In this guide, we provide information on beginning a paralysis injury claim following an accident that was caused by a third party breaching their duty of care. We will discuss the personal injury claims eligibility criteria and the evidence you could provide to substantiate your case. Additionally, it will discuss the duty of care employers, road users, and occupiers owe you to protect your health and safety and provide examples of how a breach of this duty could occur.
Can You Make A Serious Paralysis Injury Claim?
Later in this guide, we will provide a figurative case study that shows the steps you could take to seek paralysis injury compensation.
Paralysis is when you cannot move all or at least some of your body, and it can have an impact on several areas of your life depending on the nature of it. If you make a successful claim, you could receive a compensation payout that addresses the different ways your injury has affected you and your life. We discuss how settlements are calculated in more detail later in our guide.
Finally, we discuss the benefits of claiming with our panel of solicitors under the terms of a No Win No Fee contract.
For more information, you can contact an advisor. They can answer your questions and offer free advice 24/7. To reach them, you can:
- Call on 0113 460 1216.
- Discuss the process of making a claim online.
- Use our live message box.
Jump To A Section
- Can You Make A Serious Paralysis Injury Claim?
- Evidence That Could Help You Make A Paralysis Injury Claim
- Case Study: £2 Million Payout For A Paralysis Injury Claim
- How Much Serious Injury Compensation Could You Receive?
- Claim For A Paralysis Injury On A No Win No Fee Basis
- Learn More About Claiming Serious Injury Compensation
Can You Make A Serious Paralysis Injury Claim?
In order to make a paralysis injury claim, you will need to prove the following:
- A third party owed you a duty of care.
- This duty of care was breached.
- You experienced harm as a result of the breach.
These three criteria set out the basis of negligence in personal injury claims which must be proven in order for you to seek compensation.
There are different third parties who owe you a duty of care with regard to your health, safety and well being, including employers, road users, and occupiers. You can find out more about the responsibilities they have in the following sections.
Accidents In A Public Place
The Occupiers’ Liability Act 1957 places a duty of care on occupiers to take steps to ensure the reasonable safety of those visiting the space. A failure to uphold this duty could lead to an accident in a public place. For example:
- You sustain a paralysis injury in an accident in a shop after falling from a height due to a faulty railing on the top floor not being fixed or signposted despite several reports.
Road Traffic Accidents
All road users owe each other a duty of care whilst using the road to ensure they aren’t putting each other at risk of injury or damage. The Road Traffic Act 1988 and The Highway Code both set out rules and regulations that must be followed in order for a road user to uphold their duty of care.
A failure to do so could lead to a road traffic accident in which you sustain paralysis. For example:
- A car driver is exceeding the speed limit. This means that when the traffic ahead of them brakes, the car driver cannot brake in time and gets in a rear-end collision with the car ahead of them, causing the driver in front to sustain a severe neck injury leading to paralysis.
Accidents At Work
Employers owe their employees a duty of care to take practical and reasonable steps to ensure their safety in the workplace. The Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 establishes this duty of care.
If an employer failed to uphold their duty of care, it could lead to a workplace accident which causes paralysis. For example:
- An employer asks their employee to operate a forklift on a building site without giving them any training on how to do so. Thus, the employee cannot control the vehicle and it overturns. They become trapped under the forklift truck, causing them to sustain severe crush injuries to their spinal cord leading to paralysis of the upper and lower body.
If you want to confirm whether you have an eligible paralysis injury claim, please contact our advisors on the number above.
Evidence That Could Help You Make A Paralysis Injury Claim
You should gather evidence to show that your injury was caused by a breach of duty. Evidence that could help support serious injury claims can include:
- CCTV footage or any other video footage (e.g. from a dash-cam) of the accident happening.
- A diary where you record your symptoms and well-being following the accident as well as any treatment you have received.
- Photographs of the accident site and any visible injuries.
- Copies of medical records, e.g. scan images.
- Contact information of possible witnesses to the accident.
If you have an eligible paralysis injury claim and instruct a solicitor from our panel, they will be able to help you collect the evidence needed to support your case. To see if you can receive this help, please get in touch with our team on the number above.
Case Study: £2 Million Payout For A Paralysis Injury Claim
This case study is figurative and has only been provided to show the steps you could take as part of the serious injury claims process.
Miss Marsh was driving on the motorway to work one morning. She was hit from the side by a lorry driver who had failed to check their mirrors before changing lanes.
She was rushed to the hospital, where it was determined she had suffered from tetraplegia (paralysis from the neck down). This meant she needed full-time nursing care and was unable to return to work permanently.
Miss Marsh sought legal advice from a road traffic accident solicitor and decided to pursue compensation for her injury and the way it had affected her life. The solicitor helped her build her case and assisted her with gathering the following evidence:
- Dash-cam footage.
- Copies of Miss Marsh’s medical assessments.
- Photographs of the scene of the accident.
Additionally, her solicitor compiled the case and ensured it was submitted in full within the relevant time frame.
After successfully making a paralysis injury claim, Miss Marsh received £2 million in compensation. This addressed the following impacts of her injury:
- The decrease in her quality of life and loss of independence.
- The severity of her physical injuries and the psychological impact they had.
- Her inability to work again.
- The extent of her treatment, needing to go through intense physiotherapy.
Call us to discuss your specific case and find out whether you’re eligible to claim compensation.
How Much Serious Injury Compensation Could You Receive?
If you have a successful serious paralysis injury claim, you can potentially receive up to two heads of loss within your awarded payout. These are general and special damages.
General damages compensate you for the physical and psychological impact of your injuries. Solicitors and other legal professionals could use the guideline compensation brackets from the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG). These brackets correspond with different injuries, examples of which you can find in the table below.
Injuries Table
These figures are to be used as a guide only due to the unique circumstances of each claim.
| Injury Type | Severity Level | Guideline Compensation Bracket | Other Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Multiple Injuries | Serious | Up to £1,000,000 and over | Compensation awarded to address several serious injuries as well as financial losses incurred as a result. |
| Paralysis | Tetraplegia (a) | £324,600 - £403,990 | Paralysis of the upper and lower body. Awards are influenced by different factors, such as the degree of the person's independence. |
| Paraplegia (b) | £219,070 - £284,260 | Paralysis of the lower body. Awards are influenced by different factors, such as the person's age and the psychological impact they experience. | |
| Brain damage | Very severe (a) | £282,010 - £403,990 | There is little ability to follow basic commands and nursing care is needed full-time. |
| Moderately severe (b) | £219,070 - £282,010 | A very serious disability such as limb paralysis. | |
| Back | Severe (a) (i) | £91,090 - £160,980 | Spinal cord and nerve root damage leading to pain and disability of a severe nature alongside incomplete paralysis. |
| Neck | Severe (a) (i) | In the region of £148,330 | Incomplete paraplegia from associated neck injuries. |
| Special Damages | Loss of Earnings | Up to £100,000 and over | Compensation awarded to address the lost income incurred after time was taken off work temporarily or permanently. |
Claiming Financial Losses
Special damages award compensation to reimburse you for the past and future financial losses you have experienced as a result of your injuries. This could include:
- Loss of earnings.
- Care costs.
- Medical expenses.
- The cost of home or vehicle adaptations.
You should keep any receipts, bank statements, invoices, and payslips to help prove these monetary losses.
To learn more about what paralysis claims are worth, you can get in touch using the number above.
Claim For A Paralysis Injury On A No Win No Fee Basis
If you are eligible to begin a paralysis injury claim, you could instruct one of the experience solicitors from our panel to assist you. They offer a type of No Win No Fee contract called a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA). Under a CFA, you typically won’t pay for the work your solicitor has completed on your case at the following times:
- When your claim begins.
- As your case proceeds.
- If your case has a failed outcome
Your solicitor will take a success fee if your claim is successful. This is taken as a percentage of your compensation. However, the law sets a maximum limit to what percentage of your compensation solicitors can take to ensure you receive the greater sum of your award.
For further guidance on when you could be eligible to make a claim for a paralysis injury and whether a serious injury claims solicitor from our panel could help you, contact our team. To do so, you can:
- Call on 0113 460 1216.
- Discuss the process of making a claim online.
- Use our live message box.
Learn More About Claiming Serious Injury Compensation
For more of our helpful guides:
- Find out what the time limit is to make a personal injury claim.
- Look at our examples of life-changing injuries that you could potentially claim compensation for.
- Read our guide on neck injury claims and the steps you could take to seek compensation.
Also, here are some related external links:
- NHS – Guidance on when physiotherapy is used.
- GOV.UK – Helpful road accident and safety statistics.
- GOV.UK – Information on receiving Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) if you are unable to work.
Thank you for reading our guide on making a serious paralysis injury claim. If you have any other questions, call an advisor on the number above.