Making A Serious Neck Injury Claim

This article will explain how to make a serious neck injury claim. To start, we’ll explain the criteria that you’ll need to meet to be eligible to begin a personal injury compensation claim for any physical and/or psychological injuries you’ve endured.

serious neck injury claim

Making A Serious Neck Injury Claim

We’ll also explain the legislation that places a duty of care on others to keep you safe while you’re at work, in a public place or on the road before providing examples of how a breach of this duty could lead to a serious accident.

Additionally, we provide a figurative case study to show how personal injury claims work and the steps you might need to take to seek compensation.

Next, we’ll provide details about how compensation for serious neck injuries are calculated and review the types of evidence you could use to strengthen your case.

Finally, we explain why those with valid serious injury claims might want to seek legal representation from a No Win No Fee solicitor on our panel.

If you have any other questions, you can get in touch with our team of helpful advisors. To reach them, you can:

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When Can You Make A Serious Neck Injury Claim?

Personal injury claims for a serious neck injury can only be made if the following eligibility criteria are met:

  1. A third party owed you a duty of care.
  2. This duty was breached.
  3. You suffered a physical and/or psychological injury as a result of the breach.

There are several parties who have a duty of care placed on them to keep you safe from harm, such as employers, those in control of a public space, and road users. You can find more information about their duty of care in the sections below as well as examples of how a serious neck injury could be sustained if this duty is breached.

Accidents At Work

Employers are required to take reasonable steps to try and keep employees safe at work. This is the duty of care they owe as per the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974.

If an employer breaches their duty of care, it could lead to a serious workplace accident. For example, if a member of staff in a warehouse was asked to operate a forklift truck without any training, it could result in them crashing and sustaining a serious neck fracture leading to partial paralysis.

Accidents In A Public Place

When you’re in a public place, the occupier of that space owes you a duty of care. This means taking steps to ensure your reasonable safety as per the Occupiers’ Liability Act 1957.

A breach of this duty could lead to a public place accident in which you are injured. For example, if you slipped in a supermarket because water leaking from a refrigerator had not been cleaned up or cordoned off with warning signs, this could result in you sustaining serious damage to the discs in your neck.

Road Traffic Accidents

Road users owe a duty of care to try and protect themselves and others from experiencing harm or damage while using the road. This duty can be upheld by adhering to the Road Traffic Act 1988 and following the rules in the Highway Code.

A breach of this duty could lead to a road traffic accident in which a road user experiences harm. For example, a driver may have failed to stop at a zebra crossing in use by a pedestrian causing them to sustain a serious spine injury to the neck involving damage to the spinal cord leading to quadriplegia; upper and lower body paralysis.

To discuss your specific case and find out whether you’re eligible to begin a serious neck injury claim, please contact an advisor on the number above.

Case Study: £1 Million Payout For A Neck Injury

The following case study is figurative and has been provided only for the purpose of illustrating how a personal injury claim can be made.

Mr. Roger fell down a flight of stairs at work due to a faulty handrail. The fault had been reported to his employer on multiple occasions but no steps had been taken to fix the issue or reduce the risk of it causing an injury.

Due to the height from which Mr. Roger fell, he sustained severe fractures to the discs in his neck as well as permanent paralysis. His injuries prevented him from returning to work on a permanent basis because of the nature of his job. He also required ongoing care at home and adaptations making to his home so he could more easily move around. As a result, he incurred a significant financial loss. Furthermore, his quality of life was severely and permanently affected and the treatment he required caused a great deal of pain and suffering.

After seeking legal advice, he decided to instruct a solicitor to help him make a serious neck injury claim. The solicitor helped him gather evidence, such as CCTV footage, medical records, witness statements and evidence of financial costs. Eventually, Mr. Roger succeeded with his claim and was awarded a £1 million payout.

Personal Injury Claims Calculator – What Could You Receive?

If a serious neck injury claim is successful, two heads of loss may make up the settlement you’re awarded. Compensation for the pain and suffering caused by the injuries is awarded under general damages, the first head of loss.

To help calculate general damages, legal professionals can use a medical report produced from an independent medical assessment, often arranged as part of the claims process. The report, which gives insight into the extent of your injuries, can be used alongside the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG). The JCG is a document containing compensation brackets for a range of injuries.

Our compensation table has been prepared using figures from the JCG. However, please note that each claim is unique which means compensation amounts can vary a lot from those listed. As such, the figures are not a guarantee.

Compensation Table

Type Of InjurySeverityDetailsCompensation Guidelines
Multiple Neck InjuriesSeriousCompensation awarded for several injuries of a serious nature and financial losses incurred as a result.Up to £1,000,000+
NeckSevere (i)Incomplete paraplegia from associated neck injuries.Around £148,330
Severe (ii)Serious cervical spine fractures or damage to discs in the cervical spine causing disabilities of a considerable severity, including loss of neck movement and function in one or more limbs.£65,740 to £130,930
BackSevere (i)Spinal cord and nerve root damage causing serious consequences.£91,090 to £160,980
Special DamagesLost IncomeCompensation to reimburse lost income that has been incurred from time taken off work either permanently or temporarily as a direct result of the injuries.Up to £100,000+

Special Damages In Serious Injury Claims

Compensation can also be awarded to address the financial losses incurred due to your injuries. This is awarded under special damages, the second head of loss. Examples of the costs for which you could seek reimbursement include:

  • The cost of vehicle or home adaptations.
  • Prescription fees and other medical expenses.
  • The cost of a carer.
  • Travel expenses.
  • Lost income and future loss of earnings.

You should keep any documentation relating to your losses, such as receipts, payslips, and invoices.

Find out more about how compensation for a serious neck injury claim could be calculated by calling an advisor on the number above.

What Evidence Do You Need To Make A Serious Neck Injury Claim?

You may be wondering what evidence is needed for a personal injury claim. We have provided examples below of the evidence that could help prove a third party breached their duty of care and caused your injury.

  • A copy of an accident report form to confirm the date, time and location of your accident.
  • Details of any medical treatment you received from a GP or at a hospital.
  • Video evidence such as a recording from a CCTV camera or dashcam.
  • A diary about how your injuries have affected you.
  • Contact information for any witnesses to the accident.
  • Photographs taken at the scene of the accident or of any visible injuries.

If you have a valid claim, one of the solicitors from our panel may help you to collect evidence and could request witness statements on your behalf if necessary. To find out whether you’re eligible to instruct a solicitor from our panel, call an advisor on the number above.

How No Win No Fee Solicitors Could Help You Claim For A Serious Injury

Our panel of serious injury solicitors can offer services such as the following:

  • Helping you to collect evidence
  • Valuing your claim
  • Sending important correspondence on your behalf
  • Making sure your claim is started within the time limit

Additionally, they offer these services under No Win No Fee terms by offering a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA) which means:

  • Your solicitor’s services do not need to be paid upfront or during the claims process.
  • You won’t have to pay your solicitor for their work if the claim fails.
  • If your case is won, a percentage of your compensation will be deducted as a success fee. This percentage has a legal cap.

To find out if your serious neck injury claim is valid, you can speak with a member of our team on a no-obligation basis. To reach them, you can:

Read More About Personal Injury Claims

To help you further, here are a few more of our useful guides:

Also, we’ve included some external resources to help you below:

Please reach out to our team if you’d like more information about making a serious neck injury claim.