Suffering a lumbar spine injury from an accident caused because those who owed you a duty of care to keep you safe failed in this requirement may mean you could be able to claim compensation. Injuries of this nature can greatly affect your quality of life as vertebrae damage can cause permanent mobility issues and organ impairment if the spinal cord is affected. Therefore, call our team of advisors today to see if you can receive lumbar spine injury compensation.
This guide will explain to you what circumstances you may be able to claim, as well as answer the following questions:
- What is spine trauma?
- What happens if you damage your spine?
- Can a spine injury be cured?
- What are the symptoms of an injured spine?
- What are examples of potential lumbar spine injury treatment?
Our advisors offer free legal advice and are available 24/7 so, if you have any questions or queries, please don’t hesitate to get in touch. They can confirm if you’re eligible to claim and can even provide you with a reliable compensation estimate. Please contact us at a time that suits you using the details below.
- Call us now using 0333 000 0729
- E-mail us with your injury details using [email protected]
- Write to us using the live chat window on your screen now
- Contact us using the form on our website
Please read on to learn more about back injuries and how you could claim compensation.
Lumbar spine injury compensation guide
Jump To A Section
- A Guide About How To Make A Lumbar Spine Injury Compensation Claim
- Understanding The Anatomy Of The Lumbar Spine
- What Is A Lumbar Injury?
- What Can Cause Damage To The Lumbar Spine?
- Types Of Lower Back Injury
- What Are The Signs Of A Lumbar Spinal Injury?
- How Are Lumbar Injuries Treated?
- The Effects Of Lower Back Injuries
- Calculating Payouts For Lumbar Spine Injury Compensation
- What Else Could I Claim?
- How Common Is Back Pain?
- Steps To Take If You Suffer A Lower Spinal Injury
- No Win No Fee Lumbar Spine Injury Compensation Claims
- Get In Touch With Legal Helpline
- Useful Links
- Frequently Asked Questions About Injuries To The Spine
A Guide About How To Make A Lumbar Spine Injury Compensation Claim
Making a successful personal injury claim revolves around proving that third party negligence led to your injury. A spinal cord injury, such as an injury to the lumbar area of your spine, can have drastic consequences to how you’re able to live. Therefore, you may want to receive compensation. To do this, you need to be able to prove that third party negligence caused your injury.
From a legal perspective, proving negligence means that you need to be able to show that the third party in question had a duty of care towards you. Furthermore, to successfully claim for lumbar spine injury compensation, the below three things need to relate to your injury:
- The third party had a duty of care
- Their actions led to them breaching this duty of care
- Finally, that this breach caused your injury
If you cannot prove these three aspects relate to your injury, your claim will not be successful. If you’re unsure if you’re able to claim, please get in touch! Our advisors can answer any queries regarding lumbar spine injury compensation and provide you with a reliable compensation quote. Contact us today using the details above.
Understanding The Anatomy Of The Lumbar Spine
The spinal cord runs from your skull down your back until it reaches the pelvis. There are five sections. They are the:
- Cervical spine
- Thoracic spine
- Lumbar spine
- Sacrum
- Coccyx
The lumbar spine is made up of five vertebrae – L1, L2, L3, L4 and L5. It’s one of the lowest parts of the spinal cord, as it connects to the sacrum. Due to this, it helps control the movement of your legs.
This means that any potential break or fracture to this part of your body could affect your mobility, as the next section highlights.
What Is A Lumbar Injury?
A spinal injury to this area of your back could cause trauma to the lumbar spine. Depending on which vertebrae is affected, it can cause lasting mobility issues. This is because L2 is the last vertebral section to contain spinal cord tissue. After this part, nerve roots are not present in the remaining sections of the spine.
This is why lumbar spine injuries can cause further complications. Depending on the vertebrae that have been damaged, your central nervous system could also be affected. This partly answers questions such as, “what happens if you damage your spine?” However, it cannot answer it fully as this article only highlights the types of symptoms you could suffer if you injure your lumbar spine.
What Can Cause Damage To The Lumbar Spine?
You could suffer from a lumbar spine injury from many different incidents. Whether you’re able to make a successful personal injury claim from the incident depends on if the third party that caused the injury had a duty of care towards you.
Incidents that you may be able to claim compensation for include:
- Road traffic accidents – Every road user in Great Britain has a duty of care in the Highway Code. If another driver or road user’s negligent driving led to you suffering a spinal injury, you might be able to claim. This could involve incidents like vehicle collisions. If your injury from these incidents is worth less than £5,000, you would need to claim compensation differently, as established in The Whiplash Injury Regulations 2021.
- Accidents at work – Every employer has a duty of care to their employees, as established in The Health and Safety At Work etc. Act 1974. Therefore, if you suffer a back fracture or break due to injuring yourself using faulty work equipment, for instance, you may be able to claim.
- Accidents in a public place – The occupier of a public place also has a duty of care to members of the public. This legislation is called The Occupiers’ Liability Act 1957. So, if you injure yourself due to insufficient health and safety procedures in the relevant space, you may be able to claim.
If you’ve suffered an injury from any of these types of incidents, you could potentially receive lumbar spine injury compensation. To know more, please get in touch with us. Our advisors are available 24/7 and offer free legal advice so, if you want to know if you’re eligible to claim, please contact our team at a time that suits you.
Types Of Lower Back Injury
Spinal cord trauma can cause different types of injuries. The spinal cord is a structure of interconnecting nerves tissues that runs from the base of the head right down to the bottom of the back. As such, there can be severe consequences from these injuries. This section will help answer the question, “what is spine trauma?”
Injuries that could lead to you needing some form of lumbar spine injury recovery include:
- A lumbar herniated disc. A slipped disc is when the tissue between a vertebra has slipped out of place.
- Unnatural curvature of the spine caused by, for instance, a road traffic accident, could lead to you developing conditions like kyphosis or scoliosis. You could also suffer this due to long-term damage caused by working in a manual handling role.
- Osteoarthritis could be a consequence of an injury that happened in an accident at work.
- Spinal dislocations or fractures could be caused by intense physical trauma.
- Compression fractures can cause intense pain. This could be caused by falling from a faulty ladder in a workplace, for instance.
What Are The Signs Of A Lumbar Spinal Injury?
A lumbar spine injury can cause varying symptoms depending on the vertebrae that have been damaged. As previously described, the spinal cord is intricately designed so, depending on the location of the injury, it can cause varying side effects.
- Symptoms for an L1 vertebra injury include paraplegia, hip flexion and loss of bowel/bladder control.
- An L2 injury could cause similar symptoms to an L1 injury. The L2 vertebra is the last one to contain the spinal cord.
- The L3 vertebra is the middle section of the lumbar spine. Common symptoms include numbness, weakness and a loss of flexibility in the legs, groin and hips.
- An L4 injury can be less severe than injuries to other parts of the lumbar spine. However, it can cause symptoms like numbness in your feet.
- An L5 injury can cause leg numbness and weakness, leading to general instability.
This helps answer the question, “what are the symptoms of an injured spine?” The extent of all of these symptoms can vary from case to case. They could be temporary or permanent, depending on the extent of the injury. Having an injury that has led to any of these symptoms could cause you to pursue lumbar spine injury compensation. Please read on to learn more about spinal cord injury treatment.
How Are Lumbar Injuries Treated?
Lumbar spine injury treatment can vary based on the extent and severity of the injury. Potential treatments include:
- Drugs, such as non-steroidal anti-inflammatory (NSAID) drugs, can treat a lower back injury. It can reduce inflammation around the spinal cord.
- Surgery can also help with lumbar spine injury recovery. Surgical decompression of the nerves and fusing the vertebrae can reduce spinal nerve pressure. This can help improve movement after suffering back injuries.
- Physical therapy could also help with spinal vertebrae trauma by strengthening the areas that have been affected. The NHS provides guidance on these types of exercises.
Regarding the question, “can a spine injury be cured?” the answer is only sometimes. Despite treatment, some lumbar spine injury symptoms may be permanent. However, always refer to your doctor or a medical professional to discuss your recovery plan. Call our advisors 24/7 to learn how you could receive lumbar spine injury compensation.
The Effects Of Lower Back Injuries
Early treatment can improve the prognosis of a spinal cord injury. However, even with this, you could suffer life-changing consequences if the injury is particularly severe. Examples of how such an injury can affect your life include:
- Needing a manual wheelchair to help with mobility. You may need this on a full-time or part-time basis.
- Suffering from paraplegia, meaning that you may be unable to move your legs, feet or abdomen voluntarily.
- Need walking devices, such as braces or crutches, to help with movement.
- Being unable to control your bladder or bowels.
As you can see, these injuries can greatly affect your quality of life. Personal injury claims are based on proving that third party negligence led to the injury you’ve suffered. The next few sections will break down the types of lumbar spine injury compensation you may be able to receive.
Calculating Payouts For Lumbar Spine Injury Compensation
In personal injury claims, there are two potential heads of claim. General damages compensate you for the physical and psychological pain caused by the injury, as well as the decline in your quality of life.
The compensation you could receive for this head of the claim depends on the severity and extent of the injury. The Judicial College analyses previous general damages payouts, comparing them to the nature of the injury. Therefore, they’ve built reliable compensation brackets that give you a better indication of what you could receive.
We use the information from these brackets over the phone with you and in our personal injury claims calculator to provide you with as accurate an estimate as possible. Below is a list of injuries and their respective compensation brackets. The Judicial College provides these figures.
| Area of Injury | Amount of Compensation | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Back | £85,470 to £151,070 | Severe cases in this bracket involves spinal cord and nerve root damage, causing serious consequences not usually found in back injuries. Therefore, there will be severe pain and disability leading to issues to bladder, sexual function and bowels. |
| Back | £69,600 to £82,980 | Special features in these cases make them above any lower bracket injuries. This includes loss of sensation caused by nerve root damage, impaired mobility and unsightly scarring. |
| Back | £36,390 to £65,440 | Examples of injuries in this bracket include disc fractures or disc lesions or soft tissue injuries causing chronic conditions such as impaired agility and sexual function, depression and personality changes. |
| Back | £26,050 to £36,390 | This bracket of injuries includes a crush/compression fracture of the lumbar vertebrae which causes a substantial risk of osteoarthritis and constant discomfort and pain. |
| Back | £11,730 to £26,050 | This bracket includes many frequent back injuries, such as ligament and muscle disturbances causing backache, or prolapsed discs resulting in laminectomy or repeated relapses. |
| Back | £7,410 to £11,730 | Injuries in this bracket include serious strains, sprains, prolapsed discs and soft tissue injuries that don't require surgery, where a full recovery to nuisance level takes two to five years. |
| Back | £2,300 to £7,410 | Similar injuries to the bracket above apart from a recovery takes place without surgery between three months and two years. |
| Back | Up to £2,300 | Recovery is made from a minor injury without surgery within three months. |
What Else Could I Claim?
You could also claim for special damages when making a lumbar spine injury compensation claim. Special damages relate to the financial losses caused by the injury. Therefore, you could claim for such things as:
- Loss of earnings
- Loss of future earnings
- Travel costs
- Costs of prescriptions/medication
- Care costs, such as the costs of needing a care nurse.
However, one thing to bear in mind when claiming: if you don’t receive general damages compensation, you won’t receive special damages compensation either. By not receiving compensation for the injury itself, the court is stating that the third party isn’t liable for the injury. You would, therefore, not receive compensation for the financial losses either.
It’s important to prove the value of the financial losses you’re looking to claim. As such, you will need financial evidence, such as receipts, invoices and bank statements, to potentially receive this type of compensation.
How Common Is Back Pain?
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) provide work-related injury statistics in Great Britain. From the latest statistics provided for non-fatal injuries across 2019/20, there were 14,334 torso injuries reported in the workplace. Of these, 9,514 were back injuries. However, there may have been more incidents leading to back injuries, as there were also 634 injuries involving more than one torso location.
Even without accounting for those, back injuries still account for over 66% of reported torso injuries in British workplaces in that respective year. Therefore, back injuries may be more common than you think.
As such, if you’ve suffered from a spinal injury from an accident you weren’t liable for, call our team today to see if you can claim. In just a few minutes, we can inform you if you could receive compensation and even put you through to a No Win No Fee personal injury solicitor who could help you build your case.
Steps To Take If You Want to Claim For A Lower Spinal Injury
There are steps you can take to potentially increase your likelihood of receiving lumbar spine injury compensation. These include:
- Collecting evidence of the incident, including CCTV footage.
- Contacting a personal injury solicitor who can help provide you with legal advice.
- Collecting witness details
- Getting an independent medical assessment of your injury. This is a required part of the claims process so your injuries can be examined.
- Collecting copies of medical scans, such as X-rays.
You may also be wondering what the personal injury claims time limit is. You need to begin claims proceedings within three years of the incident or within three years of becoming aware of the injury for regular cases. This is outlined in The Limitation Act 1980.
No Win No Fee Lumbar Spine Injury Compensation Claims
The benefits of using a No Win No Fee personal injury lawyer include:
- Not having to pay legal fees either upfront or during the claims process.
- Legal fees being paid to your lawyer through them taking a small legally capped portion of your compensation. This will be done once your claim has been successful.
- Not having to pay legal fees if your claim is unsuccessful.
Get In Touch With Legal Helpline
Our advisors offer free legal advice and are available 24/7, so if you have any questions or queries about receiving lumbar spine injury compensation, please contact us at a time that works for you. They can also provide you with a reliable compensation estimate. Alternatively, you can use the personal injury claims calculator on our website.
Our panel of personal injury solicitors can work your case on a No Win No Fee basis. To learn more, please use the contact details below.
- Call us now using 0333 000 0729
- E-mail us with your injury details using [email protected]
- Write to us using the live chat window on your screen now
- Contact us using the form on our website
Useful Links
To learn more about making personal injury claims, please use the links below.
For medical guidance about acute lower back pain, view this NHS website.
General advice on recovering from back pain can be found here.
Have you suffered from a broken back leading to paralysis? If so, read this page on our website to see if you can claim.
More guidance about work-related back injuries can be found here.
Suffered a back injury from lifting due to performing a manual handling role? If so, read this webpage for more information about claiming.
Have you been injured in a rear end shunt accident? Our guide offers more information on how to claim compensation and who could be liable.
This case study details a claim where the client received £300,000 for a fractured vertebrae injury caused by an accident at work.
Frequently Asked Questions About Injuries To The Spine
For answers to FAQs, read below.
What is spine trauma?
Spinal cord trauma is damage caused to your spinal cord.
What happens if you damage your spine?
Effects from such an injury can be long-term or short-term based on its severity. You may be unable to walk comfortably and could lose control of your bladder or bowels.
What are the symptoms of an injured spine?
Symptoms include potential paralysis, being unable to feel your feet and mobility issues, requiring you to use walking aids.
Can a lumbar spine injury be cured?
It depends on the nature of the lumbar spine injury. In some cases, you could make a full recovery. However, sometimes treatment can be ineffective. To learn more about receiving lumbar spine injury compensation, please contact us using the details above.
