Rehabilitation therapies and personal injury compensation

By Ian Morris | Updated July 21st, 2022

63 questions have been answered on this subject, why not ask your own?

Any personal injury claimant who continues to suffer from their symptoms has a right to seek rehabilitation therapy in a bid to ease their situation. They can recover more quickly, return to normality sooner and are able to continue to earn their income as they did before they were injured.

Third-party insurers are keen to help claimants recover from their injuries as quickly as possible to minimise the total settlement value. Paying for the costs of therapy early on avoids the potential for injuries to become ongoing and add to their costs for treatment and loss of wages.

There are two routes that a claimant can use to pursue rehabilitation therapies – seeking NHS or private therapy on their own, or by requesting that the party against whom they are claiming provides the therapy.

NHS and private therapy

Accessing rehabilitation therapies is something that can be done by yourself. If you are suffering ongoing symptoms you can make an appointment to see your GP, and after an assessment they can refer you to a physiotherapist and possibly to other practitioners. Your solicitor can access reports of any treatment by way of your medical records if any such treatment is provided. The downside to using the NHS is that there is often a lengthy waiting list to access rehabilitation therapies and the kinds of rehabilitation therapies are often limited to just physiotherapy.

You can, of course, access a wide range of specialist rehabilitation therapies on a private basis – acupuncture, massage therapy, osteopathy, chiropractic treatments or any other relevant help. The benefit of this is that treatment can be accessed immediately. The obvious downside is that it can be expensive and this is often the thing that prevents personal injury claimants getting beneficial rehabilitation therapies quickly.

If you are able to access such treatments on a private basis, we would recommend that you do so – but that you speak to us or your specialist solicitor about it. You may well be able to recover the costs of such treatments but you will need to provide evidence of the costs you’ve had and the treatments provided. Therefore it is essential that the rehabilitation therapist that you use makes notes of the treatments that you have had and that you retain receipts for payments you make.

Rehabilitation provided by the third-party defendant

Perhaps the best and easiest course of action is to request that the organisation or party against whom you are claiming provides you with a course of treatments at their cost. This can be done when your solicitor has obtained an admission of liability from them – when they agree that they are responsible for the accident in which you have been injured and will therefore pay you compensation for the injuries and losses you have sustained.

When this happens, your specialist solicitor will organise an assessment for you. This will be done in a location that is easy for you to access and again at no cost to yourself. The person carrying out the assessment of the injuries is usually a specialist GP with expertise in the area relevant to your claim.

An assessment will usually involve a brief consultation with the expert having a copy of your medical records showing the treatments you have had to date, and discussing with you the nature of the accident in which you were injured. They will then carry out a physical examination, assessing your range of motion, mobility and areas of pain.

From this, they can write a report and recommend a course of relevant rehabilitation therapies, whether it be 6 sessions of physiotherapy, 10 sessions of osteopathy or any other treatment kinds.

How we can help

If you have been injured in any kind of accident that was not your fault, you should consider making a claim for injury compensation even if just to access rehabilitation therapies. At Direct2Compensation we are more than happy to speak with you and offer you our thoughts, helpful advice and information about your rights and whether or not we feel that you can make a successful claim.

It’s usually really quick for us to find out if you have a valid claim, just leave a question below or call us on 01225 430285, or we can call you back.

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Questions

Read on for questions and advice about claiming...

I was involved in an accident an suffered whiplash, my insurance company referred me for physio treatment which I started to receive. However, now the third party has decided to change their mind that they are not at fault, my insurance company has put my physio on hold. Is this right that they can do this?

If liability is now in dispute, there will be a hold placed on any provision of therapy that had been previously agreed. Your insurers will be considering whether the denial of liability from the defendants is robust or otherwise before being able to proceed with any further rehab.

After a car crash in 2020 ,not my fault I had three consultant medical examinations .One if the consultants said I would need treatment which would cost £10,000 .He also said that it could be done by the NHS and that he would write to my GP explaining what treatment I would need .I am horrified at the cost of this treatment (manipulation concerning my balance ) 1 . Would this affect my payout claim .
2.is it still possible to have it on the NHS .

Nobody can compel you to undergo treatment privately. Of course, the benefits of private treatment include speed of treatment and beating a lengthy waiting list. If the treatment is to be funded by the defendants in your claim, perhaps you should take advantage of the opportunity to recover more quickly? You would still receive settlement for your pain and discomfort if you accept the private therapy.

If you are able to provide evidence that you had to work on the dates of the appointments in question and that you could not attend at the appointed time, the insurers are unlikely to count this against you – although you really should inform the physiotherapist at the earliest opportunity if you cannot make a pre-arranged appointment and seek to re-arrange it at a time that you can attend.

Hi Ian back again! seem to be giving the run-around by the Firm representing my wife and daughter in a personal injury claim, Although the third party insurer has accepted full liability and made an opening offer of £1925 , the solicitors have told me there will be a 25% deduction,£224 for A T E insurance and now £221 for physiotherapy levied against this amount. leaving my wife £1110. Seems unfair given we already have BTE insurance and were not told that we would have to pay for Physiotherapy (which is owned by the solicitors and operated though on medical),or we would have accessed our own NHS care and treatment.Exasperated!!

This does seem like an excessive deduction. Did the company discuss the ATE cost prior to having the documents signed? Did they query as to whether you had any existing ‘Before the Event’/Legal Expenses insurance cover in place before providing a policy for you?

What if i don’t want rehabilitation after initial consultation?

No claimant can be forced to accept rehabilitation therapies as the choice as to what treatments to have or not have is something that rests with the individual and not the Solicitor or medical expert.

However, refusing treatment recommended by a specialist without good reason is something that can impact on the final settlement value of a claim and doesn’t really reflect well on the claimant.

I’ve recently been involved in a car accident and have suffered a whiplash injury. I’m having to go to 8 physiotherapy sessions and have tissue damage. How much compensation may I receive?

The value of your claim will not be known until further time has passed as this will show whether the physiotherapy sessions you are having have had any benefit. As you will appreciate, if the injury symptoms persist the value of your claim will increase.

The average compensation range for whiplash compensation is around £2,500 – £3,000. However, settlements can be considerably higher in the more serious cases and where medical evidence supports this, a Solicitor will ensure that a more appropriate settlement is obtained. With this in mind, it is important that you make sure that any ongoing symptoms are reported to your GP and Physiotherapist and noted on your medical records.

I was injured in a car accident in 2016, I had ongoing problems with my back, neck & knees too! Anyway I was offered physiotherapist for my injuries, as I was not the person who caused the accident, liability was accepted by another party. My question is why do I have to pay for the physio treatment out of my personal injuries claim? I’ve been informed that the third party responsible for the accident should? Please put me right on this thank you!

It will depend on whether the total settlement you have received includes the costs of physiotherapy already provided – in which case you would have to ‘repay’ that from your award (as it has formed part of the total settlement), or whether the amount you have received should be yours and the defendant should be settling the physio/rehab costs separately.

You’ll need to discuss this with your Solicitor.

Also would refusing physio make a settlement amount less?

Refusing rehabilitation therapy would be unwise and would enable the defendants to settle your claim at a lower value.

Will I have to complete my physio before I get a settlement offer?

In short, no! The physiotherapy sessions don’t need to be completed to enable a settlement offer to be made, or accepted. However, it would be prudent to allow the therapy sessions to finish before you accept settlement in order that you can be certain as to whether or not you have recovered as expected by your Doctor and medical expert.

If I’ve had a medical examination do I get a settlement offer after that?

Assuming that liability has been admitted, now that the medical expert has undertaken an examination, they will provide a report regarding the injury sustained, the severity and prognosis for future recovery to your Solicitor. Once you have agreed that the report does not have any obvious errors, your Solicitor will share that with the defendants so that they can assess the same. Both parties will then begin negotiating settlement and hopefully a sensible offer will come your way so that you can draw a close to the claims process.

If you are involved in a road traffic accident that is not your fault and you need physiotherapy, will the costs of the physiotherapy be deducted from your compensation settlement or is it separate?

In most cases where a medical expert makes a recommendation for a course of rehabilitation therapy – such as physiotherapy – the costs for the agreed amount of treatment will be met by the defendant. This would usually be seen as a part of the settlement total but would not then need to be deducted from any settlement that you as a claimant receive at the end of the claims process. However, in some circumstances, the value of the rehabilitation therapy is added to the settlement that the claimant receives and the claimant must then settle the account with the rehabilitation provider.

Can solicitors set up physio, for me though the solicitors firm?

When an admission of liability has been obtained, a Solicitor will instruct a medical expert to provide a report on the claimants injuries and recovery prognosis so that they have medical evidence available to support the claim.

If the medical expert finds that a course of rehabilitation therapies, whether that be physiotherapy or another kind of treatment, they will make a recommendation within their report for this. The Solicitor can then seek to obtain agreement from the defendant to fund the treatment and arrange specialist private therapy to aid your recovery.

I had an rta in 2017 and have been going through series of treaatments including physio, psychology & medicals etc. If I was to accept the offer, would we be able to ask for future rehabilitation treatment costs?

This is a difficult situation that faces many claimants in the final stages of their claim. An offer is made, below what it could be, but there is no guarantee that a court will side with you. In such cases, you really need to go with the advice given to your Solicitor by Counsel (Barrister). Do you know if your Solicitor has obtained a Barristers opinion on your case and the offer made?

If the Solicitor is sufficiently confident to reject the offer, you should take their advice. Whilst you could end up with less, you may end up with more. It really depends on the potential amount you may lose and whether you can take a risk with that amount.

I am about to start treatment which will be claimed back once completed. My solicitor had said I will need to complete the 16 weeks of treatment (recommended in a report by a professional) before any settlement can be finalised. Can I dispute this? If so how should I approach it with my solicitor? Ideally I need to finish this sooner rather than later.

Have you discussed this with your Solicitor? Your Solicitor is acting in your best interests and it is likely that it is most sensible to allow the course of treatment to be provided in order that an understanding as to whether the treatment has done what it should – or if you are still not recovered – as this will then be relevant to the final settlement of your claim.

Of course, you can seek to reach settlement in your claim sooner, but that is likely to see you receive a lower settlement. Whilst that may seem appealing in the short term, you should focus on the long term and the potential implications of settling the claim earlier.

An alternative could be to seek a small interim settlement from the defendant to cover any immediate financial pressures you may face.

I had time off work to attend physio appointments and had to make up the time after normal working hours. My payslips show normal wages. Can I claim the loss of earnings back?

You can recover lost income by making a claim for personal injury compensation (if the injury was caused through negligence or an accident at work).

Hi, I have full legal cover with my insurance company – Adrian Flux. I was having physiotherapy for the injury of a no fault accident, where a 4×4 drove in to the side of my car. I had 10 sessions of physiotherapy and was told I needed more treatment, but then lockdown came, and over the months my condition has got worse and I believe I have a slipped disc in my neck.

I have asked the appointed solicitor to ask the 3rd party to organise an MRI scan but I am told this is not possible. I am a driving instructor of nearly 30 years and I’m struggling to do my job with the pain in my neck shoulder and back of the head, I feel that the appointed solicitor is just dotting the i’s and crossing the t’s and not really fighting my corner.

I have full legal protection on my Adrian Flux insurance, could you get me the treatment I need?

Before you can switch Solicitors to a new company, you should ensure that you have made a formal complaint to your Solicitor via their published complaints procedure. This will afford the Solicitor an opportunity to resolve your concerns and rectify any errors made in the handling of your claim. If you can resolve the situation with the existing Solicitor, that is in your best interests as it will avoid any delay. Also, it is not always straightforward to switch to a new Solicitor due to the cost issue with a new Solicitor having to undertake to cover the costs of the previous Solicitors work at the successful outcome of the claim – and therefore, whether or not the claim is financially viable for a new Solicitor.

Hi there! Looking for some advice.

I was in a car crash back in November 2019 and through my insurers I was put on to a solicitor who was able to set me up to attend physio therapy sessions. I attended 8 sessions and was discharged from physio therapy.

My claim is still on going and obviously delayed which is completely understandable. I am unfortunately now having a bad flare up of pain from my injuries sustained in the crash – am I able to re-engage with physio therapy through my solicitors as part of this claim since my injuries haven’t fully sorted themselves out?

You should discuss this with your Solicitor as there may be a possibility of obtaining further rehabilitation therapy through your claim. It could be that you’ll need to have a medical assessment and if that denotes that you require further treatment, it is likely that the defendant would agree to pay the cost of the treatment.

If I have accepted an estimate offer and the other driver has admitted liability and also just finished my physio and recovered , How long roughly am I looking at to receive settlement for my claim?

If a medical assessment has been completed and the contents agreed, reaching settlement should be possible within the next couple of months.

How long does it take a physiotherapist to write a report and how long can I expect to have to wait to receive my claim settlement if liability has been admitted?

When a Solicitor instructs a medical expert to write a report for a claimant, the report would usually be expected to be with the Solicitor within 10-15 working days. When the Solicitor receives the report, they will then ask the claimant to check it to ensure that they do not believe it to be wrong and once it is agreed, they will then pass it to Counsel to consider and report back with further guidance.

With regards to obtaining settlement once an admission of liability is obtained, there is no set rule for timescale. Things that can delay settlement may include a claimant continuing to recover or awaiting further medical intervention as a Solicitor would not be able to properly evaluate the extent of the injury in such cases.

I’m in the process of a personal injury claim the other insurance company have been funding my health care and today decided they are not gonna fund it anymore. Why could this be?

The defendant would only fund rehabilitation therapies or medical costs to the point that they felt they should. Usually, a medical expert will make a recommendation for a certain amount of care or a specific list of therapies. Once those amounts of care (i.e a specific number of physio sessions) have been provided, the defendant will not fund further.

If I’m 100% to blame in an accident and I’ve had physio treatment who pays for that?

If you are at fault, you will have to fund any rehabilitation therapy or treatments that you need – at least those that the NHS will not provide.

What happens if I was told I need 8 sessions and only did 4 and I was claiming for a crash, I was happy with 4 and the exercises he gave me was helping a lot and was too busy to make a few, so I just stop, will this hurt my claim?

It won’t ‘hurt’ your claim necessarily, but may impact on the final settlement value applied to your claim. By ending your sessions, you are stating that you have recovered (or that is at least the way a defendant will see it), which impacts on settlement value.

You should of course always discuss any choices such as the one you have made directly with your Solicitor or the claims handler as well as simply ending your treatment.

Hi I had an accident at work which resulted in me having to attend physiotherapy and hydrotherapy. I will have to attend 12 hydrotherapy sessions and at least 5 physiotherapy sessions. My question is do the more sessions i attend increase my compensation amount? Or does it make any difference?

The final settlement value that will be agreed in your claim for compensation will depend on the outcome of your treatments and to what extent you have recovered from the injuries you have sustained. Typically, a medical assessment will be conducted by a suitably qualified medical expert relating to the injuries of the claimant. The medical expert will assess the claimant in person, discuss the incident in which they were injured, review the medical treatment (medical records) provided and talk about what symptoms persist. The medical expert will then make recommendations regarding appropriate rehabilitation therapies and then give a prognosis as to what extent the claimant will recover and how long recovery will take.

Once the report is agreed by both claimant and defendant, the two side of the claim will begin to negotiate an appropriate settlement value.

Hello
My claim notification form RTA1 has been submitted and the insurance company sent me this. Where it says ‘physio’ the box is ticked for ‘no’ but I haven’t seen a physio yet and I waiting on a phone call to book an appointment. Once I have been seen by the physio etc will this be sent to the third party? As I’m worried this will effect my settlement figure what I am entitled to?

The physio issue is unlikely to impact on settlement value. At the appropriate time, the extent of the injury should be noted by way of an experts medical report and it is from this that an appropriate settlement valuation can be calculated.

My solicitor has arranged a course of physio after an accident does the insurance company wait until these treatments are finished before they offer a settlement?

Not necessarily! It can be the case that it is wisest to wait for all rehabilitation therapies to have been provided in order that the full extent of recovery is better understood than attempting to make a settlement when you don’t fully know how well you will be. Recovery from an injury is very relevant when experts undertake their work in evaluating the appropriate compensation settlement value in a claim for personal injury compensation. This is a logical matter, as the more longer term an injury will be present (or even permanency of an injury), the higher the value of settlement.

You should speak with your Solicitor regarding your specific claim.

I’ve had medical with orthopaedic consultant. Report went to solicitor. He suggested in report to see psychologist. I have seen psychologist. She says I need cbt therapy. Other side have accepted full liability for car accident. Will I have to wait for my compensation until cbt sessions have started and finished?

In most cases, where the defendants have admitted liability in full and then an independent medical report (as you have already had) is agreed by both sides, the usual process would be for the defendants to arrange, and pay for, the required rehabilitation therapy. In your case, you should check directly with your Solicitor as to whether or not the 3rd party will be taking this course of action.

If I use a rehabilitation company to arrange various different types of rehab post a RTA, will the expenditure incurred be deducted from my final compensation amount, leaving me worse off than if I’d arrranged the rehab through the NHS myself?

The cost of specialist rehabilitation therapies can form part of the total compensation settlement value that can be claimed, if successful with a claim. In most cases, a specialist medical expert will have provided a report that stipulates the need for certain therapies and an appropriate amount of treatments. If this is in place, and the medical agreed, it is often the case that the defendant will meet these costs before paying the compensation for the pain, discomfort and distress of the injury (and any loss of income/incurred costs) at the closing of the claim.

In your case, you should check with your Solicitor as to what the defendants have agreed to fund.

If you don’t want to do rehab anymore will it affect your claim?

Refusing treatment or therapy won’t damage your claim as such, but it could have an impact on claim settlement value. If you have a specialist Solicitor representing you in your claim you should speak with them before taking any decision about ceasing rehabilitation therapy.

My personal injury lawyer has cancelled my physiotherapy, we are in dispute with the third party – who’s to blame? Do you think this is an indication the claim isn’t going well?

If liability is disputed – which is not unusual – your Solicitor cannot be certain that your claim will succeed and as such, is wise to cancel the rehabilitation therapy in order to avoid costs that may not be recoverable. As soon as liability is admitted, then the rehab can start again as the cost for the therapy would then be the responsibility of the 3rd party.

If the defendants insurance have offered to pay for rehabilitation therapy – is that an admission of guilt?

To all intents and purposes, yes! A defendant insurer would not wish to pay for rehab therapies if they felt that they were in no way liable for the injuries sustained.

It would be reasonable to assume that their offer to finance the cost of rehabilitation therapies indicates an admission of liability.

Ian morris thank you for your reply, I appreciate you getting back to me,

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