A Guide To Making A Serious Neck Injury Claim

Have you suffered from a serious neck injury in an accident that was caused by another party? If so, this guide could help as it will look at when you could make a serious neck injury claim. 

serious neck injury claim

A Guide To Making A Serious Neck Injury Claim

We explain the criteria that form the basis of having valid grounds to seek personal injury compensation following an accident at work, an accident in a public place, or a road traffic accident. 

Additionally, we discuss the duty of care owed by different third parties, including employers, occupiers and road users. We also provide examples of how a breach of this duty could lead to a serious accident and subsequent injury. You can also find a figurative case study that has been included to give insight into the process of seeking compensation for an injury.

Furthermore, we discuss the compensation payout that could be awarded following a successful serious injury claim and how settlements are calculated.

Finally, we discuss the benefits of working with a No Win No Fee solicitor and the services they could offer to assist you in seeking compensation.

If you require any further information or have any questions whilst or after reading our helpful guide, please contact an advisor. To do so, you can:

Browse Our Guide

  1. When Are You Eligible To Make A Serious Neck Injury Claim?
  2. What Do You Need To Claim For Negligence?
  3. Case Study: £1.5 Million Payout For A Serious Neck Injury Claim
  4. Neck Injury Compensation Calculator – How Much Could You Receive?
  5. See If You Can Make A No Win No Fee Personal Injury Claim
  6. Learn More About Neck Injury Settlement Amounts

When Are You Eligible To Make A Serious Neck Injury Claim?

A serious neck injury could be life-changing and impact the way you go about your daily life. For example, a neck injury could involve damage to the spinal cord leading to paralysis either partial or full. This could mean a permanent issue with mobility and dependence on others.

There are several third parties who owe a duty of care to prevent you from becoming harmed in an accident, including employers, road users and those in control of a public place.

In order to begin a personal injury claim for a serious neck injury, you need to prove:

  • A third party owed a duty of care towards you. 
  • This duty of care was breached.
  • Because of this breach, you were injured. 

The three points above form the basis of negligence in claims for a personal injury. If you can prove negligence occurred, you could be eligible to pursue a serious neck injury claim.

Road Traffic Accidents 

Road users owe a duty of care to one another. They need to take steps when using the road as a way to prevent themselves or other road users from becoming injured or sustaining damage. Adhering to this duty of care requires following rules as set out in The Highway Code and The Road Traffic Act 1988. 

Failure to do so could lead to a road traffic accident leading to a serious neck injury. For example:

  • A driver is injured in a car crash on the motorway due to another vehicle changing lanes without first checking it was safe to do so. As a result, the person sustains damage to their spinal cord leading to paraplegia which is lower body paralysis.

Accidents At Work

All employers owe a duty of care to every one of their employees while they are working, as stated in The Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. As per this duty, they must take reasonable and practicable steps to prevent employees from being injured at work. 

Failure to do so could lead to an accident at work leading a serious injury to the neck. For example:

Accidents In A Public Place

Occupiers of a public place owe a duty of care to members of the public using the space for it’s intended purpose. This is set out in the Occupiers’ Liability Act 1957 and requires occupiers to take steps to ensure the reasonable safety of members of the public. 

Failure to do so could lead to an accident in a public place causing a serious neck injury. For example:

  • A customer could slip, trip or fall over a broken pavement that had been previously reported but not fixed in a reasonable time frame. This could lead to them suffering a fractured disc in the neck.

To discuss your specific case and find out whether you’re eligible to make a serious neck injury claim, please contact an advisor on the number above.

What Do You Need To Claim For Negligence?

When you start a serious neck injury claim, you will need to provide evidence to prove third-party liability. Examples of the evidence you could gather includes:

  • Dash-cam or CCTV footage of how the accident happened.
  • Photographs of your injury and the accident location.
  • Copies of your medical records. 
  • Witness contact details.
  • A diary illustrating your symptoms and treatment.

If you have a valid case and wish to be connected to a solicitor from our panel, they can help you gather evidence as well as guide you through the different aspects of the claims process. To find out whether they could begin working on your case, please contact an advisor on the number above. 

Case Study: £1.5 Million Payout For A Serious Neck Injury Claim

The following case study is figurative.

Miss Jones was walking back from visiting a friend’s house when she was involved in a pedestrian crossing accident. As she was walking along a zebra crossing, a driver looking down at their mobile phone failed to see her in front of them due to their lack of attention, causing Miss Jones to be hit. 

It was determined that Miss Jones suffered a serious neck injury at the hospital, leading to paralysis of the lower and upper body.

Miss Jones decided to take legal action after receiving advice from a personal injury solicitor. The solicitor helped her gather dash-cam footage and witness statements to support her case.

After succeeding with her claim, she was awarded £1.5 million for the pain and suffering of her injuries as well as the financial impact they caused as she was unable to return to work and required full-time care for the remainder of her life.

To discuss the specific circumstances surrounding your accident to understand whether you’re eligible to claim and how to start proceedings, please call an advisor on the number above.

Neck Injury Compensation Calculator – How Much Could You Receive?

After a successful serious neck injury claim, you could be awarded a settlement comprising general damages and special damages. General damages compensate for your pain and suffering sustained from your injury, psychological, physical or both together. 

Solicitors can calculate the value of your general damages by referring to the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG) and your medical reports. The JCG is a document that contains guideline compensation brackets for different injuries varying in severity level. 

Injuries Table

Figures from the JCG make up the table below. The JCG is only ever used as guidance though, since the figures in this document do not determine what you will receive. This is because each personal injury claim is uniquely assessed.

InjurySeverityCompensation Bracket - GuidelinesComments
Multiple InjuriesSeriousUp to £1,000,000+Compensation for several injuries as well as the financial losses caused as a result.
ParalysisTetraplegia (a)£324,600 to £403,990Paralysis of the lower and upper body.
Paraplegia (b)£219,070 to £284,260Paralysis of lower body.
NeckSevere (a) (i)Around £148,330Neck injury resulting in incomplete paraplegia.
Severe (a) (ii)£65,740 to £130,930Serious fractures or damage to cervical discs causing considerably severe disabilities,
Special DamagesLoss Of EarningsUp to £100,000+Compensation to reimburse loss of earnings caused by taking time off work for injuries.

How To Claim Special Damages

The second head of claim is special damages. Special damages compensate your financial losses incurred from your injury, both past and future. For example:

  • Loss of earnings.
  • Medical care costs.
  • Domestic care costs. 
  • Travel expenses.
  • The costs of adaptations to your home.

You should gather proof of these losses by keeping hold of, for example, payslips, invoices, receipts and travel tickets.

For further guidance on how compensation for serious injury claims is calculated, please contact an advisor on the number above.

See If You Can Make A No Win No Fee Personal Injury Claim

Our panel of No Win No Fee solicitors can represent your claim if you are eligible to pursue personal injury compensation. They can offer helpful services, such as sending correspondence on your behalf and ensuring your case is presented in full within the relevant time limit.

Additionally, they provide these services under the terms of a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA). This typically means you do not have to pay any fees to your solicitor for their work at the start of your claim or as it progresses. Also, if the claim fails, no fees are required for the work completed on the case by the solicitor.

If your case succeeds, your No Win No Fee solicitor will take a success fee out of your compensation. This is deducted as a percentage which has a legal cap, ensuring you keep the majority of your settlement. 

For further guidance on instructing a solicitor from our panel to represent your serious neck injury claim, please contact an advisor today. They can also answer any questions you might have regarding the eligibility criteria for personal injury claims and how compensation is calculated for successful cases.

To get in touch, you can:

Learn More About Neck Injury Settlement Amounts

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If you have any questions after reading this guide on making a serious neck injury claim, please contact an advisor on the number above.

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