This page has been reviewed by Kerry Splatt, Principal Lawyer and QLD Accredited Specialist Personal Injury Lawyer for more than 25 years.
An experienced spinal cord injury lawyer can explain your eligibility to make a personal injury compensation claim when you’ve suffered a back or spinal cord injury due to the following:
In Queensland, you may have the right to claim compensation when someone else’s negligence causes a back or spinal injury.
Our spinal injury lawyers provide legal services on a 100% no-win, no-fee basis. Pay when you win and zero if you lose.
Our spinal cord injury lawyers offer a free initial consultation to advise you whether you have a valid spinal cord injury claim and the evidence required to secure a settlement.
Pay for a win and zero if you lose, with no upfront costs and direct access to a senior lawyer. Call 1800 700 125 or email us
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You could be eligible to claim compensation for back or spinal injuries if they were caused by the negligence of another party or if they are covered by a compensation scheme, including for:
Each potential back injury claim is assessed individually by considering:
You should also be aware that there are strict time limits to lodge a back injury compensation claim, which can vary based on your age and the type of case.
Our spine injury lawyers provide a free case assessment that can advise if you have a valid back injury claim. Call 1800 700 125
Experienced spinal injury lawyers can explain the legal process for back injury compensation claims.
If you have back or spinal injuries caused by someone else’s negligence, you could seek legal advice for a spinal injury compensation claim. But how much are the legal fees?
Our spinal cord injury lawyers have a 100% no-win, no-fee, no-risk guarantee, which means the following:
Pay when you win and zero if you lose, with no upfront or ongoing legal costs. It’s the Splatt Lawyers’ no-financial-risk guarantee. Call 1800 700 125
Our spinal cord injury lawyers work with the guidance of a Queensland Accredited Specialist in Personal Injury Law.
Not all spinal cord injuries are related to the workplace. According to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, transport is the second most common cause of back and spinal injuries in Australia, accounting for 31% of hospital admissions.
Depending on who was to blame for the crash, you could make a compulsory third-party claim against the other motorist’s insurer. The Civil Liability Act 2003 governs this type of compensation claim, together with the Motor Accident Insurance Act 1994.
Our motor vehicle accident lawyers provide free initial legal advice for spinal injury claims. They can explain the CTP claim process and your rights.
WorkCover Queensland is the leading workplace insurer for work-related spinal injury compensation. An approved workers compensation claim provides benefits that cover medical expenses and lost wages.
At the end of a workers’ compensation claim, you may be eligible to make a work injury damages claim when employer negligence caused your spine injury.
Our QLD workers’ compensation lawyers provide legal advice for workplace accidents on a 100% no-win, no-fee basis. It’s free to know your rights.
You could make a public liability claim if your injury happened in a public place or on privately owned property.
Data from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare shows that slips and falls are the leading cause of back and spinal injuries in Australia, accounting for 56% of hospitalisations.
Public liability insurance covers situations where an injury is caused by poor maintenance, unsafe surfaces, or any other hazard resulting from a lack of reasonable care.
Our public liability lawyers can explain your right to seek common law damages.
Workers compensation claims for back and spinal injuries typically end with an independent medical assessment that determines the level of permanent disability.
There are strict time limits for back and spinal cord injury claims in Queensland that range from three months to three years, depending on the type of case. In some cases, you could have multiple time limits when you make a statutory claim and also seek common law damages.
You should seek advice from a spinal injury lawyer for accurate advice for your circumstances.
The amount of spinal injury compensation paid to an injured person depends on various factors. In particular, the value of a lump-sum payment depends on how much the spinal injury has affected daily life and work capacity. Considerations include:
Heads of damages are used to calculate the value of a lump-sum payout and include both economic and non-economic factors, including:
Here are the steps of the claims process as explained by our spinal injury lawyers.
Step | How it Works |
|---|---|
Urgent medical treatment | First get fast medical treatment for a spinal injury which starts the recovery process and also documents the nature and severity of the damage, which forms evidence for a claim. |
Determine fault | To have a successful claim you must prove the negligence of the other party. Examples include: a negligent driver, your employer, a property owner, or a negligent doctor. |
Get legal advice early | Personal injury claims for spinal injuries are complex and regularly disputed by insurers due to the large financial damages. So early advice can help protect your rights and ensure you are following the best path to a successful resolution. |
Collect evidence | You will need strong evidence for a successful outcome, including accident reports, financial and medical evidence. These documents include medical records and assessments, witness statements, photos, videos, CCTV footage, receipts, employment records and more. |
Medical assessment | A thorough medical evaluation will determine the full impact of the spine injury including the long-term damage. This assessment forms part of a statement of damages that determines the amount of compensation requested from the liable insurance company. |
Lodge a compensation claim | How and where you lodge a claim depends on how the injury happened. But in most cases, you must complete a claim form and attach all the required documents with a statement of damages. |
Negotiated settlement or court action | The insurer will work with your legal representative to achieve a mediated settlement. In rare cases there can be court proceedings when mediation fails. |
Spinal injury compensation case studies provided by Queensland Court Judgements.
Symons v The Haggarty Group Pty Ltd
Mr Symons was employed by The Haggarty Group as a roofing plumber near Ipswich. While working under the direction of a foreman, Mr Symons and another employee were moving sheets of corrugated metal roofing across a building site using a scissor lift.
During transport, the sheets shifted and were about to fall onto another employee. Mr Symons reacted quickly and placed his body under the load, pushing it up with his shoulders. He began to feel pain in his back later that day and went on to suffer a serious back injury.
Welker v Gladstone City Council
Mr Welker was employed by the Gladstone City Council as a senior pool attendant at the public pool. While performing his duties, he sustained a back injury while manoeuvring several timing touchpads on a fixed-wheel trolley.
The court was left to consider the severity of Mr Welker’s back injury and its consequences.
Gaudry v Pacific Coal Pty Ltd
Mr Gaudry worked at the Meandu coal mine in the South Burnett as a boilermaker-welder. He suffered an injury to his lower back while he and another employee were putting a drag-line bucket shackle pin weighing 75kg onto a bench.
Back injuries are relatively common in Queensland.
Spinal injury claims often arise from workplace accidents, with 1 in 5 severe WorkCover compensation cases associated with back or spinal injuries. Common causes of damage to the back include the following:
Spinal cord injuries with life-changing consequences include paraplegia and quadriplegia. However, the majority of spinal injuries occur in the lower lumbar region, resulting in slipped, bulging, or herniated discs, including L4-L5 or L5-S1 disc damage.
Type of Spine Injury | Impacts |
|---|---|
1. Cervical spine injury | Damage to the cervical region, which is the first seven vertebrae of the spinal cord (typically the neck) can result in loss of control over all four limbs. |
2. Thoracic spinal cord injuries | Thoracic injuries can span across 12 vertebrae in the middle and upper part of the back. Paraplegia is a common outcome of this type of spine injury. |
3. Lumbar injury | Lumbar spinal cord injuries happen in the lower part of the back, just above the sacral area. |
4. Sacral spinal cord injuries | Damage to the lower body region, either full or partial, where the lower limbs are impacted, but people can still use their arms and hands. |
Back injuries are frequently life-altering, with considerable medical and rehabilitation costs. If you have suffered spinal damage or a back injury due to the negligence of others, how can you get justice for your financial loss? Medical treatment is the priority, but you also have the right to seek legal advice from personal injury lawyers.
For free, Splatt Lawyers will explain the compensation process and the legislation that applies to your case. You could have the right to make a:
Litigating personal injury claims for spinal cord damage or back injury can be more challenging due to the potentially higher stakes compared to other serious injury claims. Know where you stand by calling 1800 700 125 for free initial advice.
Splatt’s personal injury lawyers provide legal advice on spinal cord injuries from ten locations across QLD.
You do not need a personal injury lawyer to make a spine injury claim. You could choose to deal directly with the insurance company.
However, these types of claims are often complex and involve sizeable financial damages, which means an insurer will likely make a low offer to self-represented claimants.
Most spinal cord injury lawyers work on a no-win, no-fee basis, but Splatt Lawyers is 100% no-win, no-fee. Our no-risk guarantee means you pay nothing upfront and nothing if you lose. If you win, there are no uplift fees or hidden charges.
Our personal injury lawyers charge for the hours required to resolve a claim, not a percentage of a compensation payout.
According to the Mayo Clinic, the five signs of a spinal injury include the following:
Back injuries usually do not cause immediate pain but become apparent over time as symptoms develop.
It can be challenging to prove a back injury because the source of pain is not always straightforward to locate. According to Spine-Health, many standard tests, such as MRIs, can show an abnormality even when a person has no symptoms.
That’s why you need strong medical evidence with professional assessments to prove a case.
There is a wide variation in settlement amounts for spinal cord injuries in Australia, due to the wide range of permanent damage.
Severe cases could have a multi-million dollar payout, while moderate cases have a six-figure settlement.
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