By Stephen Hudson. Last Updated 16th April 2025. Suffering a nerve damage injury can cause significant pain and disruption in a person’s life. If you’ve been impacted by such harm, you may wish to know if you can make a personal injury claim for compensation.
Below, we discuss all aspects of nerve damage claims. We explore the ways that these injuries can happen (such as in car accidents), how to claim and the evidence you may need.
We also offer some compensation examples for nerve damage and explain how our No Win No Fee solicitors can help you.
If you’d rather chat with us now to get some specialist legal advice, you can use the contact information below. We offer a free case check to everyone who gets in touch and if you did wish to make a claim, we can connect you with our personal injury solicitors who’ll get to work on your case right away.
You can reach us by:
- Calling 0800 073 8804
- You can also use the pop-up live chat box to speak to a member of our team
- Or you can contact us by filling out the form on our website.
Browse Our Guide
- What Are Nerve Injuries?
- Could I Make A Nerve Damage Claim?
- Proving Nerve Damage Claims
- Nerve Damage Claims – How Much Compensation?
- What Is The Process Like For Claiming Nerve Damage Compensation?
- Make A No Win No Fee Nerve Damage Claim Today
- Learn More About Personal Injury Claims
What Are Nerve Injuries?
Nerve injuries are any damage to your nerves or the overall nervous system. Nerve damage claims can be made if it can be shown with clear evidence that the injury was caused by a third party failing to uphold their duty of care.
Nerve injuries can vary greatly in severity, with consequences ranging from nuisance symptoms to life-altering conditions. Below you will see a few examples of the effects damaged nerves can have.
Examples include:
- Limitation of movement where nerves in the limbs, joints or digits have been damaged or severed.
- Problems affecting the senses, such as a damaged optical nerve causing a loss of vision.
- Impacts on bladder, bowel or sexual function due a spinal injury.
- Serious spinal injuries can also result in temporary paralysis.
- Damage to the nerves in the brain can lead to epileptic fits or other types of seizures.
- Damaged nerves can have impacts on how internal organs function, leading to problems with blood pressure, or breathing.
As you can see, the consequences of damaged nerves can be far-reaching and, in some cases, severe. You can learn more about claiming nerve damage compensation by reading further, as well as speaking to one of our advisors. Our team can also assess your eligibility to claim for free. Get in touch with us today using the contact information given below.
Could I Make A Nerve Damage Claim?
If you have suffered from a nerve damage injury that was not your fault, you may make a personal injury claim to potentially be compensated for your suffering. However, you must meet the following eligibility criteria:
- You must have been owed a duty of care by the third party
- The third party must have been in breach of this duty
- This must have resulted in your nerve damage
A duty of care is imposed upon specific individuals or organisations under the law. This is to ensure they take precautions to ensure you remain reasonably safe while in their care. Therefore, if they fail to adhere to this and you become injured, you may be entitled to compensation.
There are a number of accidents you may suffer nerve damage from when a third party breaches their duty of care. You can read some examples below.
Road Traffic Accidents
All road users owe each other a duty of care. To ensure their safety, they should adhere to the provisions of the Road Traffic Act 1988 and the Highway Code. Specifically, they must navigate the roads safely to avoid harming others. Failure to do so may result in road traffic accidents and injuries, such as nerve damage.
For example, if you were turning into a side road and a driver in oncoming traffic was speeding and collided with your vehicle, this may cause you to sustain a crush injury to your arm. This may also result in you suffering from nerve damage, and as the third party was at fault, you may be eligible to claim.
Accidents At Work
All employers owe their employees a duty of care to ensure their safety at work. As such, employers must adhere to the provisions of the Health and Safety at Work, etc. Act 1974. Specifically, employers must take reasonable and practicable steps to protect the health and safety of their employees. Failure to do so may also cause accidents that may result in nerve damage injuries.
For example, you may work with chemicals. If your employer failed to provide you with protective equipment such as gloves and you suffered from a chemical burn, this may result in nerve damage. Here, you may be eligible to claim compensation.
Accidents In A Public Place
Anyone in control of a public place owes visitors a duty of care to ensure they remain reasonably safe while on their premises. This duty is a requirement of the Occupiers’ Liability Act 1957 and must be followed to prevent accidents and injuries. Failure to do so may result in an accident that could cause nerve damage.
For example, a risk assessment may not have been completed at your local gym, and there was no warning sign stating that the treadmill was faulty. If you then use the machine, this may result in you falling and breaking your leg, which may then cause nerve damage. As you were owed a duty of care that became breached by staff failing to complete a risk assessment, you may be eligible to claim compensation.
To begin your nerve damage claim today or to learn more about the average payout for nerve damage, contact our advisors today.
How Long Do I Have To Claim Nerve Damage Compensation?
There’s also another piece of criteria when it comes to nerve damage claims and that’s the personal injury time limit.
There is a typical 3-year time limit to start a claim. The Limitation Act 1980 sets this as the time limit for personal injury and medical negligence claims. You could start your claim within three years of the date of the incident, or three years from the date of knowledge. Date of knowledge is the date you became aware your injuries were connected to negligence.
However, there are circumstances in which the injured party cannot start a claim for themselves. These suspend the limitation period. They include:
- The time limit is suspended until the date of their 18th birthday. This means that they have three years from turning 18 to start a claim. However, a litigation friend could start legal proceedings on their behalf at any time during the suspension.
- Those who lack the mental capacity to start a claim will see the time limit suspended indefinitely. Should they regain capacity, the limitation period starts from that date, giving them three years to start a claim. However, as with children, a litigation friend could begin legal proceedings on their behalf at any time during the suspension.
If you have any queries about nerve damage compensation or the limitation period, call our advisors. They can assess the chances of your claim succeeding and could put you in touch with our solicitors.
Proving Nerve Damage Claims
When making nerve damage claims, the responsibility is on you to prove that negligence has occurred. To do this, you can collect evidence such as:
- Medical records: Your medical records and other documents, like an MRI scan, can help illustrate how severe the nerve damage is
- Photographs: Photographs of either visible injuries or the accident site, like a car wreck or a wet floor.
- Video footage: The accident may have been captured on video, such as CCTV, mobile phone or dashcam. You could request this footage.
- Witness contact details: If you take down the contact details of anyone who witnessed your accident, this allows their statements to be taken at a later date.
We understand that this might seem overwhelming, but you don’t need to do it alone. If you choose to make your claim with a solicitor, then they can help you gather different kinds of evidence. For example, they can talk to witnesses and take their statements, and can help you request CCTV footage of yourself.
Contact our team of advisors today for more information on claiming a nerve damage compensation amount in the UK, or keep reading to learn about the average payout for nerve damage.
Nerve Damage Claims – How Much Compensation?
Between £111,150 and £196,450 could be awarded for severe damage to the spinal cord and nerve roots that causes pain and disability, including incomplete paralysis along with significant impairments to the bowel, bladder and sexual function. This figure is taken from the Judicial College Guidelines and applies to the most severe category of back injuries. However, it is only a guideline bracket. There are various factors that will impact a settlement.
If you make a successful claim for nerve damage compensation, your settlement could consist of two parts (also called ‘heads of claim’). These are general and special damages.
General damages compensate for your physical pain and mental suffering caused by the accident. When valuing this part of your nerve damage compensation amount, those who do so, such as a personal injury solicitor or other legal professional, may use the guideline compensation brackets from the Judicial College (known as the ‘JCG’). The JCG is a list of various injuries in differing severities alongside potential compensation for each one.
In the top row, we look at a figure to demonstrate how you could be awarded for multiple injuries and your related expenses. The following rows look at figures that could be relevant to nerve damage from the JCG. Please note that the top figure was not taken from the JCG.
As all nerve damage claims are different, the table is only to be used as guidance.
| Injury | Degree | Amount Guideline |
|---|---|---|
| Multiple Severe Injuries + Special Damages | Severe | Up to £500,000 plus |
| Back Injury | Severe (i) | £111,150 to £196,450 |
| Back Injury | Severe (ii) | £90,510 to £107,910 |
| Leg Injury | Less Serious (i) | £21,920 to £33,880 |
| Skeletal Injury | Fractures of Nose or Nasal Complex (i) | £12,990 to £28,220 |
| Hand Injury | Serious Thumb Injury | £15,370 to £20,460 |
| Hand Injury | Moderate Thumb Injury | £11,800 to £15,370 |
In addition to general damages, in a successful personal injury claim, your nerve damage compensation amount may also include special damages. This part of your settlement compensates for the financial losses caused by your injury. It may include compensation for:
- Loss of earnings.
- Mobility aids, such as a wheelchair.
- Physical therapy.
- Home help, such as a cleaner.
- Amongst other items related to nerve damage.
As part of the personal injury claims process, you will need to prove your expenses. You could save your payslips, receipts and invoices to submit as part of your nerve injury claim.
If you would like a free valuation of your nerve damage compensation amount, speak to an advisor from our team.
What Is The Process Like For Claiming Nerve Damage Compensation?
If you have suffered nerve damage because another party breached the duty of care they owed you, then you should first make sure you get the medical treatment you require. If you wish to pursue starting a claim, then you should start gathering evidence for your case as soon as you can after receiving treatment.
You can also choose to get help from a personal injury solicitor. A solicitor could review the details of your case by asking you questions and determining what evidence could be acquired. If they determine you have a valid claim, they may then offer to help you under a signed agreement. If you contact our advisors, they could review your case and may connect you with one of our experienced solicitors.
If a solicitor agrees to support your nerve damage compensation claim, they can guide you through the next steps of the process. A solicitor can also assist with gathering evidence and calculating the value of your claim. When these steps are done, your solicitor can then contact the party you’re claiming against to discuss reaching a settlement. Your solicitor can work on getting a payout agreement before any court proceedings become necessary.
You can contact our advisors for free today to ask them questions about the process of claiming or other matters, such as the average payout for nerve damage.
Make A No Win No Fee Nerve Damage Claim Today
We understand that the nerve damage claims process can seem overwhelming and even stressful, and you might not know where to begin. This is why we always recommend claiming compensation for nerve damage with a legal expert.
Our specialist solicitors are experts in personal injury law, and they’re here to help. If you are looking to claim nerve damage compensation, one of our solicitors can guide you through the process with their years of experience by:
- Preparing the claim to go to court when needed.
- Communicating effectively with the Court and the defendant.
- Negotiating a settlement that covers your full claim.
- Explaining technical terms and jargon.
- Talking you through each step of the process.
These services can make the personal injury claims process feel much less stressful, and allow you to focus more on your recovery.
One benefit of working with our team of specialist solicitors is that they offer these services on a No Win No Fee basis. They do this by working under a kind of contract known as a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA).
Under a CFA, you can access all of the services listed above amongst others without having to pay a fee upfront, as the claim progresses, or at all if the claim fails.
If your nerve damage claim succeeds, then your solicitor will take a success fee. This fee is a small percentage of your compensation, which is legally-capped and agreed upon by you and your solicitor before the claim starts.
Contact Us
Our team of friendly advisors are waiting to talk to you. They can evaluate your nerve damage claim for free, and tell you whether or not you could be owed compensation. If you are, then they may connect you with a specialist No Win No Fee solicitor from our team.
To get started:
- Call our team on 0800 073 8804
- Contact us online
- Use the live chat feature
Learn More About Personal Injury Claims
If you’d like to learn more about personal injury claims, especially those relating to nerve damage, we’ve included some useful information below:
- Nerve injury The British Society for Surgery of the Hand – More information on nerve injuries from the British Society for Surgery of Hand.
- How Much Compensation For a Spinal Injury Claim? – Find out the compensation amounts for a spinal injury claim.
- How Long Do I Have to Make A Claim Following An Injury At Work? – Find out what the time limits are regarding workplace injury claims.
- Neck Injury Claims
- Read this article to learn more about claiming for a crane accident.
- Facial Injury Claims
- Our guide offers more information on making arm injury claims and how a No Win No Fee solicitor could help.
- Find out how much compensation you could potentially receive for a back injury claim with our guide.
- Get help with claiming for an accident on a building site and learn more about the personal injury claims process.
If you’d like more information and advice on nerve damage claims, contact us at Legal Expert. No question is too big or small.
