Last updated 19th June 2025. This guide will explore the back injury claims process and how you could use a No Win No Fee personal injury solicitor to help you with your case. Back injuries can happen in many different accidents. In this guide, we will examine which accidents and injuries could lead to personal injury claims.
We’ll be discussing the ways in which you can injure your back and the duties of care owed to you by various third parties when in different environments.
In this guide, we’ll discuss what negligence means and why a third party breaching their duty of care can result in you being injured.
Why not give our claims team a quick call to find out if you could make a back injury claim? Through a no-obligation chat, they can go through your case with you. If they can see that you have a good strong case for compensation they can offer to introduce you to one of the solicitors on our panel. All cases taken on are worked on a No Win No Fee basis.
If you’d like to discuss this further, then you can get in touch with our advisors at any time for free by using the contact information below:
- Filling out our contact us form online
- Calling us on 0800 408 7827
- Chat with one of our advisors by using our live chat feature on our website
Choose A Section
- Back Injury Claims – A Guide To Claiming Compensation
- Who Is Eligible For Back Injury Claims?
- Evidence When Making A Claim For A Back injury
- Spinal Injury Compensation Payouts
- Time Limits For Claiming Back Injury Compensation
- What Are No Win No Fee Agreements?
- Learn More About Back Injury Claims
Back Injury Claims – A Guide To Claiming Compensation
This is a personal injury claims guide about claiming for a back injury after a third party breached their duty of care. In this guide, we’ll be exploring several different types of claims that you can make.
Back injuries can come in a wide range of severities. Ranging from minor back pain that lasts a few weeks to larger and more permanent back-related injuries. Because of this, the compensation you may receive can fall within various brackets.
When making a personal injury claim, a No Win No Fee solicitor may be beneficial to you. We’ll discuss this in more detail further in this article, but if you’d like to begin your claim now or have any questions, you can get in touch with us by using the details above.
Who Is Eligible For Back Injury Claims?
You would only be able to make a personal injury claim if you can prove that your injury was caused by third-party negligence. This means that the third party in question:
- Had a duty of care to you,
- Breached their duty of care in their actions or inactions,
- Caused or contributed to your injury because they breached their duty of care.
Due to the many different types of claims you can make, this section will give specific examples of the types of accidents you could claim for.
Accidents In A Public Place
When suing for an injury in a public place, it’s important to note that occupiers of public space have a duty of care to every member of the public that uses their facilities for its intended purpose. This means that they need to ensure that, as far as is reasonably practicable, the space being used is safe. This is outlined in the Occupiers’ Liability Act 1957. Below are a few different examples of incidents happening in a public place that could lead to a claim:
- A public member falls whilst leaning on a faulty railing, which the occupier of a public place had failed to repair.
- A wet surface not being marked, resulting in a person slipping and injuring themselves.
Road Traffic Accidents
When suing for a road traffic accident, remember that every road user has a duty of care to ensure that they aren’t putting any other road users at unnecessary and unlawful risk whilst using the road. The Highway Code clarifies how the road needs to be used, and the Road Traffic Act 1988 applies a duty of care to road users not to cause avoidable harm or damage. If some of these rules are broken, then it could be seen that road user has breached their duty of care. Below we’ve outlined a couple of examples that would result in a claim being made:
- A person is distracted by their phone whilst driving, resulting in them hitting you.
- A person is under the influence of alcohol whilst driving, resulting in them hitting you.
Accidents At Work
Accident-at-work claims are equally dependent on proving a duty of care was breached, but in this case, it’s by your employer. Every employer has a duty of care to their employees, as per The Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. This means that they have to provide employees with a safe environment, as far as is reasonably possible, including safe facilities, equipment and Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) where necessary; below are a few examples of this duty of care being breached:
- An employer fails to provide employees with the necessary PPE, resulting in them being injured.
- An employer fails to maintain equipment, resulting in an employee being injured whilst using it, for example, a faulty ladder.
Evidence When Making A Claim For A Back Injury
In order to make a back injury claim, you need to provide evidence to show how your injury was caused by a third party’s negligent actions in order to make a successful claim.
Potential types of evidence that could help you whilst claiming include:
- Evidence pertaining to what happened – witnesses, CCTV, photographs
- Keeping a diary of your treatment and recovery, detailing your symptoms
- Getting medical care, and asking for copies of any records produced.
Spinal Injury Compensation Payouts
General damages compensation is a head of claim that can be awarded in successful back injury claims. This covers compensation for the physical and psychiatric pain and suffering that has resulted from your injury.
Below is a table of guideline compensation brackets for back injuries. These figures (apart from the top figure) come from the Judicial College Guidelines and are used by solicitors to value your general damages.
These figures are not guaranteed, as many different variables are taken into account when general damages are valued.
| Injury | Severity | Compensation Guideline |
|---|---|---|
| Multiple serious injuries with special damages | Serious | Up to £1,000,000+ |
| Paralysis | Tetraplegia (a) | £396,140 to £493,000 |
| Paraplegia (b) | £267,340 to £346,890 | |
| Back Injury | Severe (a)(i) | £111,150 to £196,450 |
| Severe (a)(ii) | £90,510 to £107,910 | |
| Moderate (b)(i) | £33,880 to £47,320 | |
| Minor (c)(i) | £9,630 to £15,260 | |
| Neck Injury | Severe (a)(i) | In the region of £181,020 |
| Moderate (b)(i) | £30,500 to £46,970 |
Special damages are another head of claim that may be awarded in successful back injury claims. This reimburses a claimant for the financial losses they have experienced due to their back injury. Some examples of this include:
- Loss of earnings
- Cost of care
- Adjustments to your home whilst recovering.
- Medicine you’ve paid for.
Similar to general damages, you’ll have to provide evidence to receive special damages; this can come from invoices, receipts, or bank statements.
Time Limits For Claiming Back Injury Compensation
As per the Limitation Act 1980, the back injury claims time limit is, in most cases, 3 years. This time limit starts from the date your accident happened.
However, there are exceptions to the time limit for certain claimants who are unable to begin a claim for themselves. These claimants are:
- Those under the age of 18.
- Those who lack their full mental capacity.
In these cases, the time limit will be paused until either:
- The claimant turns 18 (meaning the 3-year time limit will start from their 18th birthday).
- The claimant recovers their full mental capacity (meaning the 3-year time limit will start from their recovery date).
While the time limit is paused, however, a loved one of the claimant can step in and make a claim on their behalf. The loved one will act as a litigation friend, and be appointed by the courts.
To find out how to become a litigation friend and claim compensation for a back injury on a loved one’s behalf, please contact us today and we can give you more information. We can also give you more information on how to sue for a back injury once we confirm that you are within the claims time limit.
What Are No Win No Fee Agreements?
No Win No Fee agreements are a type of funding when looking to hire a solicitor. A Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA) is a type of No Win No Fee based funding arrangement between a solicitor and a client.
Generally, with a No Win No Fee agreement, there are no up front solicitor fees that need to be paid, nor none while the case is progressing. Generally, if the claim fails no solicitor fees to cover. Should the claim succeed, a legally capped success fee will be taken from the compensation and given to the solicitor.
Contact Us For Free Legal Advice To See If You Can Make A Back Injury Claim
If you’re interested in making a claim or would like to chat with one of our advisors, then you can get in touch with us anytime. By following any of the contact details below, you’ll be put in contact with our advisors. If they establish that you have a valid claim, then you can use the services of our panel of personal injury solicitors to help support your claim.
Our contact details are:
- Our contact us form online
- Calling us on 0800 408 7827
- Chat with one of our advisors by using our live chat feature on our website
Learn More About Back Injury Claims
If you’d like to learn more about the personal claims process, then you can read these other guides we’ve produced here:
- How To Sue Your Local Council – A Guide To Claiming Compensation.
- How To Sue A Hospital – A Guide To Claiming Compensation.
- How To Sue For A Food Allergic Reaction.
- Dog attack injury claims
Here are some external resources that you may find useful;
Thank you for reading this guide detailing the back injury claims process. If you have any other questions, please get in touch using the details provided above.