Spinal injury claims
Contact our team of specialist spinal injury lawyers about starting your compensation claim today
If you want to find out more about claiming for spinal injuries caused by medical negligence, then this page is for you. If you’re looking for information on spinal injuries caused by accidents and trauma, visit our Spinal Injury page.
Spinal injury from medical negligence
Spinal injury claims due to medical negligence arise due to mistakes made by doctors, surgeons or other healthcare professionals.
This can be during a routine procedure, operation or a case of delayed or missed diagnosis. They can also arise if you did not give informed consent. There are various reasons medical professionals can make a mistake that leads to a spinal injury.
Damage to your spine can have serious consequences - including paralysis requiring lifelong support, or even death.
If you or a loved one has experienced a spinal injury due to negligence, then you may be able to make a spinal injury claim with Leigh Day. Call us today on 020 7650 1200.
What our clients say
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Cauda Equina Syndrome claims
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Surgical claims
We can help if you have a surgical negligence claim
Meet the medical negligence team
See how we helped others
Almost £1m for man who suffered spinal injury during treatment for heart condition
A man has received almost £1 million in compensation in a legal claim against his GP following allegations that inappropriate medication was prescribed to treat his cardiac condition.
Multi-million-pound settlement secured for man left paralysed following missed diabetes diagnosis
A man who developed a spinal cord abscess after a failure to diagnose his diabetes has been secured a multi-million-pound settlement.
A keen motorcyclist who fears paralysis after undergoing unnecessary spinal surgery receives six-figure settlement
A patient who suffered new symptoms after experimental spinal surgery has received a six figure settlement, as well as provisional damages.
Woman receives six-figure sum following unnecessary lumbar punctures causing spinal cord injury
The woman, who we will call Jane, was admitted to Northampton General Hospital, via their Accident & Emergency Department, with what she presumed to be a muscle spasm in her neck but which was in reality spontaneous intracranial hypotension (SIH).
Types of spinal injury claim
When having an operation, surgeons and medical professionals are expected to do a safe, competent job. However, errors in surgery do occur, and can damage your spinal cord due to different reasons:
•Genuine accident by the surgeon
•Mistake due to overworked/pressured medical professional
•Error due to the surgeon's lack of proper qualification or experience
Mistakes can happen during other types of treatment that result in a spinal injury. Usually, these will be when receiving injections, such as a facet joint or caudal epidural injection aimed at relieving pain.
Any delay in the diagnosis of various spinal conditions may cause them to worsen and result in a severe spinal injury.
This could be classed as negligence on the part of the medical professional responsible for identifying and arranging appropriate treatment. Delayed diagnosis of the following conditions are examples of spinal cord injury due to medical negligence:
•Cauda equina syndrome
•Damaged nerves, vertebrae and discs
•Spinal cord abscess
•A tumour on the spinal cord
•Meningitis
Misdiagnosis not only creates a delay to the proper diagnosis of a spinal condition, but it could also lead to inappropriate treatment that harms your spine.
Incorrect diagnoses of any of the conditions mentioned above could cause injury and avoidable damage to the spine and areas around it.
Patients must be informed of all material risks before receiving treatment – whether this is an injection, operation or therapy.
Material risks are ones the patient would consider significant, not the doctor. A medical professional must inform their patients of any changes to their treatment plan. This is called informed consent.
As well as being informed, you may have to give your consent to prove you understand and accept any risks. Failure to inform or get the consent of a patient is negligent behaviour on the part of the medical professional.
What the directories say
A superb specialist clinical negligence team with an outstanding reputation. Offers market-leading expertise on a variety of serious claims including spinal and brain injury cases.
Chambers and partners
Making a spinal injury due to medical negligence claim
If you think you’ve been a victim of spinal injury caused by medical negligence, then you can start to claim with Leigh Day.
Speak to one of our medical negligence lawyers with experience of spinal injuries to discuss your case. They will explore the possibility of bringing a claim against an individual doctor, hospital or other healthcare facilities.
Anyone who has a spinal injury they believe was caused by medical negligence can discuss making a claim. You can also claim on behalf of your child if they are under 18.
To make a claim, your chances of success will improve with the right evidence. This can help prove:
- The treatment and care you received fell below the expected standard (a breach of duty)
- You experienced pain and suffering as a result of treatment or misdiagnosis
- The actions of your surgeon or doctor directly led to personal financial losses
Types of proof can include:
- Expert medical reports
- Witness statements
- Medical records
- Financial evidence
Spinal injury from medical negligence compensation
You have three years to claim from the date you discover medical negligence resulted in your spinal injury. The amount of time it takes to make a claim will depend on the seriousness of your injuries.
How much compensation you are entitled to will also be based on the severity of your injuries and their impact on other aspects of your life.
You can put any compensation you receive towards covering the costs of:
- Ongoing care and treatment
- Therapies
- Equipment
- Rehabilitation
- Loss of earnings
- Changes to your home
- Financial support for your family
As a spinal injury due to medical negligence can significantly affect your employment, family, social life and relationships, it’s important you receive appropriate levels of compensation.
Why choose Leigh Day?
Spinal injury caused by medical negligence forms part of the wider clinical negligence department at Leigh Day. With more than 30 years’ experience acting for clients in complex cases and securing millions of pounds in compensation, we have some of the best lawyers in the UK.
Seven of our lawyers are members of the Law Society’s clinical negligence panel, while four are accredited by Action against Medical Accidents (AvMA) as experts in their field. Leigh Day is accredited by spinal injury charities the Spinal Injuries Association (SIA), Backup and the Cauda Equina Syndrome Association.
What the directories say
“Olive Lewin is ‘an incredibly good practitioner with excellent client care skills’.”
Chambers and Partners
Partner Olive Lewin has an incredible amount of experience working in the field of medical negligence, including on cases relating to spinal injury.
She has a national reputation as a leading solicitor in the field of clinical negligence litigation, receiving glowing reviews from Chambers and Partners and the Legal 500 in recent years.
