Spinal Cord Injury

Most commonly spinal cord injuries are caused by serious road traffic accidents and falls from height.

If you have suffered a spinal cord injury as a consequence of a road traffic accident our experienced solicitors will assist you with making a claim for compensation even where the other driver is not insured or has not been identified.

Our solicitors have dealt with many serious road traffic accident cases on behalf of drivers, passengers, pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists. Even if you were not wearing a seatbelt you can still make a claim and we will advise you about how this may affect your claim.

Our solicitors have dealt with many serious accident at work cases. If you have suffered a spinal cord injury at work (perhaps because of a fall or being struck by moving equipment) our spinal cord injury specialist solicitors can help you bring a compensation claim. In such cases the Health and Safety Executive will normally be involved and will be undertaking their own investigation. We can liaise with them on your behalf.

Whatever the circumstances it is important that you seek legal advice given how serious and life changing spinal cord injuries can be.

Spinal Cord Injuries can be caused in many ways, most commonly serious road traffic accidents and falls from height.

In order to succeed with a civil claim for compensation, negligence must be established against another party. It must be proven that the spinal cord injury was caused by the breach of duty of care of another; for example an employer or road user or occupier.

No two cases are identical and Waldrons will advise you on your prospects of establishing negligence and what evidence we may have to obtain to prove liability against another party.

Typically however we would need to obtain information about the accident itself; for instance taking an account from you if you are able to provide one, obtaining the police report (if you were injured in a road traffic accident), gathering witness evidence, seeking to preserve CCTV footage and obtaining any other evidence that may assist in proving negligence.

We would also have to obtain evidence about the injuries you suffered and how they have affected you. For instance we would need to obtain expert medical evidence, your medical records and any radiology, your occupational health and personnel records (if appropriate) and also witness evidence from work colleagues about loss of promotion etc.

The compensation you may recover if you have suffered a spinal cord injury can vary greatly depending on the level of injury, its effect on you and your personal circumstances at the time the accident occurred.

Compensation is divided into two categories; General Damages and Special Damages.

General Damages

This is an amount of money which is intended to compensate you for the pain suffering and loss of amenity caused by the accident. It would be necessary to obtain expert medical evidence which would assist the Court in determining what award to make in this respect.

Awards for General Damages are comparatively low in the UK when looking at other countries, for instance in the US.

General Damages are assessed by considering previously decided cases where compensation awards have been made for similar injuries. When assessing General Damages, Judges also use Guidelines called Judicial College Guidelines which help them decide what award to make.

The Guidelines offer brackets of awards depending on the severity of spinal cord injury. For instance;

(i) Tetraplegia (also known as Quadriplegia) will attract a General Damages figure in the range £324,600 to £403,990

(ii) Paraplegia will attract a General Damages figure in the range £219,070 to £284,260

(iii) a severe back injury involving damage to the spinal cord with severe pain and disability with a combination of incomplete paralysis and significantly impaired bladder, bowel, and sexual function will attract a General Damages figure in the range £91,090 to £160,980

Special Damages

Special Damages is essentially another term for financial losses.

These losses can be claimed in addition to General Damages.

As a spinal cord injured Claimant you are able to recover your reasonable financial losses caused by the accident. The assessment of Special Damages is intended to put you in the same financial position had the accident not occurred.

There are a number of different types of financial losses you may be able to claim. Below is not an exhaustive list but is intended to illustrate the types of claims which can be brought.

Loss of earnings
Clearly if you are unable to work or not able to return to your previous job then past and future loss of earnings can be claimed, including loss of promotion prospects.

Care and Assistance
You are likely to require significant care and assistance as a consequence of the injury and the cost/value of that care can be included in any claim into the future.

Aids and Equipment
You are likely to need certain medical aids and equipment to assist with your recovery and ongoing daily functioning/ rehabilitation. Again these can be included in any claim together with their replacement costs into the future.

Accommodation
You are likely to require special adaptations made to your accommodation or indeed you may need to move into alternative accommodation if your current living arrangements are not suitable for you. These are costs that can be included in the claim.

Travel
You are likely to require a special vehicle as transport and/or you are likely to require a higher class of airline travel to meet your needs. These costs can be included

Medical Treatment/Rehabilitation
You are likely to require ongoing medical treatment/rehabilitation. These costs can be included in any claim for compensation.

Legal/Professional Fees
If you have also suffered a brain injury the costs associated with the appointment of a Deputy on your behalf can be included in addition to costs associated with the management of any fund.

The above are just some examples of what can be claimed on your behalf. As we have said before it all depends on your individual circumstances.

We offer free initial advice and are happy to visit you at home or anywhere else you feel comfortable. If you’d like to speak to one of the team, please click here to contact us.