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Spinal Injury and Spinal Cord Injury

If you or a member of your family is suffering from a spinal injury or spinal cord injury caused by someone else’s negligence, our specialist personal injury lawyers may be able to help you claim compensation. Contact us today on 0800 032 8511 for expert claim advice, or by completing a claim enquiry form.

Spinal Injuries
Spinal Cord Injuries
Symptoms of a Spinal Injury
Accident Claims for Spinal Injuries
Spinal Injury Compensation
Specialist Spinal Injury Lawyers
Useful Links

Spinal Injuries

A spinal injury is any type of injury to the spine and can be caused in many ways.  Common causes of spinal injuries include road accidents, falls from height, sporting accidents, military accidents and industrial accidents.

There are various types of spinal injury, each affecting the sufferer to varying degrees.  For example, vertebrae can become fractured, dislocated or compressed and there may or may not be damage to the surrounding nerves or spinal cord and associated soft tissues.

A person who suffers a spinal injury may make a full recovery or could be left with permanent disabilities.

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Spinal Cord Injuries

Spinal cord injuries are very serious in almost every case, often resulting in some degree of paralysis, considerable pain and disability.  The location of a spinal cord injury is one of the main factors that determines the level of disability the injured person is left with.

Tetraplegia / Quadriplegia: If the injury to the spinal cord is in the neck area, there may be paralysis in all four limbs and the torso, often with impaired breathing, impaired organ and bodily functions.  This is known as quadriplegia or tetraplegia. 
Paraplegia: Where the injury occurs at chest level or below, paralysis will usually affect only the lower limbs.  Again, there can be impaired organ and bodily functions.

The effects of a spinal cord injury are also determined by the degree of damage.  If the spinal cord is severed completely there will usually be a total loss of function to the areas below the injury, however if the spinal cord is only damaged or bruised, some function and / or movement may remain.

People living with a spinal cord injury will often require ongoing care and medical supervision as, in addition to mobility problems, other functions such as bladder and bowel control can be affected and there can be an increased vulnerability to infections, respiratory problems and other complications. Significant and intensive help from family members and medical professionals can be costly but may be vital.

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Symptoms of a Spinal Injury

There are certain symptoms that are characteristic of a spinal cord injury, including, but not limited to:

• Severe and disabling pain in the neck or back
• Loss of feeling or mobility of the limbs
• Difficulty walking or moving
• Weakness and lethargy
• Head or limbs held in an awkward position
• Loss of bowel or bladder control

If you suspect that someone may be suffering from a spinal injury, it is extremely important not to move them unless absolutely necessary (i.e. they would be in danger if left where they are) and to obtain emergency medical assistance.

If a spinal injury is not diagnosed immediately and treated appropriately, further damage can be caused.

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Accident Claims for Spinal Injuries

Spinal injuries and spinal cord injuries can be devastating both to the victims and their families. Such catastrophic injuries only occur in a small percentage of accidents, however if you or someone close to you is suffering a spinal injury through the fault of another party, you will want to ensure that the matter is investigated thoroughly.

It is of utmost importance that anyone suffering a spinal injury is compensated, not only in relation to their injuries, but also for any present and future losses that they suffer as a result.

In any personal injury claim it is necessary to show that the person you are making a claim against owed you a duty of care, that they breached that duty of care (were negligent), and that the injury you sustained was a reasonably foreseeable consequence of that negligence. In every case, medical evidence will also be required.

It is important to obtain the best possible advice and assistance from an expert personal injury lawyer at the earliest opportunity. At The Legal Line, our lawyers are able to liaise with the claimant, their family and experts to establish and prepare the evidence as efficiently as possible.

We can help to arrange interim payments of compensation and ensure that future costs are calculated such as care, rehabilitation, housing modifications, aids and equipment. There can be an immediate loss of income as well as an inability to work in the future, with a consequent full or partial loss of earnings. Pension entitlement can be significantly reduced. Obtaining health and life assurance or other insurable benefits may be difficult and costly

Our lawyers’ approach to cases involving spinal injury and spinal cord injury, is to treat the interests and wellbeing of the claimant as the highest priority. A senior partner will be appointed to take charge of the claim, with other team members assisting in some of the work to ensure that the case is handled as quickly as possible.

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Spinal Injury Compensation

If your claim is successful, and our solicitors will be working hard to ensure that this is the case, you will be entitled to receive two elements of a compensation award.

The first is for the pain and suffering you may have gone through and what is known as loss of amenity. This is called general damages and can include an award for your inability to do things after the accident that you used to be able to do before (eg wash your car, look after your garden, walk the dog, etc) In a spinal injury case, the award for loss of amenity will be for whatever period the medical evidence supports.

The second element of a compensation award is for your losses and expenses and is known as special damages. It is important to keep receipts for any expenditure you have related to the accident, so that these can be reclaimed. The aim is to put you back in a position financially as if the accident had never occurred. In a spinal injury case this is likely to include adaptations to the home, travel expenses, loss of past and future earnings, pension loss, the costs of care, domestic help and services, medical treatment and rehabilitation.

In cases involving very serious injuries, where the amount of damages is likely to be significant, compensation may be paid to the injured individual either as a lump sum, via periodic payments or as a combination of both.

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Specialist Spinal Injury Lawyers

The Legal Line's lawyers are experts in all areas of personal injury, with extensive experience in recovering compensation for the victims of catastrophic injuries. They can provide specialist accident claim advice, assistance and guidance in helping you to pursue your claim to the best possible outcome.

The Legal Line lawyers recovered one of the highest ever awards of compensation in a personal injury case (£3.4 million), which was for a client with spinal injuries, and have dealt with many other spinal injury cases.  Follow the links below or visit our news and success stories sections for further details of previous claims:

Substantial Settlement for Serious Injury at Work
Paralysed worker’s £2.4m payout

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Useful Links

Below you will find links to some sites that may be useful to you if you or a loved one has been affected by a spinal injury:

Spinal Injuries Association (SIA) - offering information and support to those with spinal injuries and spinal cord injuries.

Aspire - a charity working with people with spinal cord injuries.

Directgov - facts and guidance for people with disabilities about the support and benefits available, rights, transport, education and other helpful information.

Disabled Living Foundation - a charity providing impartial advice on the equipment and mobility products available to people living with disabilities.

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