If you’ve sustained an injury in a collision, you might be looking for information about claiming compensation for nerve damage after a car accident. Nerve damage can cause pain and numbness anywhere in the body. It may even result in permanent symptoms. This guide will explain your options for seeking damages in a road traffic accident claim.
We start by looking at the symptoms of nerve damage you could suffer after a collision. After this, we explain who is eligible to start a nerve injury claim. This is illustrated with a look at how at negligent driver can cause a nerve injury. Then we detail how nerve injury compensation could be awarded for a successful claim.
The final section of our guide explains how, if you have an eligible claim, a personal injury solicitor from our panel could handle your case. Our panel typically offer their services on a No Win No Fee basis.
You can get in touch with our advisors at any point as you read for more free guidance and information. They can also offer a case assessment over the phone. If the claim appears strong, they could connect you to a solicitor from our panel.
- Give us a ring on 0800 408 7825 to find out more.
- Chat with advisors through the pop-up window below.
- Fill out our online form to start the conversation.
Select A Section
- What Are The Symptoms Of Nerve Damage?
- Can You Claim Compensation For Nerve Damage After A Car Accident?
- How Could A Car Accident Lead To Nerve Damage?
- What Could You Do If You’ve Suffered Nerve Damage After A Car Accident?
- How Much Compensation For Nerve Damage After A Car Accident?
- Why Make A Nerve Damage Claim On A No Win No Fee Basis?
- More Resources About Personal Injury Claims
What Are The Symptoms Of Nerve Damage?
If you suffer a nerve injury in a car accident, you may experience various symptoms. These depend on what nerves were damaged. Injuries to the central nervous system, such as spinal cord damage will cause different symptoms to those caused by the peripheral nervous system, such as a broken wrist.
Symptoms of nerve damage can include:
- Shooting pain, aching and numbness, especially if there is damage to the sciatic nerve which runs throughout the length of the spine into the legs known as sciatica.
- Tingling, over-sensitivity, loss of balance and immobility anywhere in the body.
- Pain and sensory loss in the hands and arms, especially if the ulna nerve becomes ‘pinched’.
- Constipation, muscle wasting and loss of bowel and bladder control.
We discuss the eligibility criteria for nerve injury claims in the next section. You must satisfy this to have good grounds to claim for nerve injuries.
Can You Claim Compensation For Nerve Damage After A Car Accident?
In order to have good grounds to claim compensation for nerve damage after a car accident, you need to satisfy certain eligibility requirements. While using the roads, everyone owes each other a duty of care. This is a legal obligation placed on individuals to avoid causing foreseeable harm.
To fully meet their duty of care, all road users must navigate in a manner that presents the least risk of injury to both themselves and other road users. As part of fulfilling this duty, they must comply with the Road Traffic Act 1988 and other obligations and rules in the Highway Code. If another motorist fails to adhere to road traffic rules and regulations and injures you, a compensation claim against them can apply.
To have good grounds to start a personal injury claim, three criteria need to be met:
- A duty of care was applicable at the time of the accident.
- The driver failed to meet this duty. For example, a motorist was driving above the speed limit.
- Your injuries resulted from this failure. For example, as a result of speeding, the other driver crashed into your vehicle, causing serious injuries, including nerve damage.
If you have any questions about the criteria to make a nerve damage compensation claim, or to find out if you have good grounds to start one, contact our advisors.
How Could A Car Accident Lead To Nerve Damage?
We’ve included further examples of how nerve damage could occur in a road traffic accident:
- A road user was looking at their mobile phone and not concentrating on the roads. Because of this, they collided with a motorbike rider at a junction and caused them to suffer a herniated or slipped disc as well as nerve damage.
- A driver failed to allow enough time to stop at a zebra crossing and collided with a pedestrian. Because of this, the pedestrian suffered a head injury, nerve damage and partial paralysis.
- A cyclist was overtaken by an intoxicated driver. This resulted in causing the cyclist to fall from their bike into oncoming traffic. They suffered multiple injuries, including a trapped nerve that caused them months of physical difficulty and pain.
- A motorist was speeding over the legal limit and collided with another driver, causing their passenger whiplash injuries and nerve damage in their neck.
These are just a few examples of how a breach in the duty of care might prompt nerve injury. To talk about your case specifically and whether you could launch a nerve injury compensation claim, please feel free to connect with an advisor.
What Could You Do If You’ve Suffered Nerve Damage After A Car Accident?
It’s important that you can offer proof that the other party was at fault and this caused your nerve damage injuries. To help with this, we’ve listed below some actions and evidence you can assemble to bolster your claim:
- Obtain any CCTV, dashcam or helmet-camera footage that captured the accident.
- Collect the relevant insurance details and registration numbers of those involved.
- Get the contact details from any eyewitnesses. Should you choose to use a solicitor to handle your claim, they can approach these people for a supporting statement at a later date.
- Keep a personal record of your symptoms, treatments and your state of mind.
- Request copies of your medical records from your GP, the hospital or any specialists that treated you.
You could also seek legal help with your claim. If you’re interested in finding out how a personal injury solicitor could help you gather evidence, just call our advisors or ask the chat window a question.
How Much Compensation For Nerve Damage After A Car Accident?
If you make a successful nerve injury claim, your settlement can be made up of two types or ‘heads’ of loss. These are called general and special damages.
General damages are compensation for the physical pain and psychological injury caused by the car accident. They also apply a value to long-term health needs and the overall impact on the person’s quality of life.
Those who calculate general damages for nerve injury compensation claims can refer to medical evidence alongside publications such as the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG). This publication offers award bracket guideline figures for a wide cross-section of injuries based on severity. Additionally, in certain road traffic accident claims, the tariff set out in the Whiplash Injury Regulations 2021 might also be used. These regulations affected how some road traffic accident claims are made in England and Wales. However, certain eligibility criteria apply.
Below is an excerpt from the JCG. We’ve also included a few of the whiplash tariffs. Additionally, we’ve included a figure in the first line to show you how compensation could be awarded for multiple injuries and special damages. This figure is not from the JCG or Whiplash Injury Regulations.
Compensation Guidelines
| AREA OF INJURY | SEVERITY | AWARD GUIDELINES |
|---|---|---|
| Multiple Locations of Severe Harm and Special Damages, | Severe | Up to £1 million plus. |
| Head | (a) Very Severe | £344,150 to £493,000 |
| Neck | (a) Severe (i) | In the region of £181,020 |
| Back | (a) Severe (iii) | £47,320 to £85,100 |
| Back | (b) Moderate (i) | £33,880 to £47,320 |
| Pelvis | (b) Moderate (i) | £32,450 to £47,810 |
| Knee | (a) Severe (iii) | £31,960 to £53,030 |
| Shoulder | (b) Serious | £15,580 to £23,430 |
| Whiplash Tariff | Lasting 18-24 months with psychological harm | £4,345 |
| Whiplash Tariff | Lasting 18-24 months | £4,215 |
Each personal injury claim varies according to circumstances and these figures are guidelines only.
The second head of loss that can make up a settlement is called special damages. These compensate the claimant for the monetary harm they suffered due to the injuries. To include special damages as part of the claim, it is necessary to present documents that prove the financial expense or loss, such as:
- Payslips that demonstrate a drop or loss in earnings because of work absence.
- Receipts for the care that others provided for you.
- Medical and rehabilitation bills.
- Travel expenses to vital appointments.
Talk to an advisor to find out how much compensation for nerve damage after a car accident you could be eligible for.
Why Make A Nerve Damage Claim On A No Win No Fee Basis?
If you would like to make a nerve damage compensation claim, you may like to have a solicitor to support you through the personal injury claims process. A solicitor from our panel can help you gather evidence and calculate the maximum compensation owed to you. In addition to this, they will deal with all court correspondence and confidently guide your claim to a resolution.
If you have a valid claim and wish to appoint a solicitor to handle it, one of the solicitors from our panel could help. They offer a type of No Win No Fee contract for their services. It’s known as a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA) and it offers a host of advantages to the claimant. This includes:
- No requirement to pay upfront solicitors fees for them to start work on your claim.
- No requirement to pay solicitors fees as the claim moves forward.
- Nothing is owed for completed solicitors’ services if the claim fails.
- A small and legally restricted ‘success fee’ becomes due if the claim settles in your favour. This is deducted as a percentage from the compensation and because of the limit, you receive the bulk of the compensation.
If you think you are owed compensation for nerve damage after a car accident, chat to our advisors. They can assess the strength of your claim over the phone right now. If it seems strong, and you wish to go ahead, they can connect you to one of the personal injury solicitors from our panel today:
- Give us a ring on 0800 408 7825 to find out more.
- Chat with advisors through the pop-up window below.
- Fill out our online form to start the conversation.
More Resources About Personal Injury Claims
In addition to this guide, these other resources may be helpful:
- Read about a £25,000 compensation payout for nerve damage in this case study.
- This guide looks at spine injury claims more broadly.
- Also, here we illustrate head injury claims after a car accident with a case study.
As well as these guides, we include some external resources:
- Information about claiming statutory sick pay from the government.
- Detailed reading on peripheral neuropathy and nerve damage, from the NHS.
- Lastly, information about what to do after a collision from the Police.
We appreciate your interest in our guide about compensation for nerve damage after a car accident. Connect advisors for any further help.