Julia was injured at work in 2011 when she fell and struck her head whilst helping to manoeuvre a large piece of equipment down a flight of stairs. She was concussed and taken to hospital where she was kept in overnight for observation. She subsequently developed headaches and pain in her neck, right shoulder and right arm.
She was off work initially for four months, during which time she underwent treatment including physiotherapy and acupuncture. Returning to work part-time, she was experiencing increasing pain in her right hand and her ring and middle fingers on her right hand started to feel as if they had been “superglued together”.
“Returning to work part-time, she was experiencing
increasing pain in her right hand and her ring and
middle fingers on her right hand started to feel as
if they had been ‘superglued together’.”
Her symptoms continued to get worse until eventually she was signed off on long-term sick leave. Ultimately, she was diagnosed with Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy (RSD), otherwise known as Complex Regional Pain Syndrome Type 1 (CRPS).
Julia instructed a firm of solicitors with little or no experience of chronic pain. Liability for the initial accident was admitted by her employer. They obtained reports from a consultant orthopaedic surgeon and a psychiatrist, but both had difficulty explaining her ongoing symptoms. Court proceedings were issued and her employer’s insurance company made an offer of settlement of £65,000. Despite the uncertain prognosis, her solicitor advised her to accept the offer, saying “it’s a lot of money and you’re not a footballer”!
“Julia’s employer’s insurance company made an
offer of settlement of £65,000. Despite the
uncertain prognosis, her solicitor advised her to
accept the offer, saying ‘it’s a lot of money and
you’re not a footballer’!
At that point she spoke to BLB Solicitors and we agreed to take over conduct of her claim. We instructed a nationally respected researcher and consultant in pain medicine. Their report stated conclusively that the CRPS was directly related to her fall at work. Despite hostility from the defendant, we were able to persuade a judge to allow the claimant to rely upon this new evidence.
The defendant then instructed their own consultant in pain medicine and a consultant psychiatrist to produce reports, both of whom were of the opinion that Julia was not suffering from CRPS, and that her ongoing symptoms were unrelated to the accident at work. The judge ordered the experts to meet and attempt to narrow the issues between them.
“We successfully applied to the court for a
substantial interim payment to fund a
course of private treatment at a
national centre of excellence.”
It was clear that Julia required treatment and we successfully applied to the court for a substantial interim payment to fund a course of private treatment at a national centre of excellence. This proved successful in reducing the level of Julia’s symptoms to the extent that she was able to consider a return to work, albeit on reduced hours.
In total, BLB Solicitors had conduct of the claim for only 10 months. However, in that time we were able to arrange first class treatment which had not been made available to Julia in the previous four years. We were then able to settle the claim for more than three times the previous offer.