Spinal injury claims

If you or a loved one has suffered a spinal cord injury in an accident, your health and recovery need to come first. Seek medical attention as soon as possible and follow the advice of the professionals treating you.

If you’re able to, there are some steps you can take to support any potential spinal injury compensation claim:

• Keep records of your medical treatment, appointments, and rehabilitation
• Take photographs of the accident scene and your injuries, where possible
• Keep contact details for any witnesses
• Report the accident to the relevant person or organisation, such as your employer
• Keep receipts and a record of expenses, lost earnings, and additional care needs
• Speak to a specialist spinal injury solicitor to understand your options

We understand that gathering evidence may not be possible when you’re recovering from a life-changing injury. Our spinal cord injury solicitors can help you through the process, taking on the legal work so you can focus on recovery.

Making a spinal injury compensation claim can feel overwhelming, particularly when you’re also dealing with the physical and emotional impact of your injury. Our specialist solicitors will walk you through every stage of the process and explain what to expect.

1. Initial assessment

We will listen to what happened, discuss your injury in detail, and explain whether you may be able to make a spinal injury claim.

2. Investigation & evidence gathering

We’ll investigate how the accident happened and gather evidence to help establish who was responsible and the role they played in your accident.

3. Assessing your needs

Our team will work with medical and rehabilitation experts to understand how your spinal injury affects your mobility, independence, and long-term care requirements. This will help us negotiate a settlement that truly reflects your injury and its impact.

4. Compensation

Your solicitor will negotiate with the responsible party or insurer to secure a fair settlement. Where possible, we’ll also look to secure interim payments while your claim progresses.

Many spinal injury claims are settled without going to court. However, if court proceedings are necessary, our solicitors can represent you and guide you through the process.

For most serious injury cases in England and Wales, you have three years from the date of the accident to start court proceedings for a spinal injury claim. If your injury wasn’t immediately linked to a specific incident, the three-year period may run from the date you first made that connection, known as your date of knowledge.

There are also important exceptions, such as if you were under 18 at the time of the accident. In this case, the three-year limit typically begins on your 18th birthday, giving you until your 21st birthday to make a claim. If a lack of mental capacity has affected your ability to claim, different time limits may apply.

Whatever your situation, we’d always encourage you to get in touch as soon as possible. Acting early means we can gather the strongest possible evidence and give your case the best chance of success.

Spinal injury claims are among the most complex cases in personal injury law, and it’s important to have realistic expectations about timescales from the outset.

Many cases take several years to resolve, particularly where the full extent of a person’s long-term needs is still emerging, liability is disputed, or expert medical evidence needs to be gathered and reviewed.

We know that’s a long time to wait, and we’ll make sure you’re never left in the dark about where things stand. Our spinal injury claims solicitors will keep you updated at every stage, and we’ll work to secure interim payments wherever possible so you can access the care and support you need while your claim progresses.

Pursuing a spinal cord injury claim means you have the opportunity to seek financial compensation. Compensation for a spinal cord injury will support your recovery in the short term and account for any additional care you may need in the long term. 

Compensation can cover:

• Loss of earnings and pension 
• Specialist care and rehabilitation 
• Mobility aids and home adaptations 
• Pain, suffering, and loss of quality of life 
• Miscellaneous expenses like travel costs for medical appointments

We understand that experiencing a spinal cord injury is life-changing, not only for the individual affected, but also the wider support network. Our spinal cord solicitors are experienced in managing complex spine injury cases, and have settled hundreds of spinal injury claims in our clients’ favour.

Regardless of how your injury occurred, our team of spinal cord injury lawyers can support you to rebuild your life.

How much compensation for a spinal injury you receive depends on several factors. While it isn’t possible to give an exact figure at the outset, the Judicial College Guidelines provide compensation brackets for different types of spinal injuries. These guidelines help shape the value of general damages – compensation awarded for the pain, suffering, and impact the injury has had on your quality of life.

Your spinal cord injury compensation claim may also include special damages. These are designed to cover the financial consequences of your injury, both now and in the future. Depending on your circumstances, this can include loss of income, rehabilitation costs, specialist equipment, home adaptations, ongoing care, and other expenses linked to your recovery.

Our spinal injury solicitors at Fletchers assist clients in pursuing spinal injury compensation claims for injuries sustained in accidents that weren’t their fault. Our team offers legal advice, gathers evidence, negotiates with other parties, and represents clients in court if necessary. 

We are here to help you every step of the way. We can often be a shoulder of emotional support too. Having worked with hundreds of clients, we’ve grown to understand the emotional impacts of suffering a personal injury, both for yourself and your family and friends.

Spinal cord injuries can be caused by many different events, including traumatic accidents like:

• Road traffic accident
• Motorbike incident
• Workplace injuries
• An accident in a public place

Our specialist spine injury lawyers at Fletchers has supported clients in all types of spinal injury compensation claims.

Our dedicated spinal injury lawyers work alongside rehabilitation and wellbeing teams to assess what support you need and put the right things in place at the right time. 

Led by our rehabilitation manager, the team creates personalised recovery plans that can include physiotherapy, occupational therapy, case management, and access to our network of BACP-registered therapists. 

For people with spinal cord injuries, we also draw on our close partnerships with the Spinal Injuries Association and Back Up to connect you with specialist peer support and wider community resources.

Our spinal cord injury solicitors have successfully secured compensation for many clients in positions similar to yours. Here are some examples:  

• We were able to win a substantial settlement of almost £2.7M for a roofer who suffered spinal injuries following a fall that resulted in him being wheelchair dependent. 
• We secured a five-figure settlement for ‘Alan’, who suffered a serious fall and severe injuries which required surgery. With our experience in handling difficult liability cases, we were able to secure the right outcome for our client. 
• A motorcyclist collided with a turning car, resulting in severe injuries. Despite liability disputes and the motorcyclist being charged with speeding, a settlement of £231,029.63 was reached to support the client’s recovery and future needs. 
• A Nottingham motorcyclist received a £70,000 settlement after being hit by another vehicle, causing serious injuries including a spine sprain and psychological harm. Despite returning to work, he faces ongoing physical challenges and future surgery. Liability was fully admitted, and the settlement will help with his recovery. 
• Darren suffered catastrophic injuries in a motorbike accident after a lorry failed to stop at a give-way junction. £10 million was settled in the case. 
• Our Serious Injury team secured £25,000 compensation in a pedestrian accident compensation claim after a client was knocked over by a taxi at a pelican crossing. 
• We won a £450,000 settlement for a client who suffered major trauma following a road traffic accident on a dual carriageway when the driver of a truck manoeuvred into his lane. 
• In Jack’s Story, our client was involved in a car accident, which left him with a spinal cord injury that impacted his mobility and his balance.

Typically, a good combination of experience, customer reviews, industry recognition, personal approach, and strategic partnerships can signal the mark of a reputable and capable spinal injury solicitor. 

As a team, we are highly experienced in dealing with spinal injury compensation claims and have close partnerships with a number of charities and organisations who can offer wider support. Knowing you are dealing with an experienced spinal injury lawyer who can provide access to care and support has been a real benefit to our clients.  

We are really proud to be a Trusted Partner of the Spinal Injury Association (SIA) and have been for a number of years. The SIA shares our belief that everyone has the right to live a fulfilled life with the same opportunities as everyone else.  

We are also part of Back Up Legal Panel, a group of specialist spinal injury law Firms that are trusted and vetted by the charity Back Up. These firms are selected to support the charity’s mission of transforming lives.  

We also have access to leading case managers as well as rehabilitation and support services within our network for the benefit of our clients.

Our specialists handle the evidence gathering process for you, so you don’t have to manage it on your own. This includes working closely with leading medical and independent experts to understand exactly what’s happened and how it’s affected you.

Evidence may include:

• Medical records
• Hospital reports
• Photographs
• Witness statements
• Accident reports
• CCTV or other footage
• Independent medical assessments
• Prosthetic assessments
• Rehabilitation notes
• Proof of financial losses
• Care and support assessments

You may still be able to claim compensation if you were partly responsible for your accident that led to your spinal injury. In these situations, your compensation may be reduced to reflect your share of responsibility. This is known as contributory negligence.