Spinal Injury Claims Specialists
If you have suffered a spinal cord injury caused by someone else, you may be able to claim compensation for your injury. Initial interviews with our Spinal Injury Solicitors are FREE.
Denise Broomfield is a Solicitor and member of the Spinal Injuries Association Approved Solicitors panel.
In addition to meeting clients at our offices in Salisbury, Andover and Verwood, our Spinal Injury Claim Solicitors can make home or hospital visits to units including Salisbury's Duke of Cornwall Spinal Unit .
Can I make a Spinal Injury Compensation Claim?
To claim for compensation you must prove that a person owed a duty to take care of you and that they have broken that duty. For example, a motorcyclist riding along a main road who is hit by a car turning from a side road would have grounds for a claim - as would a person injured at work because they had to work at a great height and was not provided with a proper safety helmet.
You can claim for an accident at work even if you were a contractor or self-employed.
How do I prove the accident caused my spinal injuries ?
Usually this is quite easy. There is often a direct link between the accident and the injury, particularly with a severe spinal cord injury.
To prove a link between your spinal injury and the accident, our Spinal Injury Solicitors instruct an independent doctor to examine you and prepare a report.
What compensation can I expect?
Compensation is split into three categories:
- Damages for pain, suffering and loss of amenity
- Damages for out of pocket expenses
- Damages for future expenses
Damages for pain, suffering and loss of amenity
Spinal cord injuries are extremely serious and have life-long repercussions. You may be confined to a wheelchair and need help to live independently. You may not be able to enjoy the hobbies you were involved in before the accident. You may not be able to return to work. Our medical expert can tell us how you are now and how you will be in the future.
Damages for pain and suffering are based on previous Court cases for people with injuries of a similar severity.
Damages for out of pocket expenses
You can recover any expenses you would not have incurred without your accident including:
- your lost earnings
- lost earnings for another family member
- travel by your family to visit you in hospital
- equipment costs including wheelchairs or specialist beds
- prescription and medication costs
- private medical treatment costs
- cost of your family buying food and drinks at hospital
- childcare costs
- cost of adapting your home so that you can return home or the cost of purchasing a different home
It is very important to keep any receipts and/or correspondence. Our Spinal Injury Solicitors recommenf that you or a friend or family member keep a diary listing appointments and expenses.
Future expenses for a spinal injury
This is probably the most important area of your spinal cord injury claim. Your Solicitor needs to ensure that your compensation will meet all your future needs.
Our spinal injury claim solicitors get expert help from accommodation, nursing and rehabilitation experts to value your future needs. Payment for future expenses will ensure that you receive all of the equipment you need, including replacement wheelchairs and equipment at home.
We cannot value future expenses until independent doctors indicate your likely prognosis and when your condition will stabilize. Although this may take a few years, it cannot be rushed.
Interim payments
If the other party's insurance company admits responsibility for your accident then our spinal injury solicitors should be able to obtain an interim payment . We routinely try to obtain interim payments as soon as possible to repay your out-of-pocket expenses and to buy equipment to make you as independent as possible on leaving hospital.
Provisional Damages
If you have a medical condition which may worsen in future, you may be able to claim provisional damages. Usually injury compensation claims are settled on a ‘once and for all’ basis and you cannot go back to the Court and get more money, even if your condition becomes much worse. However, with certain medical conditions you can re-open your case - for common example if you suffered a head injury and later develop epilepsy.
If your doctor has told you that you may get worse in the future, please tell our Spinal Injury Solicitors so we can consider a claim for provisional damages.
Time limits for Spinal Injury Claims
The time limit for spinal injury claims is 3 years from the date of the accident. If a person cannot manage their own affairs then the time limit extends to 3 years from when they are capable of managing their own affairs.
It is important to start your spinal injury claim off as soon as you feel able. Spinal injury claims are high value and complex, and the sooner our spinal injury solicitors start your compensation claim, the more likely you are to receive interim payments to help with any expenses incurred after leaving hospital.
Spinal Injury Claims for those under 18
If a child suffers a spinal injury, they have until the age of 21 to make a compensation claim.
If the claim starts whilst they remain a child then an adult (called a ‘litigation friend’) will act for them - often Mum or Dad.
Any interim payments or child settlements need Court approval. Any compensation received by a child remains in the Court Investment Account until the child reaches 18. Money can be paid out for the child’s needs before reaching 18, subject to the Court's approval.
I suffered a criminal assault – can I claim compensation?
You can make a compensation claim to the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA) if you received an injury as a result of a criminal act. The time limit for making an application is 2 years.
Funding my spinal injury claim
Our Spinal Injury Solicitors help clients fund their compensation claim in the following ways:
- Legal expenses insurance. Many people have such insurance attached to their buildings, contents or car insurance. Provided the insurance policy was in force when you had your accident, the policy will often cover your legal fees.
- ‘No win no fee’ agreements. Our spinal injury solicitors offer ‘no win no fee’ arrangements to spinal injury clients and can arrange insurance to cover the costs if your case does not succeed. Read more about no win no fee agreements
- Private clients. Some clients prefer paying as they go - paying an hourly rate for work done and receiving interim bills every 6 months.
Contact our Spinal Injury Claim Solicitors as soon as possible
It’s important to get legal advice from our Spinal Injury Claim Solicitors as soon as possible after your accident – time limitation periods apply and it is often easier investigating your compensation claim if you take early legal advice. At your first free interview, our Spinal Injury Claim Solicitors can tell you whether your compensation claim is worth pursuing. Initial interviews are always FREE.
For specialist legal advice about Spinal Injury Claims, contact Denise Broomfield or Lin Revell on (Salisbury) 01722 424426, or e-mail Denise on denise.broomfield@bishopslaw.com
Our highly specialist Spinal Injury Claim Solicitors handle compensation claims throughout southern England including Wiltshire, Dorset, Berkshire, Hampshire, Gloucestershire, Devon and Somerset and in particular Salisbury, Andover, Verwood, Fordingbridge, Ringwood, Shaftesbury, Gillingham, Bournemouth, Poole, Winchester, Sherborne, Blandford Forum, Romsey, Lyndhurst, Brockenhurst, Melksham, Wareham, Corsham, Dorchester, Wimborne, Crewkerne, Chard, Calne, Bradford- on-Avon, Midsomer Norton, Wincanton, Ilminster, Radstock, Shepton Mallett, Yeovil, Wells, Glastonbury, New Milton, Sturminster Newton, Bridgewater, Axminster, Cirencester, Weston-Super-Mare, Malmesbury, Ferndown, Frome and Westbury.
For the last three years Denise Broomfield, an accident claim solicitor specialising in Spinal Injury Claims for victims of accidents including medical accidents at Salisbury Law Firm Bonallack & Bishop has arranged live music to be taken into the Duke of Cornwall Spinal Treatment Centre in Salisbury. 