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Injuries to the spinal cord can change lives in an instant, limiting movement and requiring long-term care. If your injury was caused by an avoidable medical mistake, we will help you pursue your right to justice.
Our solicitors have helped clients navigate the complexities of spinal injury claims for over 30 years, winning millions in compensation. With our legal expertise by your side, you can secure the compensation you need to cover your day-to-day needs, rehabilitate your injuries, and move on from this difficult experience.
Do you have a spinal injury claim?
The spinal cord controls many vital bodily functions. So when the spine is injured during surgery or another procedure, the impact can be severe, from the loss of feeling in your limbs to complete paralysis.
If you’ve suffered due to negligence, you may be entitled to make a spinal injury claim. Guided by our experienced solicitors, this can give you the financial support to pay for any care, equipment and home adaptations you require, so you can move forward with the best quality of life possible.
The specialist spinal injury claims solicitors for Essex & East Anglia
Since 1993, our trusted solicitors have dealt with numerous spinal injury claims, including highly complex cases, with a proven track record of achieving successful outcomes.
From obtaining the compensation you deserve, to providing answers that help you find closure, we investigate all evidence to present a watertight case, and tirelessly negotiate to secure your fair settlement, with 96% of our claims resolved out of court. We do all this on a ‘no win, no fee’ basis, so you never need to worry about legal costs and only pay if we win your case.
What does our spinal injury claims process look like?
A free initial consultation
Call us, request a callback or complete our online form and we’ll assess if you have a valid medical negligence claim.
Funding your claim
Discover the ways we can fund your claim without you paying a penny at any stage of the process.
Investigating evidence
We gather medical records, witness statements and more to learn what happened to you and prove your claim.
Instructing independent medical experts
We work with impartial, experienced medical experts to establish whether your injuries were due to substandard medical care.
Valuing your claim
We assess your health and financial losses to accurately estimate how much compensation your claim is worth.
Presenting your case
We contact the Defendants and the Courts on your behalf to set out your allegations and receive a response.
Negotiating a settlement
We work to achieve a fair settlement for you outside the courtroom – this is how 96% of our cases end.
Preparing for Trial
If we must proceed to Trial, we fully prepare you for what to expect so you receive the right result in court.
What you need to know about spinal injury claims
What is a spinal injury?
A spinal injury refers to any physical damage sustained by the spinal cord, or the vertebrae, ligaments or discs that surround it. This can occur in numerous ways:
- Sudden trauma, such as road traffic accidents, falls, physical activities or violence
- Continuous pressure on the spine, caused by bleeding, bruising, swelling, tumour growth, etc.
- Conditions or diseases that affect the spine’s strength, including arthritis, cancer, infections or disc degeneration
Due to how extensive the spinal cord’s influence is throughout the body, injuries to the spine can have significant and long-lasting outcomes.
- In the UK, someone suffers a spinal cord injury every 4 hours
- An estimated 2,500 people per year are diagnosed with a life-changing spinal cord injury
- Over 50,000 in the UK live with a spinal cord injury
When is medical negligence to blame for spinal injury?
Spinal procedures are performed for countless reasons, including for those requiring decompression surgery or fusion surgery. The spinal cord can be injured when things go wrong during surgery and, depending on the exact point that’s damaged, will impact the body and potentially lead to life-changing complications.
What if someone failed to identify my developing spinal cord injury?
A failure to diagnose or a significant delay in diagnosing a problem can result in long-term damage that could have otherwise been avoided.
There are many symptoms that can be a sign of compressed nerves, including loss of bladder, bowel and sexual function. When these symptoms are brought to the attention of a healthcare professional, there may be a small window of opportunity to resolve the underlying issue.
If they fail to recognise the symptoms, or do not consider the true cause of symptoms as one of their differential diagnoses, it may lead to the patient losing control of certain body functions, and potentially even result in paralysis.
What can spinal injury compensation help with?
At Gadsby Wicks, our specialist spinal injury solicitors understand the devastating impact these injuries can have. When this is due to substandard treatment by a healthcare professional, we are here to ensure our clients receive the compensation they deserve.
Like any injury compensation claim, compensation aims to help someone get back to a position before their injury occurred or, if this is not possible, support the changes to their life moving forward.
When claiming spinal injury compensation, this will often cover the costs of treatments, aids and adaptations that help the claimant retain as much of their independence and quality of life as possible. These can include:
- Corrective treatments, procedures and surgeries
- Occupational therapy
- Long-term care and support
- Good quality mobility equipment
- Home and vehicle adaptations
- Loss of earnings
- Travel expenses
What mistakes can be grounds for a spinal injury claim?
Often spinal cord injuries sustained during treatment will be related to surgery. However, a patient may receive injuries due to the incorrect application of pain-relieving injections by an orthopaedic surgeon, or substandard chiropractic adjustments.
Spinal procedures are performed for countless reasons, including decompression surgery or fusion surgery. There are numerous ways that the negligence of a surgeon can lead to an avoidable injury:
- Wrong-site surgery which misses the affected area entirely
- Overstretching or cutting a nerve
- Not noticing internal bleeding
- Cutting a vessel which may cut off the blood supply to a nerve
- Retained surgical bodies (RSBs) – any foreign bodies left inside a patient after surgery
In addition, a patient could make a spinal cord injury claim if healthcare professionals fail to identify or respond to issues caused during the operation until it is too late. In many cases, mistakes made in surgery can be reversed if addressed soon enough.
How do I make a spinal injury claim and what should I expect?
We understand that the spinal injury claims process can be overwhelming, so we are transparent about what to expect and help you every step of the way.
As specialists in medical negligence, we commit the time and resources necessary to thoroughly investigate your spinal injury claim. Once you have been allocated one of our experts to manage your case, we will examine all evidence to assess whether the care you received was substandard:
- Medical records
- Claimant statements
- Witness statements
- Complaint correspondence
- Independent medical opinion
If we believe you have a valid claim, we will communicate with the Defendants on your behalf, conduct further investigation to quantify compensation, and always keep you informed.
We will decisively pursue the compensation, answers and justice you deserve, and work to reach a fitting settlement. 96% of our cases settle without going to court, but we will staunchly present your case in the unlikely event of a court hearing.
Contact our expert spinal injury claims solicitors
If you or a loved one has experienced a spinal injury and would like to speak to someone about your options, our team is here to listen and advise you on your next steps.
Lexcel accredited medical negligence claims solicitors
We are proud to be a Lexcel-accredited practice. The accreditation is a mark of quality and comes directly from the Law Society.
A recent assessment described us as a “Centre of Excellence” and we continue to operate to the highest standards across all main areas of our field. These include client care, case management, financial management, structure and strategy, people management, risk management, information management and file management.
Industry Recognised