Spinal Cord Injury Awareness Day UK: 16th May 2025

Published 29 April 2025
by Co-op team

By medical negligence solicitor Emily Oxley.

On 16th May 2025, it is Spinal Cord Injury Awareness Day in the UK. Knowing the symptoms gives patients the best chance of diagnosing severe spinal injury so that it can be treated as quickly as possible.

Not everyone with symptoms will need emergency care. However, the NHS says that the longer that some symptoms go untreated, the higher the chance that it can lead to permanent and serious conditions.

According to the Spinal Injuries Association, someone in the UK is diagnosed with a spinal cord injury every two hours. In total, 4,400 people are either injured or diagnosed with a spinal cord injury every year. It is estimated that around 105,000 people are currently living with an injury, whether it be from a health condition, an infection or an accident.

Act quickly to prevent cauda equina syndrome

When a spinal injury occurs, clinicians should diagnose the injury quickly to prevent further damage.

For example, if an injury, infection or herniated disc compresses the nerves at the bottom of the spinal cord, a delay in diagnosis and treatment can cause a serious condition called cauda equina syndrome.

The nerves at the bottom of the spine are responsible for communicating with the lower limbs and organs. If a spine injury is not treated and a patient develops cauda equina syndrome, there is a risk of causing irreversible damage, such as:

incontinence of the bowel or bladder
reduced sexual function
foot drop and mobility issues

Cauda equina syndrome can mimic other conditions, including urinary tract infections, sciatica, general back pain or fibromyalgia. Symptoms can include:

weakness and numbness or tingling to both legs which is severe or getting worse
bowel or urinary incontinence is this is not normal for you
sciatica on both sides
lower back pain or leg pain
difficulty passing urine if this is not normal for you

If you are worried about anything out of the ordinary, or any of the symptoms above, you should go to your GP, even if you only have one of these symptoms.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) recommends patients should be referred immediately for a cauda equina syndrome check 'where a patient has ‘severe lower back pain radiating into the leg and new-onset disturbance of the bladder, bowel or sexual function, or new-onset perineal numbness.'

The patient will then have MRI scans to confirm if there is spinal compression or cauda equina syndrome.

If there is a spinal compression, this should be treated urgently. The British Association of Spine Surgeons advise that patients should receive surgical decompression within 48 hours of the start of symptoms to have the best chance of stopping future damage.

If a spinal injury is misdiagnosed, or if there's an avoidable delay in the diagnosis, patients can seek compensation.

How Co Op Legal Services can help you

If you feel that you or a member of your family suffered a misdiagnosis or a delay in diagnosis of a spinal injury, contact our team for free legal advice. Even if you're not sure if you can make a claim, talking to a professional can put your mind at rest.

A specialist at Co Op Legal Services will listen to the information you provide and assess whether you can make a claim. They can give you initial legal advice, free of charge.

As part of every medical negligence claim that we take on, a solicitor will investigate the standard of care provided to you by reviewing medical records. If necessary, they will seek advice from an independent GP, emergency medicine doctor or spinal surgeon.

If they find that a mistake has caused an avoidable injury or outcome, your solicitor will share the findings with NHS Resolution. This is the NHS Authority that manages compensation claims on behalf of the NHS.

Once NHS Resolution agrees that the care provided has fallen below the reasonable standard, we will work with them to agree how the delay or misdiagnosis affected the patient. We'll also agree on the appropriate amount of compensation that should be awarded.

If the NHS deny fault for the negligence, your solicitor can start litigation to secure:

compensation
rehabilitation support
future care needs
loss of earnings

Most of our claims settle out of court, so in most cases it would not be necessary to go to court.

If your claim is unsuccessful, there is no financial risk to you as all your legal fees will be covered. This is subject to entering into and complying with the terms of a ‘No Win No Fee’ agreement and taking out and complying with the terms of an ‘After the Event’ insurance policy when appropriate.