Can my private health treatment records be used in my injury compensation claim?

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In previous articles, we have covered the importance of making sure that your accident and injuries are properly reported and recorded, such as by way of an accident book and also how important medical evidence is when it comes to making a claim for injury compensation.

The obvious course of immediate emergency medical treatment will be used to prove what injury has been caused, and what your solicitor is helping you to claim compensation for. This proof and evidence to support your claim will be available to your solicitor as you will sign authorities for them to access your medical records relevant to any treatments provided by your GP, NHS walk-in clinic or the A&E unit where you sought treatment.

But what if you have opted to try to recover more quickly by seeking private alternative therapeutic attention?  Can you use the records kept by your osteopath, masseur, chiropractor or any other privately paid for treatments? Yes, you can.

Using private treatments to recover from injuries

In many cases, the injuries that form the central point of a claim for personal injury compensation are long lasting injuries that the NHS isn’t always geared up to help with. It goes without saying that the NHS is wonderful and the medical treatment that is available is second to none, especially when it comes to emergency treatments following accidental injuries. However, the next element of medical treatment – the follow up rehabilitation therapy that helps to speed up recovery, is something that the NHS isn’t quite so good at providing because of a lack of funding.

It’s pretty obvious, but when we’re sick or injured the thing we want most is to recover as quickly as possible and get back to doing what we want to do. With this in mind, many claimants choose to see private therapists.  When it comes to recovering from soft tissue injuries such as those common in injury compensation claims for ligament damage or back injuries, people recover more quickly if they get speedy follow up treatments like massage or osteopathy.

Claim back the cost of treatments

If you seek alternative paid-for treatments, Direct2Compensation and our specialist injury compensation solicitors will look to recover the costs of the treatments as part of your special damages claim.  We will also give you an authority form to complete to allow your solicitor to contact your therapist and seek copies of any notes and treatments provided.  Whilst NHS treatments should also be sought, private treatments at your own expense can benefit your claim and will certainly not cause you any problems during your claim.

If you start a claim quickly, it may well be that we can avoid you having to fund rehabilitation therapies out of your own pocket. In many cases, your solicitor will be able to arrange such treatments, with the costs being met by the 3rd party defending your claim if liability is admitted early.

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