A neck injury can cause real pain and disruption in someone’s life, drastically impacting their ability to function as they did before. Even relatively minor neck injuries can cause pain and discomfort as well as financial losses, such as medical expenses. Within this guide we discuss how to make a neck injury claim.
Key Points To Remember
- If your injury was caused by another breaching their duty of care, you could make a claim.
- If successful, the compensation awarded can cover not just the physical pain and emotional suffering, but also the financial losses the person experienced because of their injuries.
- You generally need to begin your claim within 3 years.
- Under certain circumstances, a claim can be made on behalf of others.
- Rather than face a claim alone, one of our No Win No Fee solicitors could help you.
If you have any questions regarding how to claim for your injury, or would like free advice for your case, you can contact our advisors:
- Call 0800 073 8804
- Or, ask the live discussion window a question.
- You can also contact us online.
Select A Section Of Our Guide
- Who Can Make A Neck Injury Claim?
- What Kinds Of Neck Injuries Could I Claim For?
- How Much Compensation Could I Get?
- Can I Make A Neck Injury Claim For Someone Else?
- Make A No Win No Fee Claim With Legal Expert
- Learn More About Personal Injury Claims
Who Can Make A Neck Injury Claim?
In order to have a valid neck injury claim, you must prove that negligence occurred. In personal injury law, this is when:
- You were owed a duty of care.
- This person breached their duty of care.
- You suffered your injury because of this.
Various types of accidents could lead to you suffering a neck injury. We have listed some examples below and the duty of care owed in each situation.
Accidents at Work
The Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 (HASAWA) states the duty of care owed by employers. It requires employers to take reasonable and practicable steps to ensure that employees are prevented from being harmed whilst performing their job role.
If an employer does not adhere to their duty of care, and this leads to a neck injury being suffered, an accident at work claim could be made. For example:
- An employer failed to check that boxes were stacked properly within a warehouse. This causes the boxes to fall onto an employee, and they suffer a back and neck injury.
Road Trafiic Accidents
All road users owe each other a duty of care to avoid causing harm and damage. To meet this duty, they need to comply with rules and obligations detailed in both the Road Traffic Act 1988 and the Highway Code.
If a road user does not adhere to their duty of care, and this leads to a neck injury being suffered, a road traffic accident claim could be made. For example:
- An intoxicated driver rear-ends another motorist and causes them to suffer a whiplash injury.
Public Place Accidents
Any party in control of an area open to the public owes them a duty of care, as detailed in the Occupiers’ Liability Act 1957. They must carry out the necessary steps and take precautions to reasonably protect visitors from harm whilst they are using their facilities and services.
If an occupier does not adhere to their duty of care, and this leads to a neck injury being suffered, a public liability claim could be made. For example:
- A pub fails to display a warning sign for a low ceiling in a doorway. A customer hits their head and suffers a mild concussion as well as soft tissue damage in their neck.
To see whether you may be eligible to make a neck injury claim, you can contact our advisors.
What Kinds Of Neck Injuries Could I Claim For?
There are various different types of neck injuries you could suffer in an accident and make a claim for, such as:
- Cuts and scarring to the neck.
- Soft tissue injuries.
- Torn ligaments and muscles.
- Fractures and dislocations to the cervical spine discs affecting the neck.
Changes To Whiplash Law
If you have suffered whiplash in a road traffic accident, the way you would make your claim has changed due to the Whiplash Reform Programme. You now make your claim via a different avenue if the following criteria are met:
- You are aged 18+
- You were injured as a passenger or driver of a vehicle.
- Your accident took place in Wales or England.
- Your injuries are valued at £5,000 or less (such as whiplash).
Furthermore, your whiplash injury will be valued using the fixed tariff within the Whiplash Injury Regulations 2021. Additional injuries suffered will be valued traditionally.
If these additional injuries bring the overall value of your claim over £5,000 you will make your claim via the traditional route, but your whiplash will still be valued in line with the whiplash tariff.
Do I Need A Solicitor To Make A Whiplash Claim?
Anyone can launch their own personal injury claim for whiplash. However, working with one of our solicitors on your case can come with many advantages, such as:
- Ensuring your compensation covers both your injuries and associated financial losses.
- Help you with gathering evidence.
- Explaining any legal terminology used throughout the claims process.
To learn more about how one of our expert solicitors could help you with your neck injury claim, you can contact our advisors.
How Much Compensation Could I Get?
If successful, your compensation amount could be made up of two groups of loss called general and special damages. The main one is general damages, and this compensates you for the physical pain and psychological suffering caused by the neck injury.
Those tasked with calculating your general damages can refer to any medical evidence presented, such as your medical records. Also, they can look at publications like the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG). This contains compensation guidelines for a wide range of injuries.
We have included some of these entries from the JCG within the table below, aside from the first one. We have also added some entries from the whiplash tariff too.
Compensation Guidelines
| Injury | Severity? | Compensation Guidelines |
|---|---|---|
| Various types of severe harm with special damages. | Severe | Up to £1 million plus. |
| Neck | Severe (i) | In the region of £181,020 |
| Severe (ii) | £80,240 to £159,770 | |
| Severe (iii) | £55,500 to £68,330 | |
| Moderate (i) | £30,500 to £46,970 | |
| Moderate (ii) | £16,770 to £30,500 | |
| Moderate (iii) | £9,630 to £16,770 | |
| Minor (i) | £5,310 to £9,630 | |
| Whiplash Tariff | Whiplash injuries + psychological injuries | £4,345 |
| Whiplash injuries | £4,215 |
How Could Special Damages Help Me?
The second head of loss, special damages, compensates the person for the financial harm they’ve experienced due to their neck injury. You will need to prove the lost amounts with documentation, such as
- Wage slips proving you suffered a loss of earnings).
- Invoices for at-home care costs.
- Receipts for travel expenses, such as taxis.
To discuss what other financial losses you may be able to claim compensation for as part of your neck injury claim, you can contact our advisors.
Can I Make A Neck Injury Claim For Someone Else?
Generally, you would have 3 years to make your own personal injury claim, as stated within the Limitation Act 1980.
However, there are certain instances where you could claim on someone else’s behalf. For example, those lacking the mental capacity to handle their own claim. You could apply to the courts to become a litigation friend and claim on their behalf.
If they regain this mental capacity and you have not claimed on their behalf, they will have three years to start their own claim from this recovery date.
Can I Make A Neck Injury Claim For My Child?
Those injured under the age of 18 cannot make their own claim. If your child has been injured in an accident, you could make a claim on their behalf as a litigation friend.
However, should they turn 18 and you have not made a claim for them, they will have 3 years to begin their own claim from the date they turn 18.
To see whether you could make a neck injury claim on behalf of your child,
Make A No Win No Fee Claim With Legal Expert
You could make your neck injury claim with one of the No Win No Fee solicitors. By offering to work on your claim under a Conditional Fee Agreement, you can experience the following benefits:
- No upfront solicitor service fees.
- No solicitor service fees apply as the claim develops.
- Also, if the claim is unsuccessful, no fee applies for work that the solicitors have completed.
- A percentage of your compensation is taken by your solicitor as a success fee if the claim wins. This percentage is limited by the law.
Get In Touch With Our Team
To see if one of our solicitors could help you with claiming compensation for your injury, you can contact our advisors:
- Call 0800 073 8804
- Or, ask the live discussion window a question.
- You can also contact us online to claim neck injury compensation.
Learn More About Personal Injury Claims
More of our personal injury claims guides:
- This guide looks at claims for neck pain after a car accident.
- Also, if you pulled a neck muscle this guide discusses whether you could claim compensation.
- As well as this, broken neck compensation claims are discussed here.
External help:
- This NHS resource looks at neck pain.
- Learn whether you could be eligible for statutory sick pay from Gov.UK.
- Learn more about whiplash from the NHS.
Thank you for reading this guide on making a neck injury claim.
