By Joanne Jeffries. Last Updated 11th November 2021. Welcome to this case study surrounding personal injury claims payouts for a spinal cord injury.
Accident Claims UK deals with many cases where clients have received spinal injuries and can help you if you’re considering making a personal injury claim. We are using the following spinal injuries case study to demonstrate how even in a particularly difficult scenario personal injury solicitors were able to secure a record compensation payout for a boy injured in a foreign country.
Spinal injury compensation
In this case study we look at how compensation was won for a 4 year old boy who suffered severe spinal injuries as a rear seat passenger involved in a collision while in a car while travelling in Spain. Unfortunately the boy also has ongoing urological issues which can be attributed to the accident. The personal injury solicitor involved in the case had to fight the other driver’s insurance company on a number of occasions in court and secure interim payments to help the boy’s parents cover his medical care and adaptations to his family home.
Due to the severe spinal injuries involved the boy’s life will have been changed forever and as such the adults acting on his behalf had to ensure the settlement included all future issues the boy may face as well as the initial pain and suffering caused by the car crash abroad. At the end of the case after a significant period of time had passed from the initial spinal injuries happening, the settlement accepted was £4 million.
If the family of the little boy that suffered the severe spinal injuries had simply claimed through the insurance company there is little doubt that the payment would’ve been very much lower in comparison, if any payment had been paid at all. Spinal injuries caused in a car accident on a package holiday can be very difficult to deal with due to different regulations in different countries which is where a specialist personal injury claims solicitor, like those at Accident Claims UK, can help.
Road Traffic Accidents On Holiday
Having an accident on holiday isn’t a rare occurrence and the British Consulate, according to a recent report has intervened in many cases. The number of people injured seriously who went on to make a holiday accident claim is probably far higher than the consulate report suggests as it’s likely that not every person involved informs them. More significant cases, like spinal injuries, probably do get flagged by authorities to the consulate and anyone suffering spinal injuries in a road traffic accident on holiday is likely to need support for specialist transport when the time comes to return home.
According to Citizens Advice UK if you are involved in a holiday accident (not just one that involves spinal injuries) then you should:
- As always, exchange insurance details with the other driver
- Take notes of what happened and try to photograph or video the scene of the incident.
- If you have dashcam footage, then ensure it is secured. In the case of any spinal injuries compensation claim proving blame is made much easier with such evidence.
- Don’t apologise or admit any liability for the road traffic accident.
- If there were any witnesses, try to obtain their contact details.
Following a car accident seek treatment, in the case of spinal injuries or suspected spinal injuries, do not move the injured party if it is safe to leave them where they are. Spinal injuries can be made much worse if the person is moved without a neck brace or spinal board and should really be left to those that are trained and know what they are doing unless absolutely necessary.
As soon as it is practical to do so, contact your own insurance company and explain what has happened. Provide them with the details of any injuries suffered such as spinal injuries or even if you only suspect you may have whiplash, and details of the people involved.
Details Of The Child’s Spinal Cord Injury
The family of the child with the spinal injuries in this case had to make adaptations to the home (including fitting a wet-room and a lift) to accommodate him following the car accident in Spain suggesting the spinal injuries were severe, long term and life-changing. It is likely at this time that the spinal injuries will lead to a lifetime in a wheelchair.
In general terms, not specifically to this case, spinal injuries can have different levels of severity. Some spinal injuries will heal over time and some spinal injuries are permanent and life changing. These are:
- Spinal bruising (also known as contusions): these spinal injuries can heal in full over a period of time.
- Partial tears of the spinal cord.
- Complete tears of the spinal cord (these spinal injuries are also known as a transection)
When loss of feeling is caused by spinal injuries it can be classified a:
a) complete – meaning loss of all function, feeling and sensation below the injury or
b) incomplete – the less serious of the spinal injuries as some feeling and function remains following the accident.
Complete tears of the spinal cord are the worst of the spinal injuries one might suffer as it can lead to paralysis of the legs, waist or complete upper body depending on where on the spine the damage has occurred. Spinal injuries can unfortunately lead to a claimant being bed ridden for life or having to use a wheelchair for the rest of their life.
How Solicitors Helped The Claimant Get Compensation For Their Injuries?
Because the case of the little boy with spinal injuries went on for so long (over 9 years) the personal injury solicitors had to fight to reach a settlement. The foreign lawyers contested every claim that the solicitors made for the boy’s spinal injuries and went to court every time a request for payment was made.
In Spain and Europe, when a driver’s insurance is inadequate there is a scheme to claim compensation for the spinal injuries (in this case) but due to the severity of the spinal injuries that scheme did not offer enough cover so the personal injury solicitors had to work hard and not give up, which it would’ve been easy to do, to win a fair settlement for their clients severe spinal injuries.
How Did The Case Progress And What Interim Payments Were Made?
The case went on over a long period of 9 and a half years and in that time the family had to cover the cost of care, rehabilitation and changes to the child’s home. The personal injury solicitors took the foreign insurance company to court each time to win interim payments. These payments are to cover the cost of each aspect of the child’s care for his spinal injuries and the solicitors were successful each time in in obtaining these interim payments which kind of proves how important expert solicitors are in these cases.
When the case was finally settled an amount of £4 million was agreed to compensate the boy for his spinal injuries obtained during his accident abroad.
No Win No Fee Child Spinal Injury Claims
If you want to claim, for yourself or on behalf of your child, for spinal injuries that happened in an accident on holiday or at home, in a car accident, at work, or simply from just walking down the street and falling over, then you may be worried about the cost of the legal fees, especially if the case takes a long time like this one did.
While a case for spinal injuries compensation doesn’t always take as long we understand the financial burden of making a claim which is why we offer a no win, no fee service. This means there is no upfront payment, no ongoing hourly fees and you only pay if we successfully claim compensation on your behalf (and the amount you’ll pay is always agreed up front and at the time of your initial consultation)
Begin Your Road Traffic Accident Abroad Claim Today For Personal Injury Claims Payouts For A Spinal Cord Injury
Hopefully we’ve demonstrated the importance of a personal injury solicitor when making a claim for spinal injuries in road traffic accidents and hopefully the fact that we offer a no win no fee service puts your mind at ease regarding any perceived financial burden of making a spinal injury claim.
If you’re now ready to make a claim, then you can get in contact by:
- Telephone: 0800 073 8801 (it’s free)
- Live chat via any page of our site
- Email: office@accidentclaims.co.uk
We’d be happy to discuss your spinal injuries claim with you, for free, today.
How common are personal injury claims payout for a spinal cord injury?
While we do not have statistics pertaining to the number of spinal cord injury claims made for road traffic accidents, we can provide you with information relating to the number of road traffic accident casualties in the UK. Even in 2020, when there were four months in which there were travel restrictions due to the coronavirus pandemic, there were still over 115,000 people who suffered injuries ranging from slight to fatal in road traffic accidents. You can see the types of road users that were injured in the graph below.
How do personal injury claims payouts for a spinal cord injury work in no win no fee claims work?
If you are looking to make a no win no fee claim as we explained above, you would not need to pay any upfront fees. However, you would have to sign a Conditional Fee Agreement, promising to pay a certain level of success fee in cases that achieved compensation settlements. The success fee we mention is small and legally capped. It is usually calculated as a percentage of the compensation payouts you receive. When your compensation comes through, this success fee will be deducted from your payout leaving the rest of the payout to benefit you. If you have any questions about no win no fee claims, please do not hesitate to contact our team. We would be glad to provide you with a no win no fee lawyer who could fight for compensation on your behalf.
Would my choice of lawyer impact personal injury claims payouts for a spinal cord injury?
When you choose a lawyer to help you make a compensation claim, you may find it a difficult decision to make. There are plenty of lawyers based all across the UK that could handle your claim. However, the service that they offer may differ between law firms. When making your choice, we would urge you to consider whether the lawyer in question would work on a no win no fee basis, which could reduce any financial risk to you. Another thing that you may want to investigate is how many years experience the lawyer in question has. Choosing a lawyer with up to 30 years experience and knowledge of personal injury claims could significantly impact your success and could also impact the compensation payouts you could receive. A knowledgeable lawyer could harness all their skills and expertise to fight for the maximum compensation settlement possible for you. They could also ensure you get all of the general damages and special damages you are eligible to claim for.
Another thing to investigate when choosing an injury lawyer could be what other claimants have said about their services. If you take a look at independent review sites, this could be a good way to get an insight into the level of service you could experience with the same lawyer. If you’d like to speak to us about the experience, success record, and reviews of any of the lawyers we could provide you with or the amount of compensation you could receive for financial losses or general damages, please do not hesitate to get in touch.
Useful Links Relating To Personal Injury Claims Payouts For A Spinal Cord Injury
Spinal Injury Claims Guide – If you have suffered damage to your spine in an accident whether at home or abroad here’s our gur guide to claiming compensation for spinal injuries.
Citizens Advice – Advice on what you should do if involved in a road traffic accident abroad.
British Consulates – A list of every British consulate around the world if you need help following an accident in which you have been injured.
Thank you for reading this case study relating to personal injury claims payouts for a spinal cord injury. Now you have seen details of compensation awarded to someone who suffered a spinal cord injury, you may have questions about compensation payments, the claims process or the time limit for claiming. Whether it’s from medical negligence or a traffic accident, we could offer you legal advice on making a claim.