Spinal Injury Compensation Claims

Spinal Injury Compensation Claims

According to the Spinal Injury charity, Aspire, it is estimated that every year 2500 people are either diagnosed with spinal injuries or are involved in accidents that cause them to suffer a spinal injury.

Spinal injuries alter people’s lives in a second. By their very nature, they are sudden, catastrophic in nature and devastating not only for the seriously injured person but also for their loved ones.

Spinal injuries often occur as a result of an accident. Most often they are caused by road traffic accidents, but people also suffer this catastrophic injury in accidents at work and public liability accidents.

If the accident was the fault of a ‘third’ party, then the injured person is very likely to decide to make a claim for compensation.

What are Spinal Injuries?

The spinal cord is such a vital part of the body. If it gets damaged in an accident, the consequences can be horrific.

It’s important to say that not all spinal injuries are catastrophic but as the spinal cord send messages to all different parts of the body when it is damaged, loss of movement and sensation below the site of the injury will take place.

Depending on the severity of the injury, the disablement may be temporary or permanent.

Paralysis from a spinal cord injury is referred to as:

1. Tetraplegia – where the damage to the spinal cord was in the neck. This affects movement in all parts of the body below the neck.
2. Paraplegia – the damage to the spinal cord is in the back which therefore affects the movement in your legs.

A spinal injury that occurs in the same place in two different people, may have two different outcomes in terms of severity.

More than just compensation for pain and suffering

Spinal injuries are serious matters that often have long-term implications for the injured person’s quality of life.

Of course, the amount of compensation that you recover for the injury itself, (the damages for pain and suffering) is important. Compensation for pain and suffering in the most severe spinal injury cases can run into many hundreds of thousands of pounds.

However, spinal injuries devastate lives – those of the injured person themselves and those of their families. Adapting to the new circumstances resulting from the spinal injury will become a necessity for both the victim of the injury and their loved ones.

In addition to damages for the injury itself, the following may also become parts of the claim:

1.Loss of earnings. The incapacity caused by the injury may make this a significant part of the claim. Future loss of earnings can be claimed too and may become a claim to cover the rest of the injured party’s working life.

Loss of earnings and future loss of earnings can turn into complex claims – another reason for spinal injury claimants ensuring that they choose an experienced serious injury solicitor to act for them.

2. Medical fees and healthcare costs

3. Adaptation of the home – When someone suffers a serious spinal injury, doing everyday things becomes a challenge for them. Homes will need to be adapted for their extra needs. In some cases, a completely new home may be required.

These costs can be included as part of the claim (provided that the necessary expert evidence is obtained to support what will be a significant element of the claim).

4. Rehabilitation costs – Whatever the level of injury, some rehabilitation is likely to be required when someone suffers a spinal injury. In more severe injury cases, this may be required on an ongoing, permanent basis.

The costs will be significant and should be capable of being claimed back as part of the claim.

1. Travel expenses

When you read about people receiving settlements of millions of pounds, for serious injury claims like spinal injury compensation claims, it is for this reason – there are many elements to what makes up a complete claim for compensation in a catastrophic injury claim.

Financial losses and future financial requirements make up the majority of damages in these types of claim.

Mooneerams – The Personal Injury Solicitors

Spinal injury claims should be dealt with by specialist personal injury solicitors. Mooneerams solicitors have, in their 20-year history to date, always been purely personal injury solicitors.

They have honed and developed their experience in all areas of personal injury law and that includes in the area of serious injury claims.

Director Angus Fergusson heads up Mooneerams serious injury claims team. He’s been a qualified solicitor for over 20 years. He is a member of the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL).

Angus and his team are instrumental in organising the rehabilitation expert help that most spinal injury sufferers require.

Angus is not only an extremely experienced catastrophic injury solicitor with the expertise required to take a spinal injury claim through to a successful conclusion for his clients, he also receive praise from clients for possessing a superb ‘bedside manner’.

For clients with a spine injury, that feeling that you are entirely comfortable with the solicitor in your corner is hugely important. You are likely to be on a long journey together.

The Spinal Injury Claims Process

Call us on 029 2048 3615 (or leave your contact details in the box on this page and we’ll call you back).

1. We can discuss your situation and after doing so, we’ll offer free advice on whether we think you have reasonable prospects of being able to make a claim.
2. We will talk to you about the ways that we can provide you with legal assistance. In most cases, we will be able to act for you (to take on your case) using a No Win, No Fee agreement (or to give it, its proper name a Conditional Fee Agreement).
3. We’ll come out to see you, to discuss your claim in more detail, take a statement from you, and tell you what evidence we’ll need to gather to help your claim succeed.
4. We’ll start the process of instructing medical experts whose written reports will play a vital part in outlining and supporting your claim.
5. We’ll get straight in touch with those who caused your spinal injury. We will be putting pressure on them from the very start of the claim process, to get them to accept responsibility (liability) for the accident that caused your personal injury.
6. We will work to obtain interim payments (payments on account) from our opponents as the case continues. A serious spinal injury claim will not settle or get to court quickly and obtaining interim payments for you is an important part of what we do for you.
7. We’ll do everything we can to stop you and your family suffering from financial hardship as a result of the position you find yourself in as a result of the injuries that you have suffered.
8. We’ll attempt to settle your spine injury claim on the best possible terms.
9. If the other party will not settle on the best possible terms, we’ll take the matter to a court hearing for you. Sometimes getting to what they call the ‘corridor of the court’ i.e. turning up at court ready to fight it out before a judge, can be enough to get the best- negotiated settlement at the last minute!
10. We’ll be assisted by the best medical and other experts throughout, and we’ll work as a team to get you the right result.

How long do I have to make a claim?

The majority of personal injury claims have to be started within 3 years of the accident that caused the injury you are claiming for. By ‘started ‘ we mean that court proceedings must have commenced. That’s why it’s important to get the claim underway as soon after the accident has happened as possible.

Many cases are settled without court proceedings being necessary. In the case of spinal injury claims, it’s likely that court proceedings will be commenced, even if the negotiations with the other party’s’ insurance company are going well. The reason for doing this is so that if negotiations do break down the claim doesn’t get dismissed because the 3-year limitation period has elapsed.

1. a) If the claim is for someone under 18, the 3-year period doesn’t start until their 18th birthday.
2. b) If the person making a claim is someone who doesn’t have the mental capacity to make a claim on their own, then the 3-year period will not begin until they have that mental capacity. In the case of permanent mental incapacity, then the 3-year period may never apply.

When a spine injury is caused by an act of medical negligence, the time limit for bringing a claim may be different. In cases of clinical negligence, you may only realise you have a possible spinal cord injury claim against the medical professionals at a date later than when the negligence took place. This is referred to as the ‘date of knowledge’.

We recommend if you intend to make a clinical negligence claim you should always seek legal advice from a serious injury lawyer or medical negligence solicitor about when the time limit that applies to your claim, started.

More about No Win, No Fee Spinal Injury claims

1. By signing a conditional fee agreement (CFA) or No Win No Fee agreement with us, you’ll find that this is one less thing you have to worry about. If your claim is successful, the insurance company of the other party (the negligent party), will pay compensation and most of your costs.
2. You will only pay us any of the legal costs that the other side doesn’t pay and that will simply be deducted from your compensation. The maximum percentage of how much of your compensation can be deducted towards your legal fees will be agreed with us before you sign the agreement. It will NOT be any more than 25%.
3. If you lose your claim, you’ll have nothing to pay.

If you or a loved one has suffered spinal injury as a result an accident that was the fault of another person, then please do contact us. You’ll speak to a solicitor when you call and of course, what you discuss, will be entirely confidential.

It’s important that you make the right choice when choosing a spinal injury compensation solicitor. As soon as you speak to one of our experienced serious injury solicitors, here at Mooneerams, you’ll know you’ve made the right choice in calling us.

Call 029 2048 3615 now or complete the form on this page and we’ll call you back at a time to suit you to arrange a free consultation with one of our expert spine injury solicitors.