Last Updated 7th October 2024. Do you need to make a spleen injury claim after an accident that was not your fault? Get legal advice about how to successfully make a No Win No Fee claim using our comprehensive service.
The spleen is an internal organ that forms part of the immune system. It is a key part of the effectiveness of your immune response, and if it is damaged, it can cause serious injury in the short, medium, and long terms.
If your spleen is ruptured, it is a serious emergency medical situation, and a ruptured spleen can be very dangerous. The spleen can be ruptured when the covering protecting the organ is damaged or bursts. This will cause internal abdominal bleeding. Depending on how large or small the rupture in the covering is, there could be a large amount of internal bleeding in your abdomen. The most serious cases will lead to a ruptured spleen death.
No matter the circumstances, if someone else’s negligence caused your spleen injury, you could be eligible to make a spleen injury claim.
To calculate how much your spleen injury compensation claim could be worth, we will need to know the exact nature and extent of your injuries. And we can then use our compensation calculator to determine what you may receive.
Please find out more about how to claim in our guide below and when you are ready, contact our team on 0800 073 8804.
Select A Section
- What Is The Spleen, And What Is Its Function?
- What Are Spleen Injuries?
- Common Types Of Injury To The Spleen
- Is A Ruptured Spleen Fatal?
- What Are The Common Symptoms Of A Spleen Injury?
- Can I Claim Compensation For An Accident At Work Which Caused A Spleen Injury?
- Spleen Pain After A Car Accident
- What May Be Included In Compensation For The Loss Of A Spleen?
- Calculating Spleen Injury Compensation Claims
- No Win No Fee Ruptured Or Injured Spleen Claims
- How Legal Expert Supports Our Clients
- How To Contact Us
- Useful Links
What Is The Spleen, And What Is Its Function?
The spleen is one of your internal organs and makes up part of the immune system. It is located in your ribcage, close to the stomach, in the upper left part of your abdomen.
Whilst the spleen is an important organ and has an important role in your immune system, you can live without it.
If your spleen is removed, life will take over some of the functions carried out by the spleen. Hence why victims of accidents due to someone else’s negligence could file spleen injury claims.
What is the function of the spleen?
Your spleen has several functions which are important to keep you healthy. These include:
- Containing white blood cells which fight infections and germs.
- The spleen controls white and red blood cell levels as well as the levels of platelets in your blood (these are small blood cells that help in blood clotting.
- It filters out red blood cells which have become damaged or old.
If you have suffered a spleen injury, you may find that your spleen started removing blood cells that are still healthy. If this happens, you may suffer additional ruptured spleen symptoms such as anaemia (which can result from a lack of red blood cells), you may have an increased risk of infections in the future with fewer white blood cells in your system. You could also suffer an increased risk of bruising or bleeding due to having fewer blood platelets.
If you need to make a spleen injury claim, contact Legal Expert today.
What Are Spleen Injuries?
To make a successful spleen injury compensation claim, you will need to have your injuries correctly diagnosed. There are several types and severities of spleen injuries for which your spleen injury claim could be made. You will often notice pain, injury or splenic rupture symptoms as pain behind your left ribs. This is often the first and most noticeable symptom of a ruptured, enlarged, or otherwise damaged spleen.
Spleen injuries include any way the organ itself or its ability to function are damaged or impaired and your overall immune system damaged. They can be general medical problems, or in the case of a ruptured spleen, they can be serious medical emergencies.
Common Types Of Injury To The Spleen
The most common forms of spleen injuries allowing victims to file spleen injury claims include:
Contusions to the spleen
This includes a bruised spleen (evaluation of which will depend on the severity and impact). It may have several side effects, which may be unpleasant. Barring any complications, you will often be able to recover from a bruised spleen injury without any external intervention. However, due to the serious nature of this type of injury, you will still need to visit and stay in a hospital where your recovery can be monitored.
Ruptured spleen treatment and symptoms
Splenic rupture symptoms will be caused by a laceration or tear in the surface of the tissue covering the spleen. This is the most serious type of injury to the spleen, and to answer a question people commonly have, “is a ruptured spleen fatal?” it can be. Ruptured spleen symptoms will include swelling and bruising in the upper abdomen. The victim may also go into shock due to massive internal bleeding. They may also experience rapid breathing and lower blood pressure. A ruptured spleen will require emergency surgery to repair.
An enlarged spleen
Some form of illness usually causes enlargement of the spleen. However, it can also be caused by an injury. There may not be any obvious symptoms of having an enlarged spleen. You may notice that when eating, you may get full faster or experience some pain in your upper left abdomen.
No matter what type of splenic injury you have, it may have a significant impact on your life and could lead you to make a spleen injury claim. You may experience financial difficulties as a result of your injury and even have experienced psychological problems. All of these additional consequences could form the basis for your spleen injury claims.
Is A Ruptured Spleen Fatal?
The simplest answer is yes. A ruptured spleen could be fatal if it is severe enough. However, for most people suffering from a ruptured spleen, the prognosis will be good. Those with a mild rupture (those categorised as grade I or II). The more serious the splenic rupture symptoms, the greater the chance of suffering ruptured spleen death. It should be noted that deaths can and do happen, so if you suspect you have a ruptured spleen visit the hospital straight away. After you are well, you can make a spleen injury claim.
It should be noted that you can live without a spleen, though you will then be more susceptible to catching infections and even life-threatening ones. Part of your future care will mean that you will need various vaccinations against different conditions such as influenza b. Generally, if it is an emergency spleen removal, you will have these after.
What Are The Common Symptoms Of A Spleen Injury?
The most common splenic rupture symptom will be a pain in your abdomen. The severity of your injury will often correspond with the severity of the pain felt. Where you feel the pain and how much you feel will depend upon how serious the ruptured spleen is. Ruptured spleen symptoms will also include internal bleeding.
Where you may feel splenic rupture symptoms pain
You could feel pain in the left side of the lower part of your abdomen, just underneath the rib cage. You may also experience some pain in the left shoulder as well as under and inside the diaphragm. This is due to the nerve originating in the same area and referring pain to different parts of your body. So, again, keep this information in mind when building the case for your spleen injury claims.
Symptoms of internal bleeding you can cite in a spleen injury claim
When the spleen ruptures, one of the most immediate and biggest problems is internal bleeding. If it is prolonged or if it is very quick, your blood pressure may fall. Noticeable symptoms of this can include things such as lightheadedness, confusion, and loss of consciousness, as well as blurry vision. You may also find that if the bleeding is very quick, you may go into shock. The initial symptoms of shock include anxiety, sickness and nausea, losing colour in your skin, and feeling restless.
If you need to make a personal injury claim for the effects of a damaged or ruptured spleen, contact our team today.
Can I Claim Compensation For An Accident At Work Which Caused A Spleen Injury?
Have you had an accident at work which caused your spleen injury? If so, you could be eligible to make a spleen injury claim with our team. If your spleen injury was caused by accident in the workplace in the last three years, you could be eligible to make a compensation claim. You can make a personal injury claim against your employer if your spleen injury happened whilst you were at your usual place of work or whilst working elsewhere for your employer.
Workplace injury statistics produced by the HSE (Health and Safety Executive) show that in the reporting period for 2016/17, 609,000 people were injured in an accident at work. Of these, they broke down as the following:
- Manual handling injuries accounting for 22% of injuries.
- Slips, trips, and falls (some from a height) accounting for 36% of injuries.
- Machinery and vehicles accounting for 10% of injuries.
If you have suffered an injury at work, such as blunt force trauma to the abdomen, which has injured your spleen, you can make a workplace spleen injury claim with Legal Expert.
Spleen Pain After A Car Accident
One of the most common ways the spleen can be damaged or injured is through blunt force trauma (hard blows) to the abdomen. In the majority of these cases, blunt force trauma is caused by a road traffic accident. Compensation for spleen injuries caused by road traffic accidents can be made where someone else is liable. This could mean that they had acted in a way that was not safe or had breached the Highway Code. in such cases, the driver could be considered negligent. Injuries could have been caused by an impact to the abdomen during the crash and could even be caused by the seat belt malfunctioning somehow. In such cases, you may also be able to make spleen injury claims against the driver or manufacturer of the car.
What May Be Included In Compensation For The Loss Of A Spleen?
Whether it is for a spleen injury claim or any other type of personal injury claim, the most common questions we are asked are how much compensation can I claim for a spleen injury and what can I claim compensation for? The bulk of your compensation award will be for the actual injury or damage to the spleen itself. However, there are other types of compensation that you can claim.
Compensation for loss of spleen can also include things such as compensation for any care you need. This part of your claim can include compensation for the cost of care at home or other respite care. If you have had to hire people to look after you, you can claim the cost of this.
Your spleen injury claim can also include any other financial losses you have encountered, such as losing earnings or benefits due to having to take time off work. You will clearly show how much time you have had to take off work and what this has caused you.
If you have had to pay to travel to medical appointments, you will be able to reclaim the cost of doing so. This could be travel to visit your doctor, a hospital, or general respite care after your main treatment.
As spleen injury recovery times can vary somewhat, the amount of time you have to take off work will vary, and the total amount of compensation you could be owed will differ.
Calculating Spleen Injury Compensation Claims
A successful spleen injury claim can result in two heads of compensation. The first head is called general damages, and every successful claimant receives compensation under this heading.
General damages cover the pain and suffering you experience as a result of your spleen injury. It also covers the effect that the injury has on your life through loss of amenity, which is another way of saying loss of enjoyment of life.
When solicitors and other professionals value this head of spleen injury compensation claims, they’ll often refer to the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG). This document has a list of common injuries, including spleen injuries, and provides guideline compensation amounts for each.
The table below shows some examples of these, but it’s important to remember that these aren’t guaranteed amounts. Plus, the first figure in this table hasn’t been taken from the JCG and is entirely illustrative.
| Injury | Compensation |
|---|---|
| Severe Injuries And Special Damages | Up to £50,000+ |
| Spleen Injuries a) | £25,380 to £32,090 |
| Spleen Injuries b) | £5,310 to £10,550 |
| A Number of Noticeable Laceration Scars or One Single Disfiguring Scar | £9,560 to £27,740 |
| Scarring With No Significant Internal Injury | In the region of £10,550 |
| Single Noticeable Scar Or Several Superficial Scars | £2,890 to £9,560 |
Can I Claim Back Lost Earnings?
If your injuries caused you to lose out on wages, then you could potentially claim these back under special damages. This head of claim allows you to claim back financial losses, but only if they were caused by your spleen injury.
For example, special damages could help you cover the cost of:
- Childcare
- Travel
- Prescriptions
- Private treatments
- Mobility aids
- Home adjustments
- Home nursing care
These are only a few examples of what your spleen injury compensation claim could cover. Contact our team today to learn more.
No Win No Fee Ruptured Or Injured Spleen Claims
An injury such as a damaged, injured, or ruptured spleen can be a serious injury with long-lasting consequences. In the midst of this, finding the money to fund a personal injury lawyer can be difficult. This is why we’re proud to work with you through a No Win No Fee agreement.
No Win No Fee agreements mean that you will not need to worry about meeting the cost of your personal injury solicitor upfront or even whilst your claim is in progress. We can provide you with a personal injury lawyer who will only charge if your claim wins. This is also called a Conditional Fee Agreement. It helps remove any financial barriers from making a personal injury claim that you may otherwise have faced. If your spleen injury claims aren’t successful, your solicitor will not charge you for their services.
How Legal Expert Supports Our Clients
At Legal Expert, we understand that you have many choices when selecting your personal injury claims lawyer. However, we believe we are perfectly placed to help those who need to pursue a spleen injury claim. As well as offering a comprehensive No Win No Fee service, we can organise independent medical examinations before your claim. With just one phone call, you can start on the road to getting the compensation that you deserve.
We have a friendly and professional team who will treat every claim with the empathy that they deserve. To start your claim, talk to our specialist team today using the contact information below.
How To Contact Us
To find out more about how to start your compensation claim, contact our team today. If you suffer an injury or damage to your spleen, you will be able to claim with us.
Start your claim by contacting our team today. You can call us on 0800 073 8804 or by sending the details of your claim to us at info@legalexpert.co.uk. You can find other ways to contact us here.
Useful Links
The useful links and resources help you make better choices when you think about a personal injury claim.
NHS Guide To Spleen Injuries And Problems
Please find out about injuries and problems with the spleen as well as how to treat them.
Abdominal Injury Claims
Our guide to making a successful compensation claim for an abdominal injury leading to injuries such as spleen injury claims.
Claims For An Accident At Work
Find out more about making a compensation claim for an accident at work leading to injuries.
Learn how to claim after slipping on ice in a public place with our helpful guide.
Spleen Injury Claims FAQs
What is the primary concern of an injury to the spleen?
The main concern would be for a potential haemorrhage within the body.
How does a doctor diagnose a spleen injury?
This comes after conducting a CT (computed tomography) scan for the abdomen.
Is spleen pain an emergency?
Yes, this would be an emergency that requires medical attention ASAP.
What does a spleen inflammation feel like?
This is identifiable by significant pain on the left side of the upper body and a pressing feeling.
What foods irritate the spleen?
These include alcoholic beverages, fast sugars, fat and dairy items.
How do you heal your spleen?
Aside from emergency surgery, simply resting for a sustainable period could also help.
Can you live without a spleen?
Yes, but it could make it harder to tackle viruses and infections as they happen more often.
How long does it take the spleen to heal?
This usually takes somewhere between 3 and 12 weeks.
Thank you for reading our spleen injury claims guide.
