A spinal cord injury affects movement, feeling and body functions below the level of the damage. This page explains how spinal cord injury claims are proved in Ireland and what the long-term losses include.
A spinal cord injury claim is a claim for damage to the spinal cord caused by negligence.
The cord carries signals between the brain and the body, so damage in the neck can affect the arms, legs and breathing, while damage lower down affects the legs, bladder, bowel and sexual function.
An injury is complete where no movement or feeling remains below the level of damage, and incomplete where some does.
Most spinal cord injuries in claims come from high-energy events: a car or motorbike crash, a fall from a roof or scaffold, or a heavy load falling onto a worker.
Some follow medical care, such as a spinal fracture or cord compression that was missed or treated late, or damage during spinal surgery.
The level and completeness of the injury are recorded from the first examinations, the MRI scans and the neurological assessments repeated during rehabilitation.
The main reports usually come from a consultant spinal surgeon on the injury and prognosis, and a consultant in rehabilitation medicine on long-term function.
A urologist may report on bladder management. An occupational therapist, a care consultant and an architect then set out the care, equipment and housing needed for life.
After a road or work accident, the claim goes to the Injuries Resolution Board first. Write to the person at fault within one month, as section 8 of the Civil Liability and Courts Act 2004 requires.
Where the long-term prognosis is not yet known, the Board can wait for a further medical examination; if either side does not agree to it continuing, it issues an authorisation to go to court. Read how the Injuries Resolution Board works.
Where the injury followed medical treatment, the claim goes to court. Claims against public hospitals are managed by the State Claims Agency.
Neurological recovery is tracked over many months, so the claim is not valued until the spinal surgeon and the rehabilitation consultant can say what function will return.
Contact us through our enquiry form, phone, or email. We’ll review your situation, answer your questions, and explain what to expect next. There’s no upfront fee to begin your claim.
Your case will be carefully reviewed by our legal team.
We assess the strength of your claim, advise on the documentation needed, and guide you through key steps such as attending an independent medical examination and preparing the information required for the Injuries Resolution Board (IRB).
Once you decide to move forward, we take care of everything. This includes gathering evidence, contacting the other party or their insurer, submitting your claim to the IRB, managing settlement discussions, and handling any court proceedings if needed.
Paul Kearney founded the practice and leads its personal injury work in Ireland. He is regulated by the Law Society of Ireland. Read Paul's profile.
We prepare your application to the Injuries Resolution Board, including the medical evidence, and advise you on any assessment before you decide whether to accept it.
You can meet us at any of our four offices, or deal with us by phone, email or video, wherever you live in Ireland.
There are no upfront fees. Before you go ahead, we set out in writing how legal costs work, as section 150 of the Legal Services Regulation Act 2015 requires. No Win No Fee explained.
In a complete injury, there is no movement or feeling below the level of the damage.
In an incomplete injury, some signals still get through, so a person may keep some feeling or movement and may improve during rehabilitation. The difference shapes the care, equipment and earnings evidence in the claim.
They often overlap, but not always. A spinal cord injury is one cause of paralysis, and an incomplete injury may cause weakness and pain without full paralysis. Paralysis can also follow nerve or brain damage; see our page on paralysis claims.
Where a fracture or cord compression was missed or treated late and the injury became worse as a result, there may be a medical negligence claim.
It must show that care fell below the standard of a reasonably careful practitioner of the same specialty, and that the delay caused the extra damage. That second point usually needs an independent spinal surgeon's view of what earlier treatment would have changed.
It depends on the person's needs and financial advice.
Under the Civil Liability (Amendment) Act 2017, where an injury is permanent and needs lifelong help with daily living, the court can order future care, treatment and assistive technology to be paid as index-linked payments for life.
Periodic payments remove the risk of a lump sum running out; a lump sum gives more control over how the money is used.
A wheelchair user often cannot live in a home with steps, narrow doorways or a standard bathroom.
An occupational therapist and an architect assess whether the current home can be adapted or a move is needed, and the extra cost of suitable accommodation can form part of the claim.
A case manager coordinates rehabilitation, care staff, therapy and equipment, and helps the injured person and family plan the move home from hospital. The cost of case management, now and in the future, is part of the losses claimed.
Often, yes. Under Part 4 of the General Application Regulations 2007, the employer must plan work at height, provide suitable equipment and supervise its use.
If you share some of the blame, compensation is reduced in proportion under section 34 of the Civil Liability Act 1961, but the claim is not lost.
Two years from the accident, or from the date of knowledge if later, under the Statute of Limitations (Amendment) Act 1991. Time stops while the claim is with the Injuries Resolution Board.
In a missed-diagnosis case, the date of knowledge is often when you first learned that the delay in treatment may have caused part of the injury, so get advice as soon as that question arises.
No. There are no upfront fees. Before you go ahead, we give you clear written terms explaining how legal costs work, as section 150 of the Legal Services Regulation Act 2015 requires. Read No Win No Fee explained.
Regulated by the Law Society of Ireland
Kearney Law handles only personal injury and clinical negligence claims.
We act for clients across Ireland, including Dublin, Cork, Galway, Limerick, Waterford and Letterkenny. See all the areas we cover.
Contact us to talk to a solicitor about your claim, or request a case review.
Email: [email protected]
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Monday to Thursday 8am – 8pm
Friday 9am – 5pm
