Understanding Spinal Injuries
What is a spinal injury?
A spinal injury is caused by damage to any part of the spinal column, from the base of the skull to the coccyx. It can affect the bones, ligaments, discs and the spinal cord.
The main risk with a spinal injury, is damage to the spinal cord: a long strand of nerves and tissue that runs up the centre of your back and neck, linking your brain with the rest of your body.
Spinal cord injuries can cause temporary or permanent changes in how the spinal cord functions and can be described as:
- ‘complete' - where there is a total loss of sensation and muscle function), and both sides of the body are affected equally, or
- ‘incomplete' - where some nervous signals can still pass the injured part of the spinal cord.
A spinal cord injury can also include damage to nerves at the end of the spinal cord, called the ‘cauda equina'. You may also lose control of other areas of your body with a spinal cord injury.
Symptoms of spinal cord injury can include a loss of muscle function, sensation or autonomic function in parts of the body that the spinal cord serves, below the level of the injury. Symptoms and recovery time vary according to the severity of the injury.
If you or someone close to you has suffered a spinal injury that wasn't your fault, contact us and speak to our expert advisors. We can advise you of whether you can make a claim, what a claim involves and how we can help.
Get in touch for free today on .
Common spinal injuries
Spinal injuries are also often known as:
- ‘traumatic' - where the spinal injury is caused by an external and violent jolt or blow to the spine. The British Orthopaedic Association estimates that 75% of all spinal cord injuries are due to trauma; or
- ‘non-traumatic' - where the nerves or tissues of the spinal cord are damaged by inflammation, disease or infection.
Spinal injury diagnosis: What do the different numbers and letters mean?
Spinal cord injuries are described by their level, type and severity. They are categorised with reference to specific groups of nerves: cervical, thoracic, lumbar and sacral. The first letter of each group is used, along with numbers that refer to the affected vertebrae in each section.
How common are spinal injuries?
Spinal cord injuries affect more people than you might think.
Aspire, Back Up and the Spinal Injuries Association explain that more than 50,000 people are living with paralysis in the UK. They estimate that 2,500 people are "injured or diagnosed with a life-changing spinal cord injury" each year too.
It's important that if you're one of these people, you get the support you need.
Get in touch for free on to discover how we can to help you make a spinal injury compensation claim and improve your quality of life.
What causes spinal injuries?
It takes just a split second for an accident or medical negligence to change your life.
The World Health Organization describes traumatic spinal cord injuries, which can be caused by falls or road traffic injuries. Non-traumatic causes can include “tumours, degenerative and vascular conditions, infections, toxins or birth defects”.
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence says the main causes of spinal cord injuries in the UK as road traffic accidents, falls, criminal assaults and sports incidents.
If your spinal cord injury wasn't your fault, you can make a spinal cord injury claim, to make sure that you have everything necessary to live a full and happy life. You can trust our spinal injury lawyers to provide expert advice and help you receive the compensation you deserve.
Find out if you can make a spinal injury claim today. Contact us on and get confidential advice from the UK's most trusted personal injury specialists.
What does spinal injury compensation cover?
A personal injury claim provides comprehensive compensation to cover your pain, suffering and any financial losses, like medical bills and lost earnings. Your legal team will assess the full impact of your injury to ensure your claim reflects what you've been through and your current and future needs.
The cost of your spinal injury
Compensation should cover the whole cost of your injury. Your spinal injury lawyer will negotiate your settlement, considering:
- Past and future loss of earnings
- Home and vehicle modifications to make your life easier
- Reimbursement for future and past care
- Medical expenses, such as prescriptions and physiotherapy
The value of spinal injuries compensation claims varies, and several calculation methods can be used. The Judicial Guidelines established by the Courts and Tribunals Service are one reference point, setting out a general range.
Any financial losses you've already incurred would be paid separately as ‘special damages'. Special damages is a compensation award designed to reimburse you for any financial losses or costs you've incurred or will incur as a result of your injury. Financial losses you may be able to claim include:
- Medical expenses and travel costs.
- Lost earnings from time off work
- Future care needs including your family providing care
- Any home adaptations you may need.
| Injury type | Compensation range |
| Severe neck Injury causing spinal damage resulting in little or no movement | In the region of £181,020 |
| Severe back injury involving damage to the spinal cord and nerve roots resulting in severe pain and disability | £111,150 to £196,450 |
You can get an approximate value of your spinal injury claim before you contact us, using our free compensation calculator.
The cost of your spinal injury to others
Spinal injuries can also affect your friends and family.
Our priority is to get you the financial support you need, but we can also help those close to you, to seek spinal injuries compensation. This may cover:
- care they have provided;
- loss of earnings; and
- any expenses they have incurred, including travel and medical costs
due to the impact of your spinal cord injury.
If you have any questions about how your spinal injury claim can also help your loved ones, contact us for free on or visit our serious injury claims page for more information.
Making a Spinal Injury Claim
Who can make a claim for spinal cord injury?
If you have experienced a spinal injury that wasn't your fault, you can make a compensation claim. With our extensive experience, we're well-placed to help.
How do I get compensation for a spinal injury?
The thought of making a spinal injuries compensation claim might be daunting., but you needn't worry: our expert spinal injury lawyers will do the hard work for you.
Starting your spinal injury claim
Once we've established that you can make a claim, we'll refer you to one of our panel of spinal injury solicitor firms. We hold all of our spinal injury solicitors to high standards to ensure you get the best advice possible.
Your spinal cord injuries lawyer will arrange a medical assessment with an experienced doctor to better understand the impact of your injury.
Helping a loved one start a claim
It might be that you're looking for help on behalf of a loved one or close friend, to find out if they have a valid spinal injury compensation claim. If you're helping someone start a claim, whether supporting them during their phone consultation or helping them communicate, it's important to understand that the person you're helping must be able to provide us with consent for you to assist. The claimant will still need to be fully involved in the claim as much as possible and they will be solely responsible for providing all instructions.
You can contact us on their behalf for free and in confidence on . We offer free, expert advice with no obligation to make a claim, so give us a call today.
How long do you have to make a spinal injury claim?
If you suffer an accident or illness, it's important to know that you generally have 3 years from the date of the incident or diagnosis to make a personal injury claim. This period is often referred to as the limitation period and refers to the time by which you must either settle your claim or start court proceedings. It's best to claim as soon as possible so your memory is fresh, and evidence is recent and easier to gather.
You can claim compensation for most accidents that happened to you up to 3 years ago but in some cases, this time frame could be longer or shorter:
- Claims on behalf of children: You can claim at any point before the child's 18th birthday. After turning 18, they have until age 21 to make their own claim.
- Mental capacity: There are no time limits for claims made on behalf of someone who cannot manage their own case. This has to be assessed on a case-by-case basis and means more than requires assistance. It should also be noted that should the claimant regain capacity at any time after the accident, however briefly, the usual 3 years will start from that date.
If you're not sure whether you're in time to make a spinal injuries compensation claim, our expert advisors can advise you. Contact us on .
Frequently asked questions...
Compensation is always paid by the other side's insurance company. In a road traffic accident injury claim, this will be their motor insurance company. For an injury at work, it will be employers' liability insurer used by the firm you work for. For accidents in a public place it will be the public liability insurer of the council, business or landlord deemed legally responsible for your accident injury. This ensures no-one is hit with an unaffordable bill.
Our advice is never accept an early settlement offer from an insurance company without taking legal advice. The amount may well be lower than that to which you're entitled.
We'll check your eligibility to claim and then pair you with one of our approved solicitors if you choose to proceed.
No. National Accident Helpline is a brand that belongs to the personal injury legal practice National Accident Law. We're regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA), the independent professional ethics body that licenses all solicitors in England and Wales. Our SRA number is 655606.
Claims management companies (CMCs) are regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). CMCs do not have their own legal practices.
We process personal injury claims as part of National Accident Law. We also work with a national network of specialist personal injury legal firms who we vet very carefully to provide you with the best possible customer experience.
With us, you're in safe and highly-capable hands.
Proving liability in a claim is about establishing blame in four key areas.
Duty: did the party you hold responsible for your injury owe you a legal duty of care?
Breach: did they breach that duty by acting (or failing to act) in a particular way?
Causation: did their actions (or absence of them) cause your injuries?
Damages: were you injured by their actions or inactions?
Our serious injuries FAQs contain a list of the questions that we're asked most often during our time working with serious injury claims.
If you can't find the answer you need, please enter your details below and we'll call you back within 30 minutes during our normal opening hours.
If you can't do the things that you normally do, if your routine is upset through no fault of your own, someone else has done this to you, it can be quite devastating.
Dr Hilary Jones
General Practitioner and Medical BroadcasterLegal Process and Costs
How much will a legal claim cost?
All our spinal injury lawyers work on a 'no win no fee' basis. This means that there is no financial risk to you, so long as you have appropriate insurance, which we will arrange without the need to pay for it upfront.
You won't have to pay a penny if your claim is unsuccessful.
Our spinal injury lawyers will tell you if you're eligible for ‘no win no fee' and will answer any questions you may have. Exceptions are rare, so it's very likely that your claim can, and will, be handled on this basis.
You can read more on our "what is no win no fee?" page.
How long will a spinal injury claim take?
Spinal injuries compensation claims might take a while to resolve, but this shouldn't put you off. It's only right that you're compensated for the impact of your spinal cord injury.
If we think that you have a valid claim, and you're ready to go forward, we'll help you to start your spinal injury compensation claim using one of our dedicated no win no fee solicitors.
Contact us on for the specialist advice you need.
What is your spinal injury claim worth?
You'd probably like like to know how much your spinal injury claim is worth before you get in touch with us. Unfortunately, this isn't possible, as every spinal injury compensation claim is unique.
What you can be sure of, is that our spinal cord injuries lawyers will keep you updated. As soon as they know what you might receive, they'll let you know.
Why Choose National Accident Helpline?
Trusting us with your spinal injury claim
If you've had a serious spinal injury, you might not know where to start: personally, or legally. Our specialist advisors will guide you through the claims process, to make sure you get the compensation you deserve.
People like us.
We've supported lots of families like yours, with spinal injury compensation claims, for many years. With our experience and knowledge, we're well-placed to help you to get the best outcome possible.
We keep things simple, explaining any legal jargon in easy-to-understand terms.
You can trust our spinal injury claims lawyers. They (and we) are regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority in England and Wales. The Law Society of Scotland regulates our Scottish legal partners.
Not only that, but we're rated as 'Excellent' by our customers on Trustpilot too.
Suffering from a spinal injury? We're here to help…
Spinal injuries can have a huge impact on your life, even affecting how you do the most basic, everyday tasks. It's important that you and your family have the necessary resources in the face of these challenges.
As a firm, we've supported people like you with their life-changing injuries for more than a quarter of a century. And we're here to support you after a spinal injury too.
If you do get in touch, there's absolutely no obligation to start a spinal injury claim. We simply want to make sure you get specialist advice and support. If you're ready to speak to someone about your spinal injury, please contact us free on .
Charles Boyce won £12,000 after a serious accident
It didn't take long - four months later the driver admitted liability. Everything was handled really well