We are always at the end of a phone so please do contact us to see if we can help with your personal injury claim.
In the meantime, we have put together some questions and answers/FAQs - in case you want to reach out particularly in the early hours of the morning, as many of our clients do searching for answers...
Our guide covers the most common questions we are asked and why you should instruct a specialist chronic pain lawyer for your claim.
Ensure you have a Specialist Chronic Pain Lawyer
Firstly, and before we delve into the questions and answers, there are many lawyers out there who claim to know about chronic pain, the issue is these types of claims are not common in personal injury departments.
This means many lawyers have not handled these cases many times and so do not have up to date knowledge, experience of litigation (taking a case to Trial), having the best experts on hand to instruct on your behalf and a barrister to support your case with intricate knowledge of how these cases are treated by defendants and complex causation issues.
This all sounds complicated; because it is. Well, it is if you do not know what you are doing, and a few points of note here:
If the wrong expert is instructed on your behalf this can have huge ramifications for you and affect compensation you can claim.
If your losses are not carefully considered in line with the evidence again your compensation will be impacted – affecting your future stability.
Many injuries develop into chronic pain. Without experience your lawyer may not know what to look for and settle your claim early, and for significantly less than you should receive.
It is well known chronic pain is mis understood in the medical community. So, your GP may not be able to help, your lawyer can get you treatment, assessments and the funding for this. Your future can at times be in the hands of the experts of the case if your own treating clinicians cannot assist and get you the help you need. All of this is well and good but if your lawyer does not have the knowledge to move your treatment forward you will remain static and with no support.
Chronic pain claims require the depth of knowledge about you and your life. Many lawyers do not have the time for this with other commitments get in the way. You need a lawyer who can dedicate their time day or night to your compensation claim.
So, what is the crux here? Many clients are looking to move to us raise these issues. Sometimes it is too late for us to help, reports have been disclosed with the wrong type of experts involved, cases have been settled for an amount not accounting for CRPS.
Our advice therefore is to ask; if we can help, we always have time to talk.
What types of chronic pain cases are there?
We have experience of all types of chronic pain claims, such as:
Complex Regional Pain Syndrome - also known as Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy (RSD) or Causalgia
Any type of case involving chronic pain needs a lawyer who knows the complexities involved as well as the risks. These cases involve a lot of time and dedication which we offer.
My solicitor has advised me to settle my claim, but my pain is ongoing, can I move solicitors?
Your solicitor may advise you to take an offer for what was a whiplash claim or minor injury such as, back injury, shoulder injury, hand injury, leg injury, neck injury etc. These could be from an accident at work, road traffic accident, cycling accident, tripping accident The way in which our clients are injured varies so much because the condition is indiscriminate.
Our client’s report their injuries do not settle, the pain is ongoing and they notice changes to the affected part of the body with struggles to do anything on a day to day basis. This worsens over time and the people treating them are at a loss.
So, if you have ongoing pain and you have suffered a personal injury always seek advice in the event you have a claim for a chronic pain condition such as CRPS or Fibromyalgia.
We have many clients who have moved lawyers to FT Chronic Pain Solicitors and settled their claims for seven figures when faced with an offer for a few thousand pounds with their previous lawyers.
Moving your claim to us is easy:
Contact us – if we can help, we will.
If we can take your claim forward we will set up funding, normally No Win No Fee.
We contact your previous Solicitors and secure a copy of your papers.
Any insurance policies e.g. ATE we transfer with you.
We get on with taking your claim forward including getting a top barrister involved, meeting you/your family.
We become part of the team – working with you all the way.
No one is listening to me, and I think my accident has caused my injury to develop into chronic pain - what do I do?
Some of our clients have not instructed a solicitor yet and rely on their GP or consultant to guide them. We then bring a claim and secure records to advise you how to get your claim underway, of course we will advise on if we can succeed on the other side admitting fault and any issues with causation such as what injuries did the accident cause. Our aim would be to request an interim payment and investigate your claim fully.
We always instruct a barrister specialising in chronic pain so you have a full team of experts working for and with you.
The other side have said they don’t believe the accident caused chronic pain, is this normal?
It is common for the defendant in any case (the other side i.e. the insurers, paying your compensation) to question if the accident caused the injuries you have suffered and in turn chronic pain has developed as a result. This is why you need an expert team of lawyers to advise you on this point. Causation is a complex area.
We have experience of going before a High Court Judge where the other side have raised issues with causation arguing the claim is limited to a few thousand pounds. We were successful on this point and secured hundreds of thousands of pounds for our client.
How much is my chronic pain worth?
Your claim is made up of two elements, general damages, which is your injury or injuries, this is also known as PSLA - pain suffering and loss of amenity.
The Courts consider how a claim is valued based upon case law, i.e. cases which are similar to yours and also the latest Judicial College Guidelines, the Guidelines help us assess what bracket your injuries fall into.
Most of our clients have more than one injury and so we value their claim based on considering the guidance and the case law.
The guidelines, set out factors to consider when assessing damages and take into account the following:
The degree of pain experienced.
The impact of symptoms.
Ability to work.
The need for medication.
Extent and impact of treatment.
Whether the pain is limited or widespread.
Any psychiatric disorder and impact on perception of pain.
The age of the claimant.
The general damages are also considered alongside financial losses which you have and will incur as a result of your injuries and caused by the accident.
Financial losses consists of a number of things and these are bespoke for each client depending on their needs, their work at the time, and treatment. Examples are; loss of earnings, care provided by family and friends or even professionals, loss of pension, treatment needed or recommended.
These are based on the evidence from medical experts and the prognosis provided.
In one case, we have claimed for an elective amputation when this was supported by the NHS treating team and medical experts.
The financial losses are placed in a Schedule of Special Damages, the schedule sets out the basis of your claim and calculations for your losses.
Can I have an interim payment?
An interim payment is a portion of your damages given in advance of settling your claim.
To secure a payment to help with paying your bills, mortgage, treatment, travel to an appointment, loss of earnings if you can no longer work etc, we would need the other side to have accepted liability for the accident.
Once this has been secured, we can ask for an interim payment to help you financially, some of our clients have interim payments for surgery, and others to keep a roof over the heads while the claim is ongoing.
Will I need to go to Court for my chronic pain claim?
Generally, if what is claimed by us on your behalf is contested by the other side and should negotiations fail we involve the Court or even go before a Judge.
Other aspects may involve liability, where the other side have not admitted responsibility nor agreed the value of your claim. We then issue court proceedings on the basis we may ask a Judge to decide if the other side are at fault and what amount should be awarded to you.
Where responsibility is admitted, should the value of your damages be contested and we are unable to agree, even after trying to negotiate in a settlement meeting the Court will be asked to consider the evidence and facts of your case.
This tends to relate to any issues of causation such as the other sides' claim your injuries and ongoing issues are not accident related and so they do not believe they should pay the amount claimed.
In such cases you do need a team of lawyers with experience to navigate a complex litigation process, such as FT Chronic Pain Solicitors.
No Win no Fee for my chronic pain compensation claim - can you offer this?
When you contact us, we will discuss funding. If we believe your claim has good prospects of success we can offer a no win no fee agreement also known as a Conditional Fee Agreement.
This is the most common form of funding available, and we will discuss this with you at the time as well as insurance available to cover expenses (also known as disbursements) for the claim and any such times costs may become payable.
The No Win No Fee agreement sets out terms of our relationship and we ensure you are kept up to date with costs as these are incurred on your behalf.
Contact FT Chronic Pain Solicitors today
Contact us today and see how FT Chronic Pain Solicitors may be able to change your life.
Call us: 0800 999 1078
Email us: info@ftchronicpain.co.uk
