Spinal Injury Lawyers
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Spinal Injury Lawyers
When you or a loved one suffers a spinal injury due to an incident where someone else is fully or partially at fault, you can claim compensation.
Our specialist spinal cord injury lawyers understand the struggles you may face now, and in the future, and are here to ensure you receive the compensation necessary to live the fullest life possible.
Serious spinal cord injuries are often life changing, either permanently or for an extended period of time. You may need ongoing specialist care, mobility support, medical equipment, home adaptations and your earnings may be affected. All of those things come at a cost and a spinal injury claim is often the only way to meet all the additional financial demands.
Our specialist solicitors have extensive experience in this area and are in touch with expert clinicians who can advise on what is available to improve your life. We explore every aspect of your specific need to set you up for the very best future possible.
We help people with cases involving:
Our spine injury lawyers understand
Spinal cord injuries are extraordinarily complex, which is part of the reason they are so difficult to come to terms with.
There are many different types of spinal cord injury – each with different short-term and long-term outlooks.
A spinal injury is a life-changing event which can turn your world upside down – whether you are the patient or a loved one. Patients may well require long-term physical support, which can put a huge strain on family units.
It is important to remember you are never alone when bringing a legal claim for spinal injury compensation.
Whilst every case is different and each individual unique, we can use our experience in helping others to help you. Our job is to help you find the best possible care and equipment and fight for the compensation you need to fund it. Our connections in the therapeutic, rehabilitation and disability aids worlds mean we are able to identify things that would be likely to significantly improve your life and ensure your claim includes those.
Can spine injury be cured?
Spinal cord injuries are highly individual. Each one is unique and outcomes can vary from full recovery to permanent total paralysis.
It is part of what makes spinal cord injuries so emotionally challenging and difficult to come to terms with, and why an expert spinal injury lawyer is essential.
Any return of movement generally happens within the first year of injury, though improvements can continue for several years. The return of feeling and sensitivity is less common. Spinal injury claims are often able to fund additional rehabilitation and specialised equipment, which can be useful when trying to regain mobility.
What happens when the spinal cord is damaged?
The spinal cord is like a highway of nerves.
Its job is to relay messages from the brain to the body and back again. Damage to this information highway means the messages sent from the brain are not received by the body (and vice versa), resulting in the loss of feeling, function and movement in certain parts of the anatomy.
Spinal cord injuries are classified in two ways:
- how badly the spinal cord has been damaged (complete or incomplete)
- the specific location of the injury on the spinal cord
How much compensation will I get for a spinal injury?
Claims are decided in two parts.
One part is a general damages amount, which is a compensation payment for the injury itself. There are very specific guidelines on the maximum payments awarded depending on how bad the injury is, how much capacity the injured party has lost and if there is ongoing pain.
The other part relates to special damages. This is much more unique to the individual and depends very much on what your solicitor has helped you to identify as the things you’ll need (or could access) in order to live as full and easy life as possible. Each requirement will need to be proven and the price of it evidenced in order for money to be awarded to allow that element to be paid for within the claim. A specialist solicitor will know how to find out what specific help and support is or could be available for you and will include that within your claim.
It’s very difficult to predict how much special damages could amount to. Special damages may be significantly higher than general damages. The entire claim can be tens or hundreds of thousands or more.
It’s also worth emphasising that what is classified as a ‘moderate’ injury within general damages guidelines is often still life changing.
A guide to general damages for spinal injuries (which form only part of a claim):
| Injury suffered | How this injury may have impacted on a person | Guideline general damages amounts (please note, special damages will also form part of a claim and these may far exceed general damage amounts) |
| Tetraplegia (also known as Quadriplegia) | The highest payment amount will be for injured parties who have ongoing physical pain or have suffered a significant impact on their senses or ability to communicate
Mid-range payments are likely to be for those people who are not in physical pain, have full awareness of their disability, continue to be able to hear, speak and see and have a life expectancy of 25 or more years. |
£304,630 to £379,100 |
| Paraplegia | Level of award within the bracket is likely to be influenced by:
● presence of and extent of pain ● degree of dependence on others ● whether depression is a factor ● age and life expectancy ● impact on sexual function. Cases where progressive paralysis is present or may occur, such as from the spinal cord progressive disease syringomyelia, may take claims to a higher bracket.
|
£205,580 to £266,740 |
| Where death for unrelated reasons occurs a short time after paraplegia is suffered | A lower sum will be awarded in this case with account taken of how old the injured party was and other factors. | £46,300 in the case of a young adult where death occurs within around two years |
| Severe neck injury | Neck injury associated with incomplete paraplegia or permanent spastic quadripligia. | Around £139,210 |
| Severe back injuries | Involving damage to the spinal cord and nerve roots causing:
● severe pain ● severe disability ● incomplete paralysis ● significantly impaired bladder, bowel and sexual function. |
£85,470 to £151,070 |
| ‘Moderate’ neck injuries | Including:
● fractures or dislocation that may require spinal fusion ● chronic conditions involving soft tissue injury to the neck and back This bracket is for injuries where the injury has led to markedly impaired function and limitations. It may include cases where symptoms of a pre-existing issue have been made worse. |
£23,460 to £36,120
|
| ‘Moderate’ back injuries | At the lower end back injuries where recovery is made within three months.
The higher end would be injuries where there is some residual disability. Examples may be: ● a compression/crush fracture of the lumbar vertebrae where there is a substantial risk of osteoarthritis and constant pain and discomfort ● a prolapsed intervertebral disc requiring surgery.
|
Up to £2,300 for injuries classified as least severe up to £36,390 in the higher end of this category |
Our specialist spinal injury lawyers support people in all kinds of spinal injury cases, including:
- Spinal cord injury claims due to road traffic accidents
- Spinal injury claim due to an accident at work
- Spinal injury caused by animals
- Spinal damage due to a birth injury
- Spinal cord injury claims in children
- Spinal injury and fatality
Other frequently asked questions about spinal injury claims
We’re here to answer your questions and the best way for us to give you the most appropriate advice is to talk to us. We’re happy to help.
You can also see our frequently asked questions for further information:
