Frequent injuries to the back such as the disturbance of ligaments giving rise to backache, or soft tissue injuries that make a pre-existing back condition worse or a prolapsed disc tend to attract damages from £10,670 to £23,680. 

A crush fracture of the lumbar vertebrae or damage to a disc with nerve root irritation and reduced mobility can attract awards ranging from £23,680 to £33,080. 

More severe cases of disc fractures or soft tissue injuries leading to chronic conditions where, despite treatment (usually involving surgery), there remain severe pain and discomfort attract slightly higher awards. 

Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) cases where there has been serious damage to the spinal cord and nerve roots, leading to impaired bladder, bowel and sexual function will attract damages between £77,700 and £137,330. 

The spinal cord is a thick bundle of nerves which carry messages from our brain to the rest of our body. These messages help us move our body and control our bladder and bowels.  When the spinal cord is damaged, the communication between our brain and the rest of our body is disrupted, sometimes resulting in a loss of movement and sensation in parts of the body.  

As the spinal cord recovers from the shock of the injury, it can take time to recover movement and/or sensation following an injury. 

What do the letters and numbers mean?

Letters and numbers are used to refer to the level of your injury. If you have injured the spinal cord in your neck, you will have injured one of your cervical nerves (1-8). So, an injury like this would be referred to as a C1. If you have injured the spinal cord in your back, you will have injured either your thoracic nerves (1-12) or your lumbar nerves (1-5).