This guide looks at serious back injury claims, explaining how and when it is possible to make a personal injury claim.
Back injuries can have a major impact on physical and mental well-being, as well as your quality of life. If you suffered serious back pain due to a third party causing an accident on the road, at work or in a public space, you may have valid grounds to claim compensation for your injuries.
After outlining the eligibility requirements and time limits that apply to personal injury claims, we will list the types of evidence you can gather to support your claim.
We will also look at back injuries and their guideline compensation bracket amounts taken from a publication often used by legal professionals when valuing claims as a guide before finally explaining how our No Win No Fee solicitors can help with serious injury compensation claims.
You can learn more in this guide and get free advice on serious back injury claims from our advisors through:
- Calling 0800 073 8801;
- Going online to contact us;
- Joining us on live chat below.
Browse Our Guide
- When Could You Make Serious Back Injury Claims?
- What Time Limits Apply To Serious Back Injury Claims?
- What Evidence Do You Need To Make A Serious Injury Claim?
- What Payout Could You Claim For A Serious Back Injury?
- How To Make No Win No Fee Serious Back Injury Claims
When Could You Make Serious Back Injury Claims?
Regardless of whether the accident occurred on the road, at work or in a public space, back injury claims must meet the eligibility criteria that determine whether a personal injury claim has grounds to proceed. You must show that:
- A third party owed a duty of care;
- They breached their duty;
- This caused an accident which inflicted your physical and/or mental injuries.
The exact nature of the third party and their duty of care differs slightly because of the legislation applicable to different spaces.
Road Accidents Causing Serious Back Injuries
Road users owe a duty of care to each other. They can meet this duty by following guidance and rules provided by the Road Traffic Act 1988 and the Highway Code and using the road in a manner that keeps themselves and others safe from harm. Serious back injuries could be the result of a road traffic accident caused by a road user failing to fulfil their duty of care.
Example: A passenger is in a car accident where a drunk driver crashes into their side of the car at speed. They suffer paralysis because of the severe spinal injuries the crash causes.
Work Accidents Causing Serious Back Injuries
Section 2 of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 makes it the employer’s duty of care to take all reasonably practicable steps that keep employees safe from harm. An accident at work is not always avoidable, but an employer may have breached their duty of care if an avoidable accident happens.
Example: An employee suffers a back injury at work after falling from a ladder. Their employer did not carry out a risk assessment or train the employee on how to use a ladder safely. This meant the employer was liable for the injuries suffered by the employee.
Serious Back Injuries In A Public Place
In public spaces, the third party ensuring your reasonable safety is the occupier of the premises. Aside from individuals and businesses, local authorities will often be the occupier of public areas and roadways. A public place accident could ensue if occupiers do not adhere to the duty of care set out in the Occupiers’ Liability Act 1957.
Example: A business does not clean up or signpost a wet floor that customers had alerted them to. A customer slips and falls on the floor, suffering serious neck and back injuries.
What Time Limits Apply To Serious Back Injury Claims?
The Limitation Act 1980 states that the typical time limit for starting a personal injury claim is three years from the accident date.
However, personal injury claims cannot be started by an under-18. They would need to wait until their 18th birthday, at which point their three-year limit would begin. With that being said, a court-appointed litigation friend can step in to make a claim on their behalf before they turn 18.
A litigation friend can also lead a claim during the indefinite pause period granted to someone mentally incapable of claiming for themselves. Should that person recover without a claim having been made, they would have three years from their recovery date to start proceedings.
To check what limitations may apply to serious back injury claims, including your own, please give our advisors a call.
What Evidence Do You Need To Make A Serious Injury Claim?
Serious back injury claims will require relevant evidence to begin in earnest. To this end, you could strengthen your case by gathering:
- Footage showing the accident and its cause, taken from CCTV or a dashcam.
- Witness contact information.
- Medical records, such as X-rays, showing the extent of injuries.
- Photographs highlighting visible injuries as well as the accident scene.
- A diary charting your post-accident symptoms and treatment.
Our solicitors can help with the process of collecting and presenting evidence. Please get in touch with our team through the above contact details if you want to know more.
What Payout Could You Claim For A Serious Back Injury?
Settlements for successful serious back injury claims can be formed of up to two heads of claim, which are:
- Special damages. This head of claim accounts for financial losses brought about by injuries. By producing proof such as receipts or payslips, you could claim for, among other things, a loss of earnings or travel expenses.
- General damages. This compensates the claimant for the impact of injuries on their physical and mental health.
The special damages you could receive depend on what necessary injury-related costs you incur and can provide evidence for. General damages, however, can be calculated by legal professionals by using medical evidence and the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG).
With that being said, even though values can be assigned to injuries, compensation will vary from case to case. Therefore, the below table using JCG figures which are guideline compensation brackets, should not be taken as a guarantee of compensation you would get in a claim.
Compensation table
INJURY | COMPENSATION | NOTES |
---|---|---|
Multiple Injuries Plus Special Damages | Up to £1,000,000 plus | Multiple serious injuries that cause severe disabilities plus special damages for finanacial losses and expenses. |
Quadraplegia | £324,600 to £403,990 | Also known as tetraplegia. |
Paraplegia | £219,070 to £284,260 | The award level varies depending on facets of the injury like the injured person’s degree of independence. |
Severe Back Injury (i) | £91,090 to £160,980 | The injured person would experience severe disability and pain. |
Severe Neck Injury (i) | In the region of £148,330 | Neck injuries could be seen alongside back issues. The most severe injuries are linked to incomplete paraplegia or permanent spastic quadriparesis. |
Severe Neck Injury (ii) | £65,740 to £130,930 | Injuries of considerable severity, like a loss of neck movement coupled with loss of function in one or more limbs. |
Loss of earnings | Up to £100,000 and above | Compensation for a loss of earnings due to time taken off work due to injuries, be it temporary or permanent. |
How To Make No Win No Fee Serious Back Injury Claims
Our solicitors have years of experience handling serious back injury claims and could therefore be the ideal choice for you if you have a valid claim. A solicitor could organise and present your case under No Win No Fee terms called a Conditional Fee Agreement.
Were you to work with one of our solicitors under these terms, you would not pay a fee for their services:
- Upfront;
- During the case;
- At all, if your case loses.
Your solicitor will capture a success fee only if your case wins. This fee is a percentage of the compensation and is legally capped by The Conditional Fee Agreements Order 2013. As a result of this cap, you are guaranteed to see most of the awarded compensation go your way.
Speak To An Expert
You may still want to know more about serious back injury claims. Alternatively, you may want to make a claim of your own. Either way, you can contact our advisors for a free consultation. There is also no charge for an assessment of your case. Also, if your claim is valid, you could be connected to one of our solicitors for expert legal representation.
If you want to know more, all you need to do is:
- Phone 0800 073 8801;
- Contact us on our website;
- Open the below live chat feature.
Learn More About Back Injuries And Compensation Claims
Here are some more guides that you could find helpful:
- Details on how much sick pay you can claim after a workplace accident.
- A guide on claiming as a pedestrian who was hit by a car.
- Information on making a council or local authority accident compensation claim.
Also, check out these external resources:
- GOV.UK – Request CCTV footage of yourself.
- NHS – Guidance on back pain.
- Health and Safety Executive (HSE) – Advice for employers on protecting workers from back pain.
Thank you for reading our guide covering serious back injury claims. If you have any questions about making a claim, you can speak with our advisors today.