guideline Compensation Bracket
Multiple Injuries Serious Compensation for several multiple injuries of a serious nature alongside compensation to reimburse any financial losses incurred as a result. Up to £1,000,000+
Paralysis Quadraplegia Also known as tetraplegia. Cases where the person experiences physical pain and the senses and ability to communicate are significantly impacted are applicable to the higher end of this bracket. £324,600 to £403,990
Paraplegia The amount depends on extent of pain, impact on independence and life expectancy, for example. £219,070 to £284,260
Back Injury Severe (i) Cases which include the most severe injury involving the spinal cord and nerve roots being damaged, causing severe pain and disability. £91,090 to £160,980
Neck Injury Severe (i) Incomplete paraplegia from an associated injury to the neck. Around £148,330
Severe (ii) Damage to discs in the cervical spine causing considerably severe disabilities. £65,740 to £130,930
Special Damages Loss of Earnings Under the special damages head of claim, compensation can be awarded to reimburse any lost income resulting from time taken off work due to the injuries. This can include permanent or temporary time off. Up to £100,000+

Claiming For Financial Losses

Special damages might also be awarded to you if you make a successful serious spine injury claim. This aims to compensate you for the financial losses caused by your injury. Some examples of the costs you could incur may include:

  • Medical expenses.
  • The cost of home adjustments, such as installing a stairlift.
  • A loss of earnings.
  • At-home care costs.

Presenting evidence of these losses could help support your claim for special damages. For example, any receipts for prescriptions you’ve had to pay for could help with proving your medical expenses.

To check the validity of your claim and receive a free valuation of your case, you can contact one of our advisors.

Make A No Win No Fee Spine Injury Claim

A solicitor from our panel could help you with making a serious spine injury claim, as long as you meet the eligibility criteria. They often offer to represent their claimants under a Conditional Fee Agreement.

Working with a solicitor under this type of No Win No Fee contract comes with many benefits, such as:

  • Not having to pay any fees upfront for your solicitor to begin working on your case.
  • While your claim is ongoing, you won’t have to pay your solicitor for their work.
  • Not having to pay your solicitor for the work completed on your case if it ends unsuccessfully.

In the event of a successful claim, a legally restricted percentage is taken from your compensation. This is referred to as a success fee.

To discuss your claim and see if you are eligible to work with one of the serious injury solicitors on our panel, you can contact our team of advisors. They can be reached by:

Learn More About How To Make A Personal Injury Claim

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To receive free advice about your serious spine injury claim, you can contact our friendly team of advisors.