By Jo Anderson. Last Updated 8th August 2023. Welcome to our guide on injured spleen claims. Here, we explain spleen injury compensation claims in detail, and answer questions such as ‘how can you damage your spleen?’ and ‘how much compensation could be payable in a spleen injury claim?’ We also explain the short and long-term effects of damage to the spleen, spleen damage causes, and what spleen damage symptoms a person could experience. We hope you find it useful.
Suffering an injured spleen can be a very dangerous and painful situation. It can entail surgery, lengthy recovery times and lasting health implications. Hopefully, you will be relieved to hear that there are ways you can recover your financial losses and be compensated for the physical pain and illness you have suffered. If the incident which caused the injury in the first place wasn’t your fault, then you could be entitled to make a No Win No Fee claim for ruptured spleen compensation against the party responsible.
Spleen injury claims guide
Our panel of solicitors have up to thirty years of legal experience, seeking spleen injury compensation is well within their realm of expertise. If you have suffered from an injury to the spleen as a result of abdominal trauma caused by someone else’s negligence, then you can work with them at little to no financial cost to yourself. This article is a guide to how you can do that. Please read on for more information. Alternatively, if you’d like more information on injured spleen claims or to get started with your claim today, call us on 0800 073 8801.
Select A Section
- A Guide To Spleen Injury Compensation Claims
- What Does Your Spleen Do? – How Can You Damage Your Spleen?
- What Is An Injured Spleen? How Can You Damage Your Spleen?
- Spleen Injury Symptoms
- Common Types Of Injured Spleen – How Can You Damage Your Spleen?
- How Serious Is A Ruptured Spleen?
- Workplace Traumatic Spleen Injuries
- Road Traffic Accident Traumatic Spleen Injuries Leading To Spleen Injury Compensation
- Examples Of What An Injured Spleen Claim Could Include
- Injured Spleen Compensation -Personal Injury Claims Calculator
- Claiming For A Spleen Injury With A No Win No Fee Solicitor
- Essential Reference Guides Relating To Spleen Injury Compensation
A Guide To Spleen Injury Compensation Claims
This is a guide for making compensation claims when you have suffered a spleen injury in an accident that was not your fault. The first four sections of this guide will go into the medical details and implications of injuries to the spleen. We will start out by explaining the basics of what it is the spleen actually does in your body. Then we will go into the nature of spleen injuries, what symptoms they cause and how to watch out for the signs that you may have injured your spleen. We will talk about some of the different ways that you can injure your spleen and how serious a spleen injury is.
Explaining How To Make A Spleen Injury Claim For Damage To The Spleen Caused By Someone Else
Moving onto the injured spleen claims, we will discuss some of the common ways spleen injuries can happen, and who can be liable and how in those situations for paying you compensation for your injuries. This will be specifically road traffic accidents and workplace accident claims.
After that, we will explain how the compensation itself works by going over what various different factors are used to determine what amount you are entitled to. These will be the medical implications of your injuries and the financial implications of having to deal with them. The final portion of this article will focus on what we can do to help you: how no win no fee claims work and how they can benefit you financially and make it easier for you to make a spleen injury claim without the risk of losing money on it.
What Does Your Spleen Do? How Can You Damage Your Spleen?
Your spleen is one of the organs which your body uses to regulate the blood supply; it also has a role to play in the immune system. It Is about the size of a fist, located on the left side of your stomach inside the rib cage. The spleen acts as storage for white blood cells, which the bodies’ immune system uses to fight germs. It filters old or damaged red blood cells out of the bloodstream and can also act as an emergency reserve blood supply. The spleen’s role in the body is important, but you can live without it; people can survive being born without a spleen and having the spleen surgically removed. If the spleen is not present or is surgically removed, then the liver can take on its extra functions.
What Is An Injured Spleen? How Can You Damage Your Spleen?
The spleen can be damaged by different types of injuries, such as cutting and blunt force trauma. When this happens, it can affect its functions, which can lead to numerous different health issues. This can include a shortage of red blood cells, known as anaemia, an increased risk of heavy bruising and bleeding due to a lack of platelets which the body uses to form clots to stop bleeding, and an increased risk of infection due to a shortage of white blood cells. In the following sections, we will go into more detail about the signs of an injured spleen, different ways it can be injured and some of the different causes of spleen injuries that might lead to injured spleen claims.
Spleen Injury Symptoms
You can spot the symptoms of a spleen injury, though they may not emerge until days or weeks after the accident occurred. You will feel pain in the area of the spleen, just behind your left ribs, just to the left of where your stomach is. The area will also likely be tender to the touch. One method that you may wish to try to see if you do have symptoms is to lie down and lift your legs; if you start to feel pain in your left shoulder, it could be a sign of a ruptured spleen.
Some types of spleen injuries can cause an enlarged spleen. If the spleen is enlarged, it will press against the stomach. If this is the case, you may notice you feel unusually full when eating meals. Because the spleen is responsible for regulating the blood supply, and with it, the body’s ability to stop bleeding and to fight infections, some of the symptoms to look out for include bleeding for longer and more heavily than usual when you get cut or that you are suffering more from infections.
Spleen Damage Symptoms From Anaemia
If you suffer from a shortage of blood due to damage to the spleen, then you may begin to feel the symptoms of anaemia, which is iron deficiency. Anaemia can manifest in the form of tiredness and a lack of energy, pale skin, and shortness of breath and heart palpitations.
Remember that having a damaged spleen can be life-threatening. Go to A&E immediately if you think you might have a ruptured spleen. A doctor will probably be able to diagnose you with a spleen injury simply by feeling your abdominal area, though they will likely order blood tests and scans such as CT scans or MIR scans to confirm. For more advice on injured spleen claims, please get in touch.
Common Types Of Injured Spleen – How Can You Damage Your Spleen?
If you’re wondering, “what kind of injuries might lead to injured spleen claims?” then this section will be of help to you. Below, we’ll look at the different kinds of damage that your spleen can undergo.
How Can You Damage Your Spleen? – Ruptured Spleen Injuries
A ruptured spleen is one of the most serious forms of spleen injury. Most often, ruptured spleens are caused by blunt force trauma to the abdominal region of the spleen. These can be caused by accidents while playing sports, in car accidents and by broken ribs, which can be sustained in assaults, for example. The spleen may not rupture immediately after the blow itself but rupture a few weeks later instead. A ruptured spleen can cause internal bleeding and requires immediate medical attention.
How Can You Damage Your Spleen? – Bruising And Contusions
Bruised and/or contused spleen injuries are also caused by blunt force trauma. However, they are less severe than ruptured spleens; they are not life-threatening and rarely cause any health problems besides pain and discomfort, which will heal by itself after a while. The spleen injury recovery time can last between weeks or a few months. It is still advisable to have the injury examined by a doctor and to attend a doctor if there is any change or worsening of your symptoms.
How Can You Damage Your Spleen? – Injuries Causing An Enlarged Spleen
An enlarged spleen can be caused by the same types of blunt force injuries as bruised and ruptured spleens. However, they are more commonly related to illnesses and infections. Cirrhosis, leukaemia, Rheumatoid arthritis and lymphoma are all illnesses that can cause a spleen to become enlarged. Infections such as toxoplasmosis and endocarditis can cause an enlarged spleen.
A spleen might be enlarged if the spleen itself has an infection and has cysts and abscesses. An enlarged spleen can be treated by either treating the underlying cause of the swelling or by prescribing antibiotics for the infection of the spleen itself. Enlarged spleens can leave you more vulnerable to injuries caused by blunt force trauma, so it is advisable to avoid sports or strenuous physical activity while you recover.
How Serious Is A Ruptured Spleen?
Ruptured spleen injuries are a medical emergency. Because spleens are used for filtering and regulating blood, a rupture of the spleen can cause significant blood loss through internal bleeding. A person who has suffered a ruptured spleen might suffer from low blood pressure or go into shock. Ruptured spleens need immediate medical attention; anyone suffering from a ruptured spleen should be taken to the hospital at once.
Treatment for spleen damage symptoms
Treatment of a ruptured spleen may require blood transfusions. Minor ruptures can be repaired by stitches. Larger ruptures may require the removal of the affected part of the spleen or the removal of the entire spleen. Removal of the spleen is known as a splenectomy. You will likely have to have a stay in the hospital while your spleen heals and further blood transfusions. In the first year or two years following the removal of the spleen, there will be an increased risk of infections due to an impacted immune system operating without a spleen. The risk is especially severe in children. The risk of infections can be counteracted by vaccinations. Here you can find information about the implications of spleen removal.
Workplace Traumatic Spleen Injuries
If your spleen was injured by an accident at work, then you may be able to make a no win no fee spleen injury claim for compensation to your employer. This is because your employer has a duty of care, outlined under the Health And Safety At Work Act 1974, to take all steps at their disposal to prevent workplace accidents. If your employer can be found to have not taken the steps which could have prevented the accident, then they can be liable for paying you compensation for your spleen injury. For more information about accident at work claims in general, click here.
Spleen Damage Causes From Workplace Accidents
Some of the circumstances in which your employer could be found to have been negligent towards health and safety can include:
- Failing to provide adequate safety equipment
- A failure to perform risk assessments to identify hazards before they become a problem
- Failing to ensure that all machinery and tools used in the workplace are maintained and serviced to a safe standard.
- A failure to ensure that all staff are trained in the safe performance of their jobs and the safe operation of any machinery that they might use i.e. forklifts.
- Failing to ensure that the workplace, in general, is safe; for example, it is well lit and ventilated. They must ensure that all platforms and scaffolding is secure and stable.
- Failing to remove or clear away all slipping and tripping hazards from the workplace. For example, having slippery or wet floors in the workplace without having them cleaned up or marked out with a wet floor sign. Leaving wires and cables trailing across the floor where people can trip on them. Allowing packaging and strapping to be left out in the workplace where people might fall over on it. Leaving the flooring of the workplace in such a condition that it poses a risk of people tripping and falling over, such as carpets, floor mats and linoleum, which is ragged, torn or missing in places.
Could you claim for a fall?
You might be wondering, “Can you injure your spleen by falling?” Yes, you can. Falling over from slipping on a wet patch of floor or tripping on a tripping hazard could easily cause you to fall onto an object with sufficient force to the abdomen to cause a spleen injury. You could also, of course, sustain an injury to the spleen if you fell from a height, for example, if you fell off a raised platform or from a scaffold. For more information about making a claim after a slipping on a pavement accident, click here
Road Traffic Accident Traumatic Spleen Injuries Leading To Spleen Injury Compensation
Road traffic accidents are a fairly common cause of spleen injuries. Both to pedestrians struck by cars or drivers and passengers in vehicles hit by other vehicles. The sudden jolt of an impact in a car accident, with or without seatbelts, is more than sufficient to provide the kind of blunt force trauma that can cause a spleen injury, as well as other kinds of internal injuries. If your spleen injury resulted from a car accident, then it may be possible to claim compensation from the third-party responsible for causing the accident if the accident was not your fault.
In most road traffic accident claims, the compensation claim is usually directed at one of two different potentially liable parties. For cases where the road traffic accident was caused by the irresponsible driving of another driver, then the claim can be made against that driver. In some cases, if the driver who hit you was driving a company vehicle while working (for example, a driver employed by a taxi company or a delivery company), then their employer would be liable.
Who Pays For My Spleen Damage Claim?
Injured spleen claims against negligent drivers are made for their insurance policies to pay out. This will not always be possible in every compensation claim case. Sometimes drivers will not have insurance. In hit and run incidents, where a driver flees the scene of the accident rather than provide their insurance details, contact details or licence plate details, it will be unlikely that you will be able to make a claim against that driver unless the police are able to identify them. In cases where the driver in question cannot be identified, then the claim will go to the Motor Insurance Bureau to ensure that you can still receive compensation.
Drivers can be found liable for compensation if they are found to have been responsible for the crash by not obeying the speed limit, by drink driving or by not obeying any of the rules in the Highway Code.
What If The Damage To The Spleen Was Caused By Road Conditions?
The other likely target of a spleen injury claim might be the authority responsible for maintaining the road where the accident took place. Road disrepair such as snow and ice, potholes, debris and obstructions on the road and poor lighting can cause road traffic accidents. If the body responsible for carrying out the repairs, which will be either the local council for ordinary roads and the national body for motorways in your country, is found to have neglected the tasks of keeping the roads clear and well maintained, they could be liable for your compensation.
For more information about road traffic accident claims in general, click here. For more information about how much injured spleen claims can be worth and what can be included in them, please read on.
Examples Of What An Injured Spleen Claim Could Include
A compensation claim is intended to win money to redress the physical damage and pain you have suffered as a result of an injury; how this is calculated will be addressed in the next section. This section is to describe the non-physical factors that go into working out the value of your compensation claim. Those are the financial effects of the injury: losses you have suffered (such as loss of earnings) and the costs you have incurred as a result of having a spleen injury.
Injured Spleen Compensation Personal Injury Claims Calculator
In addition to awarding you damages for financial losses you have incurred as a result of your spleen injury, you will also be claiming compensation for the effects of the physical injury itself. The amount you will be claiming for will depend on how serious the injury is and how long it takes to recover. The more serious the injury and the more long-lasting its effects are, the greater the level of compensation will be. Your solicitor will request a certain amount of compensation according to guidelines. The table below shows the guidelines for how much compensation can be awarded for different types of injuries; you can use it to help get an idea of how much the injury itself might be worth.
| Injury | Notes | Compensation |
|---|---|---|
| Chest injuries (Severe) | Injuries causing serious heart damage and/or necessitating the removal of one or more lung. Resulting in significant permanent scarring and serious and prolonged pain. | £100,670 to £150,110 |
| Chest injuries (Minor) | Soft tissue injuries and/or fractured ribs which cause pain and disability for just a period of weeks. | Up to £3,950 |
| Back injuries (Severe) | Lasting effects ranging from total loss of bodily functions to limited bodily functions. Lasting pain, personality change and depression. | £38,780 to £69,730 |
| Back injuries (Moderate) | Impacted ability to function. Exacerbation of pre-existing conditions and vulnerability to further trauma. | £27,760 to £38,870 |
| Back Injuries (Minor) | Cases where the recovery varies from a recovery to nuisance levels within 2-5 years or a full recovery within three months. | £2,450 to £4,350 |
| Loss of the spleen | Where there’s continuing risk of internal infection and disorders | £20,800 to £26,290 |
| Loss of the spleen | Where there’s no (or minimal) risk of internal infection and disorders | £4,350 to £8,640 |
Evidence that could help in injured spleen claims
When you seek compensation in injured spleen claims, you must be able to show how:
- The accident or incident took place.
- Who was to blame.
- The extent of your injuries and that they were sustained in the accident.
You might think that the defendant would hold their hands up and admit liability right away. However, if you don’t have the evidence to support your claim, their insurer will do all they can not to pay you. Therefore, if you are involved in any type of accident, we recommend that you:
- Ask any witnesses for their details. Your solicitor might ask them for a statement of what they saw at a later date.
- Take pictures or videos of the site of the accident. Ideally, you should do this at the time of the accident if possible.
- Report the incident and have it recorded in an accident report book. You can request a copy of this later on to help prove the accident took place.
- Get copies of your medical records after being treated at a hospital or GP surgery. These will show the treatment you received and the injuries that were reported.
- Try to get copies of CCTV or dashcam footage if any exists.
After you have collected the evidence that’s available, why not call our team for free legal advice? We review injured spleen claims on a no-obligation basis. Also, we could appoint an experienced injury lawyer if your spleen injury claim is strong enough.
Claiming For A Spleen Injury With A No Win No Fee Solicitor
If you’re eligible to make a claim for compensation for a damaged spleen, you may wish to work with a solicitor on your case. After all, using a solicitor could take away some of the legal legwork associated with your case. The solicitor could help you gather evidence. They could also negotiate a settlement on your behalf.
One of our solicitors could offer to take on your claim under a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA). This is a type of No Win No Fee arrangement and means that typically, you would not have to pay your solicitor anything upfront or throughout the process of your claim for their services. Furthermore, you will not need to pay them for their work should your claim not succeed.
If your claim is successful, the solicitor will deduct a small, legally-capped percentage from your payout as a success fee.
To learn more about spleen injury claims or to check your eligibility to make a claim with one of our solicitors, you can contact an advisor by:
- Calling 0800 073 8801
- Using our live chat.
- Contacting us online.
Essential Reference Guides Relating To Spleen Injury Compensation
Slips, trips and falls- HSE guidance and advice
Thank you for reading this guide to injured spleen claims. Hopefully we have offered useful insight into spleen injury compensation claims, and answered questions such as ‘how can you damage your spleen?’ and ‘how much compensation could be payable?’ If you have further questions, please don’t hesitate to call us.