No Win, No FeeWhen thinking about personal injury claims, you might think of broken bones, head injuries and other similar injuries. While these are often claimed for, another common injury sustained in accidents is nerve damage. This can affect most parts of the body and can be very painful and long-lasting. If you are dealing with symptoms of nerve damage following an accident that was not your fault, we could help you to claim compensation for your suffering. In this article about nerve damage compensation claims, we’ll look at when you might be entitled to compensation and what you could be compensated for.
We are ready to help if you are thinking of starting a nerve damage claim. Our team of specialist advisors offer free advice about claiming and will review your case during a no-obligation telephone consultation. Where it appears that your case is strong enough, we’ll connect you with one of our personal injury lawyers who’ll provide their services on a No Win No Fee basis.
To discuss your chances of being compensated today, give us a call on 0800 652 1345. To learn more about the nerve damage compensation claims process before getting in touch, please read on.
What is nerve damage?
There are two main parts of the nervous system:
- Central Nervous System (CNS). This includes the spinal cord and the brain. The CNS controls most of our mind and body functions.
- Peripheral Nervous System (PNS). The PNS controls many functions across the whole body. Amongst other things, it is responsible for muscle control, blood pressure, pain and the sense of touch.
Nerve damage to the CNS can be catastrophic. Any damage to the brain or spinal cord can result in life-changing injuries such as paralysis. This can include monoplegia, hemiplegia, paraplegia and tetraplegia.
Symptoms of nerve damage
Damage to nerves in the PNS can result in a variety of symptoms. According to the NHS, the most common include:
- Stabbing, burning or shooting pain in affected areas.
- Tingling or numbness in the feet or hands.
- Muscle weakness (most common in the feet).
- Loss of coordination or balance.
Nerve damage can sometimes cause constant symptoms whilst in other cases, the problems might fluctuate. It is possible for nerve damage to have a significant impact on your life. This could include psychological harm as well as physical pain and suffering.
If you’re diagnosed with nerve damage following an accident or incident that wasn’t your fault, you could be entitled to compensation for your suffering.
Can I claim compensation for nerve damage?
When making a compensation claim for personal injuries or medical negligence, a solicitor will check three main criteria to see if you could be entitled to compensation. Before accepting your claim, they will review whether:
- The responsible party (or defendant) owed you a duty of care; and
- Following an act of negligence, the defendant caused an accident or incident; in which
- You sustained nerve damage or other injuries.
Don’t worry too much about how you establish a duty of care for personal injury as this is something your advisor or solicitor will verify during your call. Generally, though, it comes from legislation such as the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and other applicable acts. Your role in the claims process will be to try and provide proof of how you were injured and who was responsible. As such, we’ll look at what proof will benefit a nerve damage compensation claim later on.
Medical negligence claims relating to nerve damage have slightly different eligibility criteria. Again, though, don’t worry about this as one of our specialists will check whether you can claim when you call for your free consultation.
Accidents that commonly cause nerve damage
It’s important to point out that nerve damage can result from various different scenarios. We won’t list all of them here but some of the most common incidents or accidents that lead to nerve damage compensation include:
- Workplace injuries including Repetitive Strain Injuries (RSI).
- Slips and trips.
- Medical negligence.
- Road Traffic Accidents (RTAs).
- Birth injuries.
- Dental negligence.
- Negligent beauty treatment (including dermal fillers and Botox injections).
We could help with claiming compensation for nerve damage if your injuries have been sustained because someone else was negligent. Please contact us today and let us know what happened so that we can review your case for free.
What might constitute negligence causing nerve injury?
As discussed earlier, nerve damage can be caused in so many ways that it’d be too difficult to list them all here. However, we’ve provided some examples of negligence that could entitle you to compensation for nerve injury below:
- Where a baby suffers from Erb’s Palsy following excessive force during delivery.
- If you suffer from carpal tunnel syndrome because your employer failed to provide reduced-vibration tools.
- Where you suffer nerve damage after being knocked off of your motorbike where a motorist failed to see you.
- If you are suffering from nerve injuries following avoidable damage during surgery.
- Where a dentist damages the nerves in your jaw when fitting implants.
- If a beautician damages nerves in your face because they weren’t adequately trained in applying dermal fillers.
Don’t worry if there’s not a scenario similar to yours listed here. The simplest way to check if you could claim nerve damage compensation is to contact our advisors for a free consultation.
How much compensation for nerve damage can I claim?
You shouldn’t think of personal injury compensation as a form of fine or penalty that the defendant has to pay you. Any settlement that is paid for a nerve damage claim will aim to help you to recover physically, mentally and psychologically. Usually, compensation for nerve damage is based on general damages (for your physical mental pain) and special damages (financial impact).
Each claimant will be affected differently but your claim could be based on:
- How much pain you have suffered and might continue to suffer because of nerve damage.
- Any loss of earnings you’ve sustained.
- The impact your injuries have had on your social life or hobbies (loss of amenity explained here).
- The cost of carer (or the value of care provided by a loved one).
- Travel expenses.
- Medical costs (including private medical expenses).
- Future loss of income if the nerve damage will affect your ability to work.
- The cost of making changes to your home if they’ll help you to cope with any ongoing disabilities.
If your nerve damage claim is taken on by one of our personal injury lawyers, they’ll carefully review your case with you to try and ensure nothing is missed. It’s important to include everything in your claim as you’re not able to request additional compensation after your claim has been settled.
Providing proof for nerve damage claims
Whether you’re making a medical negligence or personal injury claim, you’ll need to supply proof to clearly show a) who caused your nerve injuries, b) how the incident occurred and c) how you’ve suffered. Without such proof, you may not be compensated or you could be paid too little. The types of evidence you could supply include:
- Photographic proof. Taking pictures of the accident scene (where appropriate) is always a good idea. If you’re able to, take pictures from various angles and try to do so before anything is moved.
- Accident report forms. If you’ve suffered nerve injuries in an accident at work or on business property, for example, you should report it. Most businesses will need to keep an accident report book and you’re entitled to a copy of your incident report.
- Medical evidence. It’s important to have your injuries assessed, diagnosed and treated by a medical professional to give you the best chance of recovering. After treatment, your medical records could be requested by your solicitor to try and prove the extent of your nerve damage.
- Witness information. If someone else saw how you were injured, you should ask them for their contact details. If needed, your solicitor could ask them for a statement about what they witnessed.
- A diary of events. Trying to recall everything when discussing your claim can be difficult. For that reason, it’s a good idea to write everything down. In your diary, you could record how the accident happened, how you’ve been affected and what costs you’ve incurred because of your injuries.
We can review your proof with you as part of your free consultation. If you’d like to start the ball rolling today, please call one of our advisors on 0800 652 1345.
Will I be required to have a medical assessment?
Another piece of evidence that’s a requirement in the vast majority of nerve damage claims is an independent medical report. For that reason, during your claim, your solicitor will book an appointment with a specialist (usually locally). They will determine the extent of your nerve injuries by examining you and discussing them with you. Once finished, they’ll list your injuries in a report and explain your prognosis.
Nerve damage injury claims time limits
Any form of compensation claim in the UK is bound by strict time limits where you’ll have 3-years to take action. This will begin from the date you were injured or your date of knowledge if this is later.
We believe it’s a good idea to begin your injury claim for nerve damage compensation as soon as possible. This will give you and your solicitor extra time to collect evidence and medical reports. You may also benefit from private medical treatment paid for by the defendant if it will help you recover sooner.
Importantly, the time limit doesn’t apply to nerve injury claims for those who’ve lost the mental capacity to claim or children (under 18-years old). In these scenarios, a friend, parent or guardian can claim at any point by becoming a litigation friend. This is something we can help with. Once the process has been signed off, the litigation friend can deal with everything on the claimant’s behalf.
As you can imagine, some nerve damage claims are more complex than others. This can affect how long the claims process takes. Some claims can be settled in as little as 6 to 9-months if the defendant admits liability and the claimant has recovered from their injuries. However, for cases where it’s not yet clear how the claimant will be affected, the process can take longer. In these cases, your solicitor could request interim payments to be made to help you cope with any immediate financial impact linked to your injuries.
No Win, No Fee nerve damage claims
There’s no doubt that the cost of hiring a solicitor is quite a concern if you’re thinking of claiming compensation for nerve injuries. However, we believe that if one of our solicitors represents you, there will be a better chance of winning your case and being awarded the right amount of compensation.
To put your mind at ease, our solicitors work on a No Win No Fee basis in every claim they take on. That means you don’t need to pay if the case is lost and you won’t be asked to pay in advance either.
Should your claim be accepted, everything will be explained in your Conditional Fee Agreement (or CFA, the formal name for No Win No Fee). The CFA will make it clear what your solicitor will do and when you’d need to pay them.
Should your claim be won, your solicitor will deduct a percentage of your compensation to cover the cost of their work and any associated costs. This is called a success fee. Legally, when using a CFA, the most you’ll pay as a success fee is 25% of your settlement figure.
Would you like to check whether you could use one of our No Win No Fee solicitors? If so, please call today.
Start a claim for nerve damage compensation today
Whether you decide to proceed with a claim or not, you’ll be offered a free review of your case and legal advice if you call our team on 0800 652 1345. An advisor will guide you through the claims process and could partner you with one of our specialist solicitors if your case is accepted. Remember, our solicitors provide a No Win No Fee service to reduce the financial risks and stress associated with claiming.
If you’ve got any immediate further questions about nerve damage compensation claims, please use live chat to contact us.
