In this guide, we are going to look at who could make a serious back injury claim. Once we have discussed the eligibility criteria for making a personal injury claim following serious damage caused to your back, we will provide a case study example of how much compensation could be received following a successful claim.
Furthermore, this guide will list the evidence you may need to support your serious back injury claim and the benefits of working with a No Win No Fee solicitor from our panel.
A Guide On How To Make A Serious Back Injury Claim
Our panel of solicitors deliver a high standard for every personal injury claim they represent. Call our advisers today for a free consultation where your serious back injury claim can be assessed for free. There is no obligation to proceed just because you get in touch. However, if the advisor can see that you have strong grounds to make a personal injury claim, they could connect you to a specialist serious back injury solicitor that works on a No Win No Fee basis from our panel.
- Telephone 0161 696 9685.
- Fill in your details on our Contact Us page.
- Use our live chat box.
Browse Our Guide
- Can You Make A Serious Back Injury Claim?
- Case Study: £1.2 Million Payout For A Back Injury Claim
- How Much Back Injury Compensation Could You Receive?
- Potential Evidence In A Serious Back Injury Claim
- Claim For A Serious Injury On A No Win No Fee Basis
- Learn More About Claiming Back Injury Compensation
Can You Make A Serious Back Injury Claim?
To be eligible to make a serious back injury claim, you would need to prove that your injury was caused by third-party negligence.
To prove third-party negligence for your serious back injury, you need to meet the eligibility criteria, which are as follows:
- You were owed a duty of care by the third party.
- The third party breached their duty of care.
- This breach of duty of care caused your serious injury.
A serious injury has permanent and life-changing consequences for your physical or mental health (or both). A serious back injury would cause severe symptoms that greatly impact the victim’s quality of life.
So you have a better understanding of your personal injury claim eligibility, we will now specify who owes you a duty of care depending on different locations.
We look at accidents at work, accidents in a public place, and road traffic accidents. We will also provide examples of how third-party negligence could cause a serious back injury in each location.
Accidents At Work
Employers must adhere to their duty of care as outlined in the Health And Safety At Work etc. Act 1974. Their duty of care entails taking practical steps to establish safety within the workplace and its facilities, equipment, and environment. This can be done by conducting risk assessments to manage and remove possible risks.
So, an employer could breach their duty of care and cause a serious back injury to you as an employee by:
- Not supplying sufficient training. E.g. you could be hit by a moving or falling object if another employee is asked to use a piece of machinery in a warehouse, such as a forklift truck, without being shown how.
- Not regularly conducting maintenance checks on their equipment. E.g. you could fall from a height if your employer asks you to use a faulty ladder.
Accidents In A Public Place
Occupiers with at least partial, if not full, control of a public place must adhere to their duty of care as outlined in the Occupiers’ Liability Act 1957. Their duty of care entails ensuring the reasonable safety of those using their facilities. Occupiers can adhere to this by conducting risk assessments and following measures of health and safety.
Accordingly, an occupier could breach their duty of care and cause a serious back injury to you as a lawful public visitor by:
- Despite being aware of a hazard and not providing any warning signs for that hazard, you could slip and fall on a wet floor in a supermarket if no wet floor signs are displayed.
- Not regularly conducting risk assessments on their equipment. E.g. you could suffer a serious crushing injury if you use a faulty piece of gym equipment that malfunctions on you.
Road Traffic Accidents
All road users owe a duty of care to one another to use the roads in a way that avoids injury and damage to themselves and other road users. To adhere to this duty of care, they must follow the rules of The Road Traffic Act 1988 and The Highway Code.
So, a road user could breach their duty of care and cause a serious back injury to you as a fellow road user by:
- Driving above the speed limit. E.g. you could be in a rear-end collision because the driver behind you failed to stop in time.
- Driving whilst under the influence of alcohol or drugs. E.g. you could be hit as a pedestrian while walking along the pavement because an intoxicated driver’s judgement is impaired.
To confirm whether you can make an eligible serious back injury claim, don’t hesitate to get in touch with us for free using the above contact details.
Case Study: £1.2 Million Payout For A Back Injury Claim
Mrs Smith was in standstill traffic on the motorway. A lorry driver, however, was looking at their phone and failed to notice that the traffic ahead had come to a stop. With no time to react, he crashed into the back of Mrs Smith’s car, causing a rear-end collision.
Mrs Smith was rushed to hospital with serious life-threatening injuries following the road traffic accident. It was determined at the hospital that she suffered from tetraplegia and required a wheelchair for the rest of her life.
In general and special damages, Mrs Smith claimed £1.2 million in compensation to recover her:
- Loss of enjoyment.
- Lack of quality of life.
- Adaptation costs so she could get around her house in a wheelchair.
- The severity of her symptoms with no prospect of recovery.
- Lost wages as future employment was not an option.
- Care and nursing costs.
Mrs Smith had the support of her personal injury solicitors to help her win her case. They were able to gather dash-cam footage and eyewitness accounts to confirm the lorry driver’s negligence. They also gathered a diary belonging to Mrs Smith that portrayed her mental and physical injuries due to the accident.
Although this is an illustrative case study, it shows how a breach of duty could cause an accident leading to a serious back injury claim and what could be awarded. For a free case assessment, please contact our team of advisors. We are here to help.
How Much Back Injury Compensation Could You Receive?
Personal injury compensation awarded from a successful serious back injury claim is split into two heads of claim – general and special damages.
General damages cover the pain and suffering, both physical and mental, you have experienced as a result of your injury. The factors that help determine your general damages settlement can include:
- Recovery period.
- The extent of treatment.
- The severity of symptoms.
- Quality of life changes.
- Loss of enjoyment.
To also help determine your general damages, solicitors may refer to the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG) and a medical report from the independent medical assessment as guidance. The JCG document contains guideline compensation brackets for different injuries at varying severities. The table below lists some serious back injuries taken from the JCG. However, the figures in the JCG may not accurately portray what you may receive for your injury, as each claim is assessed individually.
Injuries Table
| Injury | Severity | Compensation brackets | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Serious multiple injuries plus special damages. | Serious | Up to £1,000,000+ | Serious damage to multiple areas of the body plus compensation awarded for all costs and losses including lost earnings. |
| Paralysis | Tetraplegia (a) | £324,600 to £403,990 | Paralysis from the neck down. |
| Paraplegia (b) | £219,070 to £284,260 | Paralysis from the waist down. | |
| Back | Severe (a) (i) | £91,090 to £160,980 | Severe damage to the spinal cord and nerve roots leading to incomplete paralysis and severe pain. |
| Neck | Severe (a) (i) | In the region of £148,330 | Incomplete paralysis where there is no neck movement or little of and insufferable headaches. |
| Loss of earnings | Special damages | Up to £100,000+ | You can claim compensation for the time you have been unable to work due to your injury and future lost earnings if you can no longer work. |
Claiming Financial Losses In Serious Injury Claims
Special damages recover the money you have lost, both past ad future, as a result of your injury. Some examples of the expenses you could claim back in special damages include:
- Loss of earnings.
- Medical expenses.
- Travel expenses.
- Care costs.
- The cost of renovations now needed in your home.
It is important to have evidence to prove your expenses when claiming for special damages. The types of evidence you can collect are:
- Receipts.
- Bank statements.
- Payslips.
- Invoices.
- Travel tickets.
If you require more guidance about the compensation that could be awarded for a successful serious back injury claim, please speak to our team today.
Potential Evidence In A Serious Back Injury Claim
Evidence is crucial in demonstrating not only your damages but also third-party negligence.
Evidence that could be used includes:
- Dash-cam or CCTV footage of the accident.
- Recording your treatment and symptoms
- Asking for copies of your medical care records
- Photos of the accident site and your injury.
- Taking potential witnesses’ contact details.
Our team of advisors can assess your case for free. If you have an eligible serious back injury claim, you could be connected to our panel of solicitors. If this is the case, they will help you collect the evidence you need to aid your claim.
Claim For A Serious Injury On A No Win No Fee Basis
Suppose your serious back injury claim is taken on by a solicitor from our panel, they may represent your case through a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA) which is a type of No Win No Fee arrangement.
The primary benefit of a CFA is that you are not expected to pay any service charges upfront, while your case is ongoing, or if your serious injury claim turns out unsuccessful.
For successful cases, your solicitor will take a success fee from your compensation. This is a legally capped percentage of the compensation.
Our no-obligation case assessments are free of charge, and our team of advisors are available 24/7. Please get in touch using one of these services:
- Telephone 0161 696 9685.
- Fill in your details on our Contact Us page.
- Use our live chat box.
Learn More About Claiming Back Injury Compensation
Hopefully, this guide has given you a better understanding of a serious back injury claim. We have some other guides that may also be useful for you:
- Learn if there is a time limit on personal injury claims.
- What to do if an untraced driver hits you.
- See payouts for a broken neck injury.
These pages from the NHS may also be handy to you:
- Learn how to get your medical records.
- Read about back pain.
- See the causes, symptoms and treatment for paralysis.