Being subjected to medical negligence can be traumatic and can alter your life altogether. Spinal injuries in particular can severely impact your health and your lifestyle, for example with loss of mobility or complete paralysis. As a result, it’s imperative that you get in touch with a spinal injury claim solicitor to discuss your rights and potential compensation.
What is a Spinal Injury Medical Claim?
You may have a medical spinal injury claim if:
- A medical professional injures your spine as part of treatment, or;
- A medical professional acts negligently when treating an existing spinal injury.
If you have suffered as a result of medical negligence, you would be entitled to make a claim. Spinal injury claims would cover compensation for General Damages i.e. pain, suffering and loss of amenity. For example, if you’re suffering from loss of mobility and can no longer enjoy your favourite hobby.
If negligent care has impacted you financially, you would also be able to claim for monetary losses (past and future). This could include transport costs to and from additional healthcare appointments, therapy costs, the costs involved with a professional carer, family member or friend looking after you, and more. It would also cover any loss of income you have been subject to as a result of your injuries. For example, you may have been unable to work while recovering from your injury.
Causes of Spinal Injury Medical Negligence
Negligence occurs due to the mistakes of medical professionals before, during, and after treatment of the spine. For example, there may be a delay in diagnosing and treating a particular spinal condition or spinal injury.
You may have suffered from a spinal injury outside of the hospital, whether by falling, being involved in a road traffic accident, being the victim of assault, an incident in the workplace, or a sports-related accident. Although the injury itself would be not considered medical negligence, inadequate medical treatment of this injury would be considered spinal injury medical negligence.
To treat your injury, you may have undergone spinal surgery, and negligent surgical care may lead to a spinal surgery claim. For example, the quality of the surgery, timeliness of the surgery or even the appropriateness of proceeding with the surgery in the first place may result in medical negligence.
The Types of Spinal Injury Negligence Claims We Often Help With
Cauda equina syndrome is a type of spinal injury. It refers to a dysfunction of sacral and lumbar nerve roots of the cauda equina which can impact your movement and sensation. It can also be very traumatic concerning your sexual and physical functioning. Most cauda equina negligence claims are due to delayed diagnosis and delayed surgery.
Discitis refers to the intervertebral disc space getting infected, which can cause discomfort and pain. Unfortunately, discitis is often misdiagnosed, which can lead to long-term impacts for the patient such as loss of function and mobility. If there has been a failure to investigate symptoms, administer the right treatment and/or act on signs of paralysis, you may have a discitis negligence claim.
How Much is a Medical Spinal Injury Claim Worth?
The value of your spinal injury claim will depend on various factors, particularly how severe your injury is and to what extent it has affected your daily life. Every case is different, meaning we cannot tell you the exact value of a spinal injury compensation claim. However, spinal injury claims are typically high in value, and you can find the average compensation values from The Judicial Council in the table below.
| Injury | Average Compensation |
| Tetraplegia | £304,000 - £379,000 |
| Brain damage injury | Severe: £264,000 - £397,000 Moderate: £140,000 to £205,000 |
| Paraplegia | £205,000 to £266,000 |
| Nerve root injury | Severe: £91,000 to £160,000 Moderate: £74,000 to £88,000 |
| Back injury | Severe: £85,000 to £151,000 Moderate: £26,000 to £36,000 |
| Spinal disc injury | Severe: £65,000 to £130,000 Moderate: £38,000 to £70,000 |
| Mental anguish | Up to £5,000 |
What is the Time Limit for Making a Spinal Injury Negligence Claim?
The time limit for making a medical spinal injury claim is generally three years from the date that you suffered from medical negligence or from the date that you were initially aware that you had been a victim of medical negligence. As a result, the earlier you can proceed with your claim, the better.
That being said, there have been a small number of cases where extenuating circumstances have led the Court to extend the time limit for medical negligence claims. If you are anxious about time limits, please don’t hesitate to speak with our specialist spinal injury claim solicitors as we do not automatically dismiss claims that are close to or have passed the time limit.
Information about the Spine and Spinal Injuries
What are the symptoms of spinal injury?
There are various symptoms of spinal cord injury depending on which part of your spine has been impacted and how severe the damage is. Symptoms may include:
- Bladder control difficulty
- Bowel control difficulty
- Issues with sensation
- Issues with movement
Issues with movement, such as paralysis, are more likely to happen when the top of your spine is impacted as it is closer to the brain.
What are the different types of spinal injury?
- Cervical
The top of the spinal cord is known as the cervical spine, including sections C1 to C8. It is the part closest to the spinal cord nerves and brain, meaning that injuries to this area can be very severe and impact the whole body.
- Thoracic
Covering sections T1 to T12, the thoracic section lies beneath the cervical spine. You can find this part above the lower spine at the lower part of your back.
- Lumbar
Just beneath the thoracic section, the lumbar groups, or L1 to L5, reside between the sacrum and the diaphragm. If you injure this part of the spinal cord, you will face issues with your legs and hips.
- Sacral
The sacral section covers groups S1 to S5, and you can find it towards the end of the spinal cord. Similar to the lumbar part, injuries to this section can impact your legs and hips.
What is meant by paralysis, paraplegia, and tetraplegia?
You may be diagnosed with paralysis, paraplegia or tetraplegia as a result of a spine injury. Here is what these terms mean:
- Paralysis
The term paralysis refers to body control or function loss. This occurs when the spinal cord gets damaged across its width. There will likely be a complete loss of body control below the spine level where the injury happened.
- Paraplegia
Paraplegia refers to thoracic and lumbar spine damage, which triggers issues with function and sensation. Since this targets the body’s lower part, it often hinders the individual's walking capacity.
- Tetraplegia
This term regards a condition where spinal cord damage occurs in the neck, otherwise known as the cervical spine. An injury to this portion of the spine can trigger issues throughout the body, including the upper and lower sections. With this in mind, it could impact a person’s legs, arms, and stomach muscles, amongst other parts.
Talk to Our Spinal Injury Claim Solicitors
If you believe you have a spinal injury claim as a result of medical negligence, please don’t hesitate to contact our friendly and experienced team here at Medical Solicitors. Our spinal injury claim solicitors are committed to fully understanding every client’s case and providing professional advice and guidance on what approach you should take next. We understand how distressing and life-altering a spinal injury can be, so we are here to help make the process as simple as possible and, most importantly, win the full amount of compensation you deserve. As part of our process, we usually offer No Win No Fee agreements and always offer free, no obligation advice from the start, so you have nothing to lose in talking to our team.
If you or a loved one have been impacted by medical negligence regarding a spinal injury, please contact us and see how we can help you today.
