Spinal Injury Claims

Your spinal cord is made up of a column of nerve tissue that runs from the base of your skull to the centre of your back. An injury to the spinal cord can result in permanent problems with sensation, movement, breathing, bowels, sexual function and much more. The impact upon you will usually depend upon which part of the spinal cord has been damaged. Your specialist spinal solicitor will work with a team of experts to ensure that your needs have been thoroughly investigated in order to give you the best chance of recovery.

There is a wide variety of spinal injuries that can be caused in road traffic accidents, accidents at work or in a public place.  We are specialists in fractures to the neck/back and paraplegia (paralysis of your lower limbs) and tetraplegia (paralysis of all four limbs) cases.

A spinal cord injury can occur in a variety of ways. We may be able to assist you if suffered an injury to your spinal cord in a road traffic accident, accident at work in a public place. Whether you suffered your injury here or abroad, speak with one of our specialists who will advise whether we can help.

A Spinal injury can have devastating consequences depending upon what type of injury you have suffered. For example, you may no longer be able to continue with your career, pursue your hobbies or spending time with your loved ones in the way that you used to. For some, a spinal injury could result in them become paralysed.

The impact of the injury will usually depend upon how high or low up the spine your injury has occurred. Usually, the higher the injury, the more serious the consequences can be. Spinal injuries can be debilitating and impact your mental health as well as impacting upon the lives of your loved ones.  It is therefore vitally important that you receive the most appropriate rehabilitation for you, early on.

A spinal injury can have devastating consequences not only to the injured person but also to their loved ones who often become their carers. A specialist spinal injury solicitor will seek to ensure that you have access to the most appropriate rehabilitation throughout the life time of your claim. A spinal injury may mean that you can no longer work, either temporarily or on a permanently. A solicitor will seek to secure interim payments to cover your loss of earnings, meaning that you can concentrate on your recovery without the added financial pressure.

A claims process can be complex and challenging. Your specialist solicitor will ensure that they take the appropriate legal action to secure the maximum compensation for you after thoroughly investigating everything that you are entitled to.

To find out whether you could bring a claim, call 0800 358 3848 and speak with one of our experienced solicitors from the outset. Our specialist solicitor will listen to what has happened to you and ask a few questions before advising you whether we can help. There is no pressure upon you to proceed but if you decide to, the next step will usually be for our solicitor to come and see you and make early contact with the responsible party so that provisions can be made for you as quickly as possible.

You must ensure that court proceedings are commenced within 3 years of your accident occurring. There are some exemptions, if you are a child, mentally incapacitated or your accident happened abroad for example but it is important that you instruct a specialist solicitor as early as possible so that they can advise you on the limitation period in your claim and ensure that the claim is investigated and evidence obtained in a timely manner.

Usually the issues of blame is dealt with first between the parties. If you were partly to blame then you are still entitled to bring a claim but it would affect the damages you receive. For example, if you were 10% to blame then you would receive 90% of your compensation. For many clients, recognition that the accident was not their fault, is key. For this reason, your lawyer will thoroughly investigate liability and ensure that you recover the maximise your compensation.

The first step is to work out how your claim will be funded. The vast majority of claims are funded through Conditional Fee Agreements (no win no fee agreements). We will then make early contact with the responsible party to try. We seek to secure an interim payment and an assessment of your needs very early on.

We will gather the evidence that we need to establish that the accident was the fault of the other party. You will need to be seen by experts who will assist us with your needs, whether that be medical, care, housing or employment. Once we have all information, we will then seek to negotiate your claim on the best possible terms.  If that is not possible, your claim may go to court but few cases proceed as far as this.

No amount of money can compensate for what you have been through. Spinal injury claims can be complex to value. In addition to a figure for the pain and impact of the injury upon your life (pain suffering and loss ), the claim is made up of items financial loss, both past and future. These include things such as loss of earnings, care, treatment and rehabilitation, accommodation and so much more, depending upon your needs.

It is impossible to value your claim until your medical condition and future needs have been thoroughly investigated with a specialist team of experts. Each individual is unique and for this reason, your claim will be investigated and formulated according to your individual needs.

If you have suffered an injury to your spine, many aspects of your life may have been impacted. Everyone's circumstances are different but depending upon your needs, your compensation could help to pay for:

• loss of earnings
• rehabilitation
• medical costs
• loss of earnings
• transport needs
• any equipment that you may need

A spinal injury can mean that you need care from family/friends or even from a commercial carer. The claims process can be lengthy. For that reason, we work hard to ensure secure interim payments wherever possible. An interim payment is a proportion of your compensation throughout the lifetime of your claim, meaning that you do not have to wait until the end of your claim in order to receive the care that you need. Your solicitor will ensure that your longer term care needs are thoroughly investigated and the costs is claimed as part of your overall settlement.

Aside from our personal injury practice, we offer a wide range of other services that may be helpful when you are thinking about your future needs. The following teams may be able to help you:

Court of Protection Team – if you are mentally incapacitated from providing instructions in your claim or making decision about your finances. The Court of Protection team will also be able to advise you on Personal Injury Trusts which we need to consider in all of our claims. You will need advice on Personal Injury Trusts if you are receiving means tested benefits or will do so in the future.

Real Estate – in cases where alternative accommodation is required, our Real Estate team can advise on any tenancy related matters