Spinal injury claims

The term spinal injury refers to any damage that occurs to your spinal cord.

Your spinal cord is a long collection of nerves and tissue that runs up the centre of your back and neck and into your brain.

When your spinal cord is damaged it can cause pain and discomfort, but more seriously can lead to a loss of control of other areas of your body and in some cases a loss of feeling, often referred to as paralysis.

Injuring your spinal cord is considered a very serious injury because of the affects it can have on the rest of your body, which can be as severe as permanent paralysis or incontinence.

As you can expect, when somebody has suffered a spinal cord injury the process of recovery is completely unique to them but is nearly always a lengthy process, and in some cases an injury that is never fully healed.

When you contact us about your spinal cord injury, we'll listen to everything you want to say about your accident and injury. We'll help you understand what's involved in claiming and exactly how we can help you.

We understand that you may like to know how much your claim is worth before you contact us. We wish we could let you know before you start your case. However, because of the nature of a compensation claim we're unable to advise how much your final settlement might be during your call with us. This is because your compensation is negotiated by your solicitor and the other party -  the party who is considered responsible for your accident.

However, all of our spinal injury solicitors make a promise to you to keep you updated throughout your claim so as soon as they know your settlement figure, so will you.

The cost of your injury

Your compensation figure is negotiated to cover the costs of your injury, this includes any cost to you or your loved ones before you started your claim and any future costs you're likely to incur as a result of your accident.

The costs of your injury may include:

• Any loss of earnings because you've needed to take time off work
• Any future loss of earnings because you're unable to work
• Adaptations to your home or car that will help make your life easier and more pain free
• Reimbursing you for care you've received since your injury and any care you might need in the future
• Prescriptions, physiotherapy or medical treatment payment

You can also get an approximate value of your spinal injury claim before you contact us, using our compensation calculator here.

Our calculator is an industry-leading tool that asks you for some information about your accident, injury and the costs you've incurred because of your injury. It then provides an approximate figure on how much your final settlement could be.

The cost of your injury to others

We know that life-changing spinal injuries not only affect your future but they affect the lives of those around you.

While, our first priority is to get you the financial support you need we're also able to help compensate your loved ones for the time they have given to support you and any impact your accident has had on their life.

That means, when you start your claim with us, our expert spinal injury solicitors will negotiate to compensate:

• Any care your family or friends have given, even when that care has been given freely
• Any loss of earnings your loved ones might have suffered
• Any expenses, such as mileage or prescription costs your loved ones have paid for

If you have any questions about how compensation can help look after your loved ones we recommend calling us on  or visiting our serious injury claims page for more information.

Although we're unable to let you know how much your compensation might be before you start your claim, our solicitors are able to let you know whether you're eligible for a no win no fee claim.

All of our solicitors work on a no win no fee basis, which means the people we help can feel confident knowing that if their claim is unsuccessful they won't have to pay a penny in costs or legal fees.

Simply put, making a no win no fee claim with us means there's no financial risk to you.

If you agree to be transferred to one of our solicitor firms during your call with us, they'll speak to you about your no win no fee eligibility and answer any questions you have about your no win no fee agreement.

Exceptions to our no win no fee agreement are rare, so it's very likely your case will be handled on a no win no fee basis.

You can also read more about no win no fee on our "what is no win no fee?" page here.

The first step in making a claim is to get the advice you want and need. This means you're fully informed before you sign anything or take the next steps in recovering your compensation.

You can get that advice from us, typically in one phone call on .

During your call with us, you'll talk to us about your accident and injury. At this point we're simply here to listen and advise you.

Then if you're ready and we think you have a claim, you can agree to start your claim using one of our no win no fee solicitors.

Starting your spinal injury claim

When you agree to start your claim with us, we'll transfer to a solicitor who will then give you the next level of specialist legal advice.

Once you've spoken to your solicitor, you'll then work through the next steps with them.

As we hold our solicitors to high standards you can be sure they'll keep you informed throughout your claim. They'll also process a lot of the claim on your behalf, including any negotiations for your final settlement, so that you receive the maximum amount of compensation you're entitled to.

Your solicitor will also make sure that you get assessed by an experienced doctor in one of our free medical assessments, and if they believe one of our expert physiotherapists can help ease your pain, or help you gain some mobility back, they'll arrange an appointment for you.

Spinal injuries can sometimes occur because of medical errors and neglect. While cases like these are thankfully very rare, we do know that they can happen.

If you've visited a hospital or medical professional and have suffered a spinal injury as a result of their treatment, advice or lack of action, then you've suffered a serious injury because of medical negligence.

We can help you find out if you can claim today over the phone. Please call us for free on  for confidential advice on your experience.

Other causes of spinal injuries

As you might expect we can pick up spinal injuries in a number of ways. Although our bodies are robust and designed to protect the delicate system of nerves that make up our spinal cords, sometimes accidents are jolting and severe enough to cause damage.

If your injury was the fault of somebody else, either in an accident or through neglect and happened within the last three years, then it's likely we can help you start a claim.

We know that it may not always be the person suffering a back injury that turns to us for advice about compensation, and that you in fact might be a loved one or a close friend to somebody who is in pain.

You can contact us on behalf of your loved on for free on . Your call is confidential and you're under no obligation to start a claim when you do call.

It's very likely that you still have questions about your injury, compensation and potential claim. You're welcome to contact us for free advice today on  to speak to somebody about your experience specifically and get answers to your questions that are based on your claim.

Or you can read our serious injuries FAQs here, where we've compiled a list of the questions we've been asked during our time working with serious injury claims.

Alternatively, please enter your details into one of our forms and we'll call you back within 30 minutes, during our normal opening hours.