Back injury claims can be one of the more complex types of injury cases to deal with. Firstly, the back is not a great place to injure, and it can cause a great deal of serious pain and limitation. On top of that, proving elements of back injuries can be hard as it is not easy to see physical pain and damage. Thirdly, many people are likely to end up with degenerative conditions that can have an effect on a claim.
Read on for more advice…
Proving a back injury
The way we will normally prove the injury is by arranging for you to see a medical expert who is qualified to prepare a medico-legal report. The expert will look at the circumstances, evidence, and facts of the case, and then provide their best opinion in a report that we can use to justify the claim. Their opinion is entirely independent, so they will say if they believe that the injury is not caused by the accident – or if it is not as bad as you make it out to be.
What can I claim for?
Because back injuries can be debilitating in a lot of ways, it’s important to know that it isn’t just the pain and suffering you can claim for. You can also claim for any financial losses and expenses caused by the injury, which can include:
- Lost earnings from time off work – especially common in occupations that involve manual work
- The cost of private physiotherapy – which is often the best way to alleviate back injury symptoms and suffering
- Pain medication expenses, and the cost of items bought to help you like back rests or orthopaedic pillows
- Care and assistance claims – hourly rates for anyone like friends and family helping you out
Complications
A lot of people may end up suffering terribly from their back injury, only to have the news that it isn’t all caused by the accident. In many cases where recovery is proving to be a difficulty, experts will suggest MRI scans that may show you are suffering from an exacerbated pre-accident condition, or that symptoms of future degenerative changes have been brought forward.
These elements can complicate a claim, and will often leave people angry because payouts can be reduced if it is proven that it wasn’t all the accident that is causing the ongoing problems. You can only claim for what the accident has caused, so if there was already a pre-existing condition, or you were going to have problems in the future anyway, this is taken in to account.
Many people naturally argue that they had no prior pain or problems until the accident, and that it must have been the accident alone that has caused the problem. But an accident can bring forward what you would have suffered from in the future, which can be proven with the use of an MRI scan. If this happens, you may have to accept that you’re not going to get as much as you thought you may do.
It’s not that you are being unfairly treated at all – your claim will of course take in to account the fact that your symptoms have been brought forward, and that you are experiencing problems due to a pre-existing condition you may not have been aware of; but MRI scans can be very determinative when it comes to picking this kind of thing up. We as your lawyers will need to work out how to fairly and properly value the case.
What are the payouts I can expect for a minor back injury?
Because of the complexities that you could be faced with, you should always instruct a specialist personal injury law firm like us to help you as we know how best to fight the case and maximise the payout. Payouts can be very varied due to the many factors we need to take in to account. The official guidelines though say the following when it comes to back injury compensation claim payouts:
- Minor cases where full recovery is in a period of weeks or months – £1,500
- Minor cases where recovery is a few months to two years, or where there is short term acceleration or exacerbation of a pre-accident condition – up to £5,600
- Up to 5 years can push the payout up to £8,900