Paralysis And Personal Injury

Paralysis refers to the inability to control movement and detect sensations such as physical touch or temperature. Paralysis can occur from many different types of accidents and situations. Spinal cord injuries are a very typical cause of paralysis.

If you’ve suffered paralysis after an accident that wasn’t your fault, you could be able to make a claim for compensation. To find out how much compensation you can claim, speak to First Personal Injury today.

 To assess your claim, contact us on 0800 808 9740 or online.

Paralysis Compensation Accident Types

The accident that caused your paralysis could happen within a workplace, a clinical setting or in a public environment. For example, you could suffer paralysis after experiencing:

• An accident involving machinery within a factory or a warehouse.
• A car accident that has caused paralysis.
• An accident involving livestock – more likely to occur if you work on a farm.
• An accident involving a fall from height.
• A crushing accident.
• An accident caused by medical negligence – such as negligence during an operation that causes you to suffer paralysis.

If you’ve suffered paralysis after an accident that wasn’t your fault, you could be able to claim compensation. It doesn’t matter if the accident wasn’t one mentioned on the list above, you could still have a valid claim. The best way to determine whether your claim is valid enough to claim compensation from is to speak to a personal injury solicitor directly.

Paralysis Compensation: Who Is My Claim Against?

Depending upon the specific circumstances of your accident, your claim could be against a number of different organisations. For example, your claim could be against your employer if your accident happened at work. Your employer has a duty to keep you safe in the workplace by following the relevant health and safety regulations for your industry, as outlined by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). If they have failed to do so and you have suffered paralysis as a result, you could be able to claim against them.

If your injury happened within a medical context, you could be able to claim against the healthcare practitioner. Once again, they have a responsibility to keep you safe from unnecessary harm and a failure to uphold this duty could cause injury. If you have been injured due to negligent medical or clinical behaviour, you could be able to claim.

If you were injured in a public place, you may be able to claim against the business or local authority that has jurisdiction over the place where your accident happened. For example, if you slipped on a wet floor while in a restaurant, causing an injury, you could claim against the restaurant.

If you were in a car accident which caused you to suffer paralysis, your claim could be against the driver of your car if you were a passenger or the other car if they hit you. To find out whether your claim is valid, speak to First Personal Injury today.

Types Of Paralysis

There are different types of paralysis that you could suffer from. Some of the most common types of paralysis include:

• Monoplegia – which only impacts upon one arm or one leg.
• Paraplegia – this impacts upon both of your legs/the bottom half of your body.
• Hemiplegia – this type of paralysis impacts upon one arm and one leg which are on the same side of the body.
• Quadriplegia/tetraplegia – this impacts upon both of your arms and both of your legs and so it essentially paralyses your entire body apart from the neck head and chest.

Compensation For Paralysis

The circumstances of every personal injury case are unique. Therefore, the amount of compensation that you are awarded for your case will also be unique. The amount of compensation that you are awarded will be determined by two categories: general damages and special damages.

General Damages

General damages refers to the physical and emotional damage caused by your injuries. In the simplest terms, it refers to compensation for pain and suffering. This type of compensation also covers any losses of amenity, aka a decrease in ability to function, that has arisen from the injuries sustained in an accident. Compensation will be awarded based upon the severity of these factors, understanding that the higher the severity of the injuries, the worse the pain/suffering and impact upon your life. To view estimates for personal injury types, visit our compensation calculator.

An example of a compensation estimate is £3,0101 – £46,780 for an elbow injury. You could be awarded anywhere between £22,340 – £82,080 for a severe knee injury. As you can see, compensation amounts can vary wildly for the same type of injury. Therefore, the best way to determine how much compensation you are likely to be awarded is to speak to a personal injury solicitor directly.

Special Damages

Special damages compensation refers to compensation that covers the financial losses and expenses incurred as a result of an accident or medical negligence. Special damages could help to reclaim a loss of income if you have been unable to work due to your injuries. Similarly, if you have had to pay to go a medical appointment or if you had to pay to travel to a medical appointment, you could be able to claim these medical costs back.

You should keep detailed records of any receipts or other documents which help to outline any relevant financial losses relating to your injuries. These can later be used during your personal injury case to try and determine how much paralysis injury compensation you are owed. Once again, you should speak to a personal injury solicitor directly to understand how much compensation you are likely to be owed.

Making Personal Injury Claims

If you have suffered a personal injury, you may be entitled to receive compensation. First Personal Injury solicitors are available to assist you and ensure that you win the compensation that you deserve.

First Personal Injury work with both families and individuals across England and Wales, leading them on their legal journey and helping them claim compensation after an accident or injury. Contact our specialist team to begin the process, either by phone on 0800 808 9740 or through our online form.