By Danielle Graves. Last Updated 17th July 2023. In this guide, we explain when you could claim personal injury compensation for nerve damage after a car accident. We list the criteria you must meet to be eligible and the time limitations you should adhere to. Our guide also outlines how much compensation you could receive after an injury caused by negligence and how solicitors value these.
Additionally, our guide looks at the Whiplash Reform Programme and how much compensation you could claim for a whiplash injury. We also explore the differences between the damages you could receive in a successful claim.
How much compensation for nerve damage after a car accident could I claim?
We cover the impact your injuries could have on you and outline the evidence that will be useful in supporting your claim for nerve damage. Following this, we also list examples of accidents that may cause injuries.
To conclude, our guide focuses on how a No Win No Fee agreement works and how the outcome of your claim can influence whether your solicitor is paid.
For more information, please continue reading. You can speak with us to talk in more detail about your claim. To speak with an advisor, please use one of the following methods:
- Reach us on 0161 696 9685
- Contact us by submitting your details on our claim form
- Receive advice through our live support feature
Jump To A Section
- How Much Compensation For Nerve Damage After A Car Accident Could I Claim?
- Eligibility To Claim Compensation For Nerve Damage After A Car Accident
- Evidence To Support Car Accident Nerve Damage Claims
- Examples Of Nerve Injuries In Accidents
- Compensation For Nerve Damage After A Car Accident – No Win No Fee
- More Resources
How Much Compensation For Nerve Damage After A Car Accident Could I Claim?
You may be able to claim compensation for nerve damage. General damages are one kind of this. This award aims to compensate you for the suffering you have experienced due to your injuries sustained from the car accident.
The Judicial College Guidelines is a document that may be consulted by legal professionals when they are in the process of valuing your injury. These contain brackets of compensation for different types of injuries. The figures are displayed in the table below.
However, they should be used as a guide as the amounts are not definite, and they may not accurately represent the award you will receive.
| Injury | Severity | Notes | Compensation Guidelines |
|---|---|---|---|
| Back | Severe (a) (i) | Damage to spinal cord and nerve roots causing severe pain and disabilities. | £91,090 to £160,980 |
| Back | Severe (a) (ii) | Nerve root damage that is associated with a loss of sensation. | £74,160 to £88,430 |
| Back | Moderate (b) (i) | Nerve root irritation caused by damage to an intervertebral disc leading to reduced mobility. | £27,760 to £38,780 |
| Shoulder | Severe (a) | Damage to the brachial plexus. | £19,200 to £48,030 |
| Leg | Less Serious (c) (i) | Serious tissue injuries to the leg(s) causing some nerve damage and restricted functionality. | £17,960 to £27,760 |
| Nose | Serious (i) | Serious fractures to nose, causing difficulty breathing or damage to nerves or tear ducts. | £10,640 to £23,130 |
| Thumb | Serious (t) | Bracket includes fractures necessitating the insertion of wires or nerve damage. | £12,590 to £16,760 |
| Cheekbone | Serious (i) | Requiring surgery and where paraesthesia in the lips or cheek persist. | £10,200 to £15,780 |
| Whiplash | Regulation 2(1)(a) | Over 18 months but 24 months maximum. | £4,215 |
| Whiplash | Regulation 2(1)(b) | Over 15 months but 18 months maximum. | £3,100 |
For more information about road traffic accident compensation claims, please contact an advisor who can assess your claim.
How Special Damages Could Also Compensate You
Another form of compensation you could receive is special damages. This head of claim reimburses you for the financial expenditures you have incurred because of your injuries.
They can cover things like the costs of home adjustments and professional care. They can also compensate you for the impact on your earnings if you cannot attend work.
Evidence is important in supporting your claim as it can help to prove liability. Examples of this include:
- Payslips
- Bank statements and invoices
These will help illustrate how your injury from the car accident has impacted you financially.
The Whiplash Reform Programme
The Whiplash Reform Programme changed how whiplash and lower-value soft tissue injury claims are made. If a driver or passenger over eighteen sustains injuries of this nature that align with a value of £5,000 or less, then you must make your claim through another channel; our advisors can tell you more about this if you get in touch.
Any whiplash or soft tissue injuries will be valued using the tariff contained in the Whiplash Injury Regulations 2021. This is regardless of the channel through which the claim is made.
If you suffer additional injuries to your whiplash injury that takes the value above £5,000, you would not need to claim through the Official Injury Claims portal. However, the whiplash tariffs would still apply to the whiplash injury.
Eligibility To Claim Compensation For Nerve Damage After A Car Accident
When claiming compensation for nerve damage after a car accident, you will need to meet certain criteria. For example, you’ll need to show that the injury was caused by a breach in duty of care.
Road users have a duty of care to navigate the roads in a way that reduces the possibility of harm to themselves and others. If they fail to do this, this can constitute a breach of duty of care that could cause harm.
The Road Traffic Act 1988 outlines the duty of care. Additionally, The Highway Code provides guidance on using roads safely.
To make a claim, you should be able to show the following:
- You were owed a duty of care.
- There was a breach of this duty by another road user, causing an accident.
- This breach led to you sustaining injuries.
To learn more about the eligibility criteria for claiming, please speak with a member of our team.
Limitation Periods For Whiplash And Road Traffic Accident Claims
You should adhere to a time limit when claiming. The Limitation Act 1980 highlights that, as a general rule, you will have three years from the accident or three years from the date you became aware of the negligence to start a claim.
If a person is under eighteen when the accident happens, this time limit is suspended, and it will resume on their eighteenth birthday. At this point, they will have three years to begin a claim. Litigation friends can claim for individuals who can’t do so themselves; this is an adult who acts in the claimant’s best interests.
To find out whether you’re within the time limit for claiming, speak with a member of our team today.
Evidence To Support Car Accident Nerve Damage Claims
If you would like to claim for nerve damage from a car accident, you will need to collect sufficient evidence to support your case. This can help show that another road user breached their duty of care, and this caused you to sustain harm.
Some examples of the evidence that could help support your claim include:
- Video footage from the accident, such as from a dashcam.
- A copy of your medical records that state the nature of your injury along with any treatment you required.
- A police report, if the police attended the scene of the accident, or it was reported to them.
- Photographs from the scene, of your injuries or damage to your vehicle.
- The contact details of anyone who saw the accident so they can give a statement later in the claiming process.
A solicitor from our panel specialising in road traffic accident claims could help you obtain the evidence necessary to support your case. Contact an advisor today for more information on how a solicitor could help you collect evidence to support a claim for nerve damage from a car accident, and the settlement you could potentially be awarded should your claim succeed.
Examples Of Nerve Injuries In Accidents
Road traffic accidents can occur in many different ways. Some examples are listed below:
- Head-on collision: this may occur on a one-way street if a road user does not take notice of the signs indicating that the traffic only travels a certain way on the street. This could lead to an accident resulting in a bone fracture, which can in turn cause nerve damage in the area of the body that is damaged.
- Rear-end collision: a driver may be intoxicated or distracted using their mobile phone, causing them to crash into the back of your car after they have failed to notice you have braked at a red light. You could sustain a neck injury or serious whiplash injuries from this accident, as well as nerve damage to the neck and shoulders.
- Side-impact collision: you may be navigating a roundabout when a driver does not give way to traffic coming from the right, causing them to pull out and crash into you. This may cause a back injury which can also impact the nerves surrounding the spinal cord, causing you to sustain nerve damage.
To find out about claiming compensation for nerve damage after a car accident, you can chat with an advisor to discuss your claim.
Compensation For Nerve Damage After A Car Accident – No Win No Fee
Working with a solicitor may benefit you when claiming compensation. They could offer to work on a No Win No Fee agreement, in particular, a Conditional Fee Agreement. They usually mean that if your claim is not successful, then your solicitor will not charge you. There also aren’t generally any upfront or ongoing fees to pay.
Alternatively, if your claim is a success, your solicitor will deduct an amount from your compensation. This is commonly known as a success fee. It is a proportion of your award, and the Conditional Fee Agreements Order 2013 legally caps the percentage they are permitted to take, so there is no concern about overcharging.
For more information on No Win No Fee agreements, please contact an advisor who can access a solicitor from our panel who can provide you with further guidance on the topic.
Contact Our Helpline
To discuss your claim-related questions in further detail, you can choose your preferred method of contact and reach an advisor below:
- Telephone us on 0161 696 9685
- Fill out our online form to contact us
- Refer to our live chat for guidance and advice
More Resources
If you found our guide on claiming compensation for nerve damage after a car accident useful, please visit our other guides below:
- Could I Still Claim For A Car Accident Without A Seatbelt?
- How Long After A Car Accident Can You Claim Compensation?
- Road Traffic Accident Calculator
For external resources, explore the sites below:
- Road Statistics – THINK! Government Guidance
- Symptoms of Peripheral Neuropathy – NHS
- Whiplash – NHS