How does a spinal cord injury become a medical negligence claim?

Suffering a spinal cord injury can be completely devastating as well as life-changing. When a spinal cord injury occurs as a result of the mistakes made by a medical professional, you may be entitled to claim compensation for medical negligence.

Other than medical negligence, if you’ve suffered a spinal cord injury as a result of a traumatic incident, such as a road traffic accident or accident at work you may be entitled to claim personal injury compensation.

What are the most common mistakes that result in a spinal cord injury?

There are many mistakes that can occur, for example during spinal surgery or during diagnosis. The most common mistakes that lead to spinal cord injuries caused by negligence include:

• Mistakes from facet joint injections, etc
• Delay in diagnosis and surgery of cauda equina syndrome
• Missed fractures of the neck and back
• Errors handling patients with neck and back injuries
• Errors in spinal surgery

How much can I claim for spinal injury negligence?

Every spinal cord injury case is different, and the final amount of spinal injury compensation awarded will be based on the severity of the injury and the effect the injury has had on your life.

Additionally, you’ll also be able to claim for any lost earnings, any long-term care, rehabilitation and any necessary house adaptations to maximise the chance of recovery and independent living.

To establish your full legal position, call us on 0330 041 5869.

Can I get help with costs before my spinal injury case reaches a conclusion?

When suffering as a result of medical negligence, it can also have a negative financial impact, for example, if you’ve been unable to work, you may have lost earnings, or you may have to pay for treatment, rehabilitation and medication.

Interim payments are payments which can be made prior to your case reaching a final settlement to help relieve any financial burden. It can pay for private medical treatments and rehabilitation.

Interim payments are only available when the other side has admitted they were in some part to blame for the incident. We can help you secure interim payments. Contact us to establish your full legal position 0330 041 5869.

How much time do I have to spinal injury claim?

If you believe you have a claim, it’s important that you seek advice from a spinal injury solicitor who specialises in medical negligence cases as soon as possible, as there are time limits in place in England, Scotland and Wales.

Generally, a spinal injury claim should be made within three years from the date the negligence occurred or the date you were first aware that you had suffered a significant injury or illness due to negligence. However, there are exceptions.

To read more about the time limits of making a claim, please read our medical negligence FAQs or our medical negligence claims guide.

Why choose Slater and Gordon's spinal injury solicitors?

We have many years' experience securing compensation for those who’ve suffered as a result of a spinal cord injury caused by medical negligence and will handle your case with the utmost sensitivity and with great care.

As well as solicitors who are experts in the field of medical negligence, we also have trained nurses and midwives on our team. We offer home and hospital visits and provide immediate representation and rehabilitation support.

Contact us for a free consultation to help you understand whether or not you have a spinal injury claim or call 0330 041 5869.

Can I change my solicitors to Slater and Gordon?

If you or a family member have had a spinal cord injury as a result of medical negligence, and you feel that you're not getting the specialist legal advice you need from your current solicitor, we'll be happy to discuss switching your case to Slater and Gordon. Simply call our experts on 0330 041 5869 or contact us online.