Thompsons: Legal Liability in Spinal Cord Injury Cases

In order to secure compensation for a client with a spinal cord injury, Thompsons Solicitors must establish who was responsible or ‘liable’ for the accident which resulted in injury. To prove legal liability, we must establish that the other party is negligent and/or in breach of their legal duty.

When dealing with personal injury cases, particularly complex spinal cord injuries, there are often a number of practical problems that occur whilst trying to prove legal liability.

In road traffic collision cases in particular, police collision reports will often need to be obtained to confirm the details of the accident. This can include data taken from the scene of the collision, engineers’ reports, road traffic collision investigators reports, sketch plans and witness statements. However, the police collision report will not normally be disclosed by the police authority before the criminal proceedings have finished. This can often lead to months of delay in getting sufficient evidence for a legal case.

After serious workplace accidents, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) will often investigate and report. Again, this can take many months and ongoing cuts to the HSE budget has increased delays.  If there is any dispute about the circumstances of the accident – and employers’ insurers often do deny our client’s version of events - this will also cause delay.

While liability - who is ultimately at fault for the incident – might be conceded by the insurers - arguments over whether the injured victim was wholly or partly to blame for the accident may continue.

At Thompsons, we only act for people who have been injured, and never for insurers. We know that when spinal injuries happen, it is important that an experienced specialist solicitor deals with the case.

Our specialist personal injury lawyers will be happy to talk you through the process of making a claim in plain English and will be happy to answer any questions or queries you may have. Telephone us now on 08000 224 224 or visit www.seriousinjurysupport.co.uk.