Claiming compensation for pre-existing injuries made worse after an accident

If you have already settled a claim for the injuries and losses caused by the accident, you cannot now return for further damages as the defendant has settled their claim and ended any further liability in doing so.

Whilst there is a provision for a claimant who is unhappy with their existing Solicitor to switch their instructions to another specialist, it is sadly not as straightforward as it should be.

Thanks to the way the Government have changed the framework and fee earning process in personal injury matters (due to undue pressure from the Insurance sector), Solicitors are forced to operate under fixed costs in the vast majority of personal injury cases. When a new Solicitor considers whether they can take over an ongoing case that has already had Solicitor involvement, they must also consider the costs that they will have to hand on to the previous Solicitor should they go on to succeed with a case as the previous Solicitor (even if they have been useless) can reclaim the costs that they have already incurred from the new Solicitors fees should they win the claim. As such, in many cases it simply makes it financially unviable for a new Solicitor to get involved.

In your case, much will depend on how long your current Solicitor has been handling the claim for and what severity of injury you have suffered. Please elaborate a little more on the nature of your accident and injury along with the length of time your Solicitor has been handling your claim and we can then advise further.

If you have accepted a settlement that is made as a full and final settlement against a claim, you cannot then return to the defendant or seek to reopen the claim for further damages.

Unfortunately, there is no realistic way that you can now return to seek further damages as the matter has (in the eyes of the claims process at least) been settled and closed.

Ok thanks for information anyway.

Sadly it is probably unlikely that you now have a legal right to make a claim due to the time that has lapsed in this matter. Also, as you have previously tried, but failed in this claim it is further highly improbable to see a route to success in this matter.

As a passenger in the vehicle, you can pursue a claim as you are not at fault. In order to pursue a claim, you’ll need the details of the taxi in which you were travelling (and ideally the registration details for the vehicles involved).

Did you obtain any photographs of the access to the lodge? If you have some helpful photographic evidence showing that the ramp was extremely narrow, we can further investigate this matter.

As you have already identified, should you make a claim, the previous injury – albeit one you had recovered well from – will be called in to question and will need to be considered. That said, if you believe the employer has failed to provide you with the appropriate training, adequate risk assessments and safety management protocols and that this has directly caused you to sustain new or exacerbate a previous injury with more or worsened severity of symptom, we can help you to pursue a claim for personal injury compensation.

Our specialist Solicitors would work closely with a carefully chosen medical expert who would be able to review your previous injury from 11 years ago and the medical notes regarding the same along with the new injury and new medical information in order to be able to provide a detailed prognosis for the exacerbation of any previous issues and the new injuries/long term consequences of the surgery you have undergone. This will enable an appropriate settlement to be obtained should the claim succeed.

The contents of a medical experts report and any findings that they make regarding any ‘pre-existing’ injury or acceleration of an asymptomatic condition can have a big impact on the outcome of a claim settlement value as a defendant will be able to avoid full liability for any of the injury symptoms that have been sustained, which are deemed to be pre-existing or accelerated. If this is the case, the defendant will simply have to compensate the injured party for the acceleration of symptoms and not for the cause of the injury or symptom itself.

This leaves you in an unfortunate position as the opinion of the expert will be held in high regard and with authority. You should speak with your Solicitor to ensure that the medical expert is asked to reconsider their findings based on your medical records and pre-accident health. You could seek to have a 2nd medical assessment, but you would have to pay the cost for this and need to consider that the report may be no more favourable and the defendant would not be obliged to accept the 2nd reports findings if they were to be more favourable.

Does the medical expert report on what they perceive to be the increase for the onset of the symptoms of fibromyalgia? If the expert states that you had the condition and would have developed symptoms in any event, but that the accident has caused those symptoms to be present some years earlier than they otherwise would be, that period of time will be very relevant to the settlement value of your claim. You should still be able to recover some future loss of income and settlement for your injuries, but the overall value will be lower than if you were not found to have a pre-existing condition.

Hi

The medical expert says in his opinion that my exacerbated fibromyalgia and back injury is down to the initial accident and but for my accident I would still be in the same job.He also says I’m disadvantaged on the open labour market.I will only work flexible part time with no carrying, lifting or physical exertion and only if I respond to appropriate treatment.

That would appear to be a positive prognosis in terms of your claim and potential settlement value.

You have up to 3 years from the date of an accident to pursue a claim for personal injury compensation. In your case, you therefore need to establish whether the date of your accident was within the last 3 years. If so, we can certainly pursue a claim for the injuries that you have sustained. Whether or not a causal link between the arthritic condition you describe and the incident can be established will be a matter for a medical expert – someone our Solicitors would instruct to provide medical evidence on your behalf should a claim proceed. If less than 3 years have passed since the accident, there are certainly grounds to pursue a claim.

Who told you that further compensation would be payable at a later date? You really should revert to that person/organisation as it is very unusual for a claimant to not receive full damages when settling their claim – or at least knowing what further payments would come and when.

Your Solicitor should be able to instruct a specialist medical expert to assess your MRI results, your medical records and interview you in order that they can provide a prognosis on the injury including the exacerbation of any pre-existing symptoms or conditions and this can then be included within your heads of claim.

I should point out that I am not a Doctor or a medical expert. However, it would seem that the medical expert in your case is of the view that the RTA is responsible for causing a worsening of your symptoms and essentially brought forward worsening symptoms by 2 years. Effectively, the expert is saying that you would have had the symptoms you have had for the past 2 years by now.

If you have already settled the claim, you cannot return for further compensation now. If however, your claim is still opened and not settled, the long term consequences of the injuries sustained should be assessed by a specialist and included in the claim settlement request.

Pre-exisiting injuries will be taken in to account when claiming personal injury compensation. However, just because an individual has a pre-existing condition, that does not mean that they cannot make a claim for compensation if those injuries are worsened or if symptoms become more persistent or painful. Solicitors will ensure that an appropriate medical expert provides a report outlining the impact on any pre-existing conditions as well as any new injuries sustained so that an appropriate level of compensation can be obtained when settling a claim for personal injury compensation.

Thank you so much for the information. Would the surgery increased my claim? thank you

The value of a compensation settlement will depend on the severity of the injuries, the amount of medical intervention required whether or not a full recovery is made and if so, how long it takes to make a full recovery.

The fact that you have had to have surgery will be accounted for in any settlement that you receive.

If you have not already got a Solicitor acting for you, please call us on 01225430285 so that we can help you claim compensation for the injuries you have sustained. A medical expert can be instructed to asses you, examine you and the spondyloisthesis condition and will be able to establish whether you already had the condition or not and if so, by how much the trauma of the car accident has accelerated the condition.

Whatever happens, you can make a claim and a specialist Solicitor will ensure that your legal rights are upheld and that the negligent party compensates you for any new injuries that they have caused as well as any aggrevation or exacerbation of any pre-existing condition.

Your Solicitor can discuss the implications of this with regards to your claim with you in more detail, but if a medical expert has located a condition such as arthritis, it is likely to be seen as pre-existing, even if symptoms were not previously present. In this scenario, there will be a judgement made by a medical professional as to how much sooner the condition has manifested because of the accident than it would have if you had not been injured.

As you will appreciate, it is not possible for us to give specific advice via this service as we have not had sight of any medical experts reports or a full understanding of the pre-existing conditions or indeed, the nature of the index incident at the heart of your claim.

However, a suitably qualified and experienced medical expert should be able to sit down with you, with sight of your medical records, discuss (in detail) your previous history, the accident and the way the symptoms now impact you and provide a detailed report that would enable your Solicitor to continue to pursue the claim justly for you.

Yes a claimant can still pursue a claim even if there is a delay between the injury being sustained and medical treatment being sought.

Whilst it is always ‘best’ for an injured person to seek medical attention at the earliest opportunity, in some cases it is not always possible for that to happen and in certain injuries, it can be unclear whether medical treatment is needed.

Thank you

You’re welcome.

Have you discussed the flare ups you mention with your Solicitor? It would be wise to seek their advice and see what they can do to help you with this.

I know my claim is currently ongoing but any information would be helpful as I am not getting a great deal from my current solicitor thank you

Who is your claim being handled by? Which firm? Before you can switch to a different Solicitor you need to make your Solicitor aware – in writing – of the issues you are having with them in terms of lack of contact or updates. If the complaint doesn’t resolve issues, you could then contact us to switch to a different Solicitor.

It is vitally important that you inform the medical examiner of the recent seizure and the fact that the Hospital Doctor appeared to link this to the accident at work. They are most likely linked and the seizure should be considered by the expert. If they are willing to link the two the impact of the injuries sustained at work is clearly more serious than initially thought and the value of your claim could be substantially higher. Whilst it could delay the claims process a while, it would undoubtedly be the correct thing to do to ensure that your claim is handled and settled appropriately.

As you may appreciate, it is impossible for us to second guess the work done by your Solicitor and it is most likely that the Solicitor is acting correctly and within the appropriate framework. If you feel that the Solicitor has handled this matter incorrectly, you could make a formal complaint to them and ask that a senior partner within the firm (who has not had any involvement in your case) reviews the matter and work undertaken.

Thank you for your reply, I am happy with my solicitor who has been on the ball, a case study similar to mine was related too and this was shown to me as an example.
If my recovery from the knee replacement is not as expected would this affect my settlement in any way?
As the OS expects me to have a full recovery I am 59 years old?

The lack of a full recovery should be accounted for in any settlement that is awarded. If a pre-existing condition is part of the reason that a full recovery hasn’t been possible, that will be accounted for when an expert evaluates the injury and provides a report.

This is a difficult situation and one that often arises in claims for personal injury. If any age related or general degeneration of a body part is found in a scan, a defendant will not have to accept liability for what was essentially already present – even if the injured party was living pain free and without any knowledge of a pre-existing or age related condition.

Thanks for your reply, so should I accept to settle on first offer or get legal advise and fight this? I was pain free asymptomatic before the accident and have been in absolute agony since, could this accident have accelerated the onset of this condition, given that im only 30. the thought that I will suffer for the rest of my life after a HGV hit my car at 50-60mph and triggered this pain is beyond me. I have to move home as I can no longer manage the stairs, im unable to do things I once enjoyed wether its directly related or just that the accident has accelerated what I was destined for surely it is not right to just accept it. from my understanding disc degenerative disease affects people much older than myself, so why is I have been in pain since this HGV accident. physio and osteopath both say compression of spine and nerve route, yet MRI says pain is unrelated and expected to recover in 12-18 months even though its got worse.

Do you have a specialist Solicitor acting for you? If so, they should be able to advise you fully as to whether or not there is anything further that you can do in terms of the settlement valuation that has been applied by the defendant in this case. It is often the case that the first offer should be rejected as it is likely that a revised offer would follow.

If your symptoms are worse than those you were told to expect based on a previous MRI or similar scan, it would be wise to discuss this with your Solicitor and perhaps seek a further medical report – although that in itself is not straightforward.

The new incident is certainly something that you could look at pursuing a claim for. It does not matter if a previous claim has failed or succeeded, the key is having adequate evidence in place to support the new claim. Please ensure that an accident book is completed (or the incident is recorded in writing with the employer) and also seek medical attention for the injuries sustained. Please then call us on 01225430285 to further discuss the incident so that we can help you start your claim for compensation.

You cannot claim for the worsening of the injuries caused in the 2nd accident in the 1st claim you are making. However, if the 2nd accident was non-fault, you can pursue a 2nd claim for personal injury compensation for the exacerbation of your symptoms, along with any new injuries caused.

To answer simply, yes! If you do pursue a claim for personal injury compensation – which after the RTA you were involved in in October 2019 you would be fully entitled to do, your Solicitor would seek compensation for the sciatica/whiplash and would instruct a medical expert to report on what was a new injury and what was an exacerbation of a pre-existing condition.

Our specialist Solicitors are used to dealing with such matters and would be happy to help you. Please call us on 01225430285 to find out how we can help you.

Yes, you can pursue a claim for the ‘new’ accident. Of course, if any of the claim relates to injuries that were included in the first claim, you can claim only for the exacerbation of them and not for the whole injury (unless you had fully recovered before this incident).

I’m very sorry to hear about your situation and I can sympathise with you given the description you have given. Unfortunately, there is very little that I can add to what has been said by your Solicitor. It would appear that they are doing their best to get you a settlement.

You are in a very difficult position. You could seek a 2nd opinion from a medical expert, but you would have to pay that cost and there is simply no guarantee that they would reach a more positive conclusion. Furthermore, the defendant would not have to accept the findings of a new report and it would come down to a judge deciding which expert to base a judgement on.

Your concerns are ones we hear regularly from people who have instructed a firm of Solicitors who are contracted by a defendant insurers (or even their own insurers) and whilst your Solicitors may have acted correctly, there is clearly reason to question their conduct and it would be wise to do this.

The Solicitor is correct in what they state regarding it being difficult to have care provided by family included in a head of loss, but they are not saying it is impossible. For example, if a Husband or wife had to do the housework or cooking whilst their other half was injured, that would not be considered ‘care’ but just the reality of life. However, if the husband or wife had to take unpaid leave from work to provide care, it is likely that their loss of income and expenses could be recovered.

Given your description of the handling of your claim, we feel you should make a formal complaint to your Solicitor via their complaints policy (see their website). Their failure to have your claim handled by a Solicitor and instead by a claims handler and for there to be 12 claims handlers is unacceptable and would likely have impacted on your case – whether that be in terms of delaying the process or perhaps worse – and their loss of passwords etc is just not something that should be accepted.

Hi Ian
Thank you for your response. I emailed my solicitor regarding gratuitous care and the other matters. they are steadfast that the first offer I received was acceptable and that by my asking if they could perhaps negotiate a little was not acceptable. they will deem me to be unreasonable if I don’t agree to it and that they will pursue me for £14,000 costs and disbursements of £4,000.
My claim was valued at £26,000 and they have said £15,000 less £3,000 CBT and physio so exactly half.
Am I being treated unfairly, I feel I have to sign it now even though I don’t agree.

It is always disappointing to read of someone who has had a negative experience with their Solicitor. Of course, without having a full understanding of your claim or the reasons why your Solicitor is giving the advice that they have given, it is not possible for us to say whether or not they have acted wrongly. Given your ongoing displeasure with Solicitor, it may be time to make a formal complaint to them in order that your concerns are properly considered by a senior partner within their firm rather than the Solicitor handling the claim. At least that way, if they reject your complaint and can provide detailed reasoning for their advice and position, whilst not happy, you can be certain that they have acted correctly – even if you are disappointed with the overall settlement value you will receive.

Thank you Ian for your speedy response, I think unfortunately I accepted this solicitor’s company without thinking. Not realising I would be chastised for asking questions and not giving me proper answers or explanations amongst other things. In hindsight I should have waited and chose someone as competent and friendly as you. You live and learn I suppose. Thank you again, you have been so helpful.
Michelle

A Solicitor is duty bound to act in the best interests of their claimant/client and must put the claimants interests above those of their firm. If you genuinely feel that they are not putting your interests at the forefront of their actions in their handling of your claim, you have every right to complain via their published complaints procedure (see their website). If the outcome of your complaint still leaves you dissatisfied, you can escalate your complaint to the legal ombudsman service. They have full independence and authority and if it were found that you had been mislead and caused to accept a lower offer than you otherwise should have received, you would then have further right to seek redress from the firm.

Thank you for your nice comments about us though – we’re not perfect, but we try to ensure that we provide honest and accurate information to help our claimants and provide a simple and hassle free claims process to boot.

Your history of use of painkillers and the treatment for a disc injury in 2004 are likely to be an issue in your claim. As you appreciate, the defendant insurers will pick up on that issue and will attempt to use it to minimise their loss and your settlement.

If you have not presented to your GP regarding back pain in the past 10 + years, your medical records will show this and that will help you. The best course of action is to discuss this potential problem with your Solicitor so that they are ahead of the curve and can work out the best way of batting away any queries that the defendant will raise.

It very much depends on what was on your medical records for the condition and the 1st incident. It is likely that if the PTSD is sufficiently serious and you have received medical attention (such as counselling or other therapy) that a claim for the PTSD could be made for the recent incident.

Hi Ian, so what would be the best way to get this looked at?

The most sensible course of action would be for you to make further contact with us. Please use our online ‘start a claim’ form to submit some further information – or email us directly at justice@direct2compensation.co.uk outlining the date of the accident and what treatment you have had for the PTSD (along with your contact details) and we can then begin the process of investigating whether or not you can make a claim.

If you have the registration details of the vehicle that pulled out on you and caused the accident, you can pursue a claim against that drivers insurance.

A specialist Solicitor will instruct a medical expert to assess your injuries and discuss your medical history with you. Their report will conclude what injuries can be solely attributed to the road traffic accident and what injuries were pre-existing but have been exacerbated (and to what extent) by the collision. That report and the prognosis provided would then form the basis of the settlement negotiations in your claim.

The incident in which you were injured sounds awful and given the severity of the injuries you have sustained, it is understandable that the claim has yet to settle.

If your Solicitor has already registered your claim, the 3 year issue should be irrelevant, however, we would strongly recommend that you check with your Solicitor regarding this.

The full extent of all injuries should be taken in to account, whether the injuries are physical or emotional and your Solicitor should ensure that the relevant medical expert is instructed to provide a detailed report for the Solicitor to use when negotiating settlement of your claim.

You appear to have been managed in a negligent manner by your employer with regards to safe lifting techniques and the management of the weight of items that you are expected to move whilst at work. So on that issue, there is a fairly obvious case of employer negligence and that would enable the right to pursue a claim.

However, under UK law, you must make your claim within 3 years of the date of the onset of your injury symptoms. You mention having suffered for the past 3 years so we would be concerned that you may sadly be time barred under the statute of limitations in terms of a claim for personal injury compensation as a defendant insurer would check your medical records and could see that you have been having treatment for more than 3 years.

If you have changed jobs within the past 3 years and the ‘new’ employer is the one that appears to be negligent and is causing a worsening or exacerbation of pre-existing back trouble, you may be able to pursue a claim against them for the further damage and worsening of your symptoms.

Thanks for the information

You’re welcome. If you need any further help or want to find out more about making a claim for personal injury compensation, please do not hesitate to get in touch with us.

Providing the biking accident you have mentioned was caused by another persons negligence (a vehicle driver), then your friend would be able to pursue a cycling accident claim for any new physical injuries caused as well as claiming for the exacerbation of the pre-existing PTSD symptoms. Of course, medical evidence will be needed to pursue such a claim.

Absolutely the pain would be linked to the recent motor vehicle collision. You really should be making a claim for compensation – both for the whiplash injuries you sustained as well as the exacerbation of (as well as any new injury) your lower back pain and mobility issues.

Your previous back problems do not prevent you from pursuing a claim for compensation further to the road traffic collision in which you sustained new injuries and exacerbation of your previous problem last week.

You describe an accident scenario that would indicate that you are likely to succeed with a claim should you pursue one. A specialist Solicitor would instruct a medical expert to examine and interview you and then provide a detailed report explaining the impact of the accident on any pre-existing conditions as well as list and provide a prognosis for any new injuries sustained.

You can make a claim for compensation for the injuries caused to you in a non-fault car accident. If successful with a claim, our specialist Solicitors will instruct a medical expert with expertise in the injuries you have suffered and fybromyalgia to examine you, discuss your symptoms and then provide a detailed report to enable an appropriate value to be assigned to your claim.

Although you clearly have a serious pre-existing condition, that will not prevent you from being able to make a claim. Following the road traffic accident in which you were injured in March, our specialist Solicitors would instruct a medical expert to interview and examine you, with sight of your medical records and provide a detailed report. The report would be able to ascertain the extent to which any pre-existing injury has been worsened and also note any ‘new’ injuries, such as that you mention to your neck.

If you have been able to work and manage the pre-existing back condition prior to this road traffic accident, we would also seek to recover any loss of income caused by the worsening of your pre-existing back trouble and the new neck injury.

If there is no medical history to show that you have previous knee injuries and no accident book entries to show that you have previously injured your knees at work, you do not need to be concerned.

It would be interesting to know where the note regarding the apparent previous knee injuries came from and who provided it, but the medical expert you saw can only report on what evidence they have seen – your medical records, the accident report and interviewing/examining you.

In your case, it would appear that the experts are saying that you would have suffered problems at some point and that the accident has simply caused an earlier onset of symptoms. As such, you can claim for that and claim for an exacerbation of symptoms but you cannot hold the defendant responsible for them in full.

Your options now (as your Solicitor has probably said) are limited. You could instruct a 2nd medical expert to write a report. However, you would have to pay the cost for that and it may well be the case that a different expert comes up with the same expert view. If they do, you’ve simply wasted money. If the expert comes up with a report that contradicts the first, that does not necessarily help as the defendant will still argue that the first report should hold weight and it would have to go before a Judge who will decide matters.

The exacerbation of a pre-existing condition or injury, whether physical or emotional (such as anxiety) is relevant and could have formed the basis of your claim.

Whether you could now withdraw your agreement to settle and seek to have the damage to your anxiety issue included is unclear. You should speak to your Solicitor regarding this urgently.

It is very hard to advise on a claim that is already underway and where we do not fully understand the initial claim or what the contents of a medical report states. As such, you really should liaise with your specialist Solicitor to discuss this in detail.

It would be extremely difficult to prove causation in this situation – that is to prove that the road traffic accident in January caused you to sustain a prolapsed disc.

I am afraid we simply cannot assign a value to your claim at this stage. Whilst you have described accurately what your Surgeon has said, it is impossible to know what the contents of an experts medical report would state with regard to the degenerative element of the injury and the element of trauma. Therefore, it would simply be dishonest to offer you a settlement valuation. We do have an article on knee injury claims which might provide some more info.

What I can say is that there is certainly sufficient damages in your claim to warrant making a No Win No Fee claim for compensation. To know whether or not you have a valid claim for compensation, we need to know what caused you to fall. Can you elaborate on that?

Where you say you fell off a rotting picnic bench, do you mean that the bench broke because of the rot and that caused you to fall and suffer injury? If so, you may well have a valid claim for compensation.

We would need to speak with you to find out a little more about the incident, the location of the picnic bench and ideally view some photographs of the offending bench as this will enable us to make a more informed judgement as to whether or not you can pursue a claim for compensation.

If you have not already done so, you should both be pursuing claims for personal injury compensation as a result of the accident you describe. Please call us on 01225430285 as we would be very happy to assist you both with No Win No Fee claims in this matter.

Whilst your pre-existing health condition would need to be taken in to account, the condition does not remove your right to make a claim for personal injury compensation. Simply put, it may be that your injury is more serious that it would otherwise have been due to the condition you live with so you may not be able to fully hold the 3rd party responsible for all of the discomfort or issues you have as a result of the accident, but medical experts will be able to provide relevant detailed reports that will establish the damage done to your existing conditions as well as any new ‘trauma’ injuries sustained and this will enable our expert specialist Solicitors to obtain compensation for you.

We look forward to hearing from you.

The pre-existing condition you mention will only be relevant if part of your claim relates to a worsening or exacerbation of that condition. Whilst you cannot claim for the condition, you can claim for any temporary or permanent worsening of the symptoms.

You can of course pursue a claim for any new injuries sustained in this road traffic collision and from what you describe, it would appear that you have sustained soft tissue ‘whiplash’ related injuries, commonly associated with road traffic accidents.

We would very much like to assist you with a claim for compensation and believe you have a strong claim.

You can claim for both the new injury (hernia) and also for the return or worsening of a pre-existing condition such as the lower back pain. The failure of your employer to provide manual handling training would be seen as employer negligence and my initial view is that you should make a claim for compensation with us. We have expert specialist Solicitors who would be very happy to pursue your claim on a No Win No Fee basis.

Please call us on 01225430285 or use our ‘start a claim’ page so that we can help you get your claim started.

It is very hard to offer you any kind of game changing help in this matter. Whilst you have no history of back trouble, if a medical expert has advised of a pre-existing condition and it is contained within their report, it is very hard to argue against that. The defendants of course will latch on to that and use it to lower any settlement award that they may have to make to you.
You need to discuss your concerns with your current Solicitor and ask them to explain to you why your 9 months of agony are not being considered and why you have no history of back pain or trouble listed on your medical records if the expert is saying you have a pre-existing condition.

Only medical evidence that is relevant to any aspect of the claim must be disclosed. For example, if you were making a claim for injuries to the back, any pre-existing medical treatment sought for back problems would be relevant and ought to be disclosed. If for example, you had also had a completely unrelated operation on a foot 10 years ago (or any other unrelated medical treatment) that would not be relevant and therefore not disclosed.

It would never be wise to not fully disclose any pre-existing condition. In all claims for personal injury compensation, medical evidence is used to ascertain the appropriate level of damages and the records are available to BOTH parties in the claim. Therefore, pre-existng conditions will be discovered and if they have not been noted freely by the claimant, it could count against them

Your friend will be able to claim for the further damage done in the motorcycle accident as medical experts will be able to ascertain the difference between the pre-existing condition and the damage done in the motorcycle accident.

When any claim for personal injury compensation is settled, the amount of compensation that can be claimed will vary depending on the contents of the medical evidence and medical assessment report prepared for the claim.

As such, the medical evidence can only be deemed to be relevant or applicable if it relates to injuries caused in the accident and NOT for any pre-existing or non-related medical condition. As such, if the experts are saying that you already had osteoarthritis, you won’t be able to claim that your accident has caused the condition as you won’t have the evidence to support that allegation.

We can appreciate your frustration and disappointment with regards to the outcome of your medical assessment and the experts written report regarding your injuries. It is a very difficult position to be in but nobody can argue with the findings of a qualified medical expert other than another qualified medical expert.

Your Solicitors would not wish to close your claim for less than the true value of the matter as they are duty bound to act in your best interests and to put it bluntly, the fees that they can seek to recover for the work undertaken on your claim would be substantially higher if they were able to provide evidence that demonstrated that your current problems are fully linked to the index incident in which you were injured rather than any degenerative condition within the spine.

It is almost impossible to offer you any advice here, you can of course seek a 2nd opinion from an expert and hope that their report provided a different conclusion to that of the first expert, but there is no guarantee that it would and your current Solicitor is right in pointing out that the defendant will wish to highlight the findings of the first report also.

I would say you don’t need to worry about your pre-existing conditions counting against you. Whilst you are used to living with discomfort and pain, it does not mean that you should not exercise the same right as anyone else to pursue a claim for road traffic accident compensation if you have been injured in a collision. The road traffic accident that you mention would have undoubtedly caused trauma to your soft tissues and definitely exacerbated any pre-existing conditions you already live with. With this in mind, the pain you now feel in your lower back could be a new injury or may simply be referred pain. However, both or either have been caused by the car accident last week and can be included in any claim.

In claims for compensation as a result of injuries sustained in an accident, the value of the compensation settlement that covers the injury element of the claim will be decided on the basis of available medical evidence.

In cases where the defendant/3rd party have admitted liability for the incident, the claimants Solicitor will arrange for them to undergo a medical assessment with a suitably expert Doctor. In such a medical assessment, the instructed medical expert will have sight of the claimants medical records in relation to their treatment following the injury and any further diagnosis. They will also have sight of any relevant previous injuries or associated health conditions. They will then interview the claimant and discuss the accident and injury symptoms before conducting a physical examination. It is the medical experts written opinion as to the extent of the injury and recovery prognosis contained within the report that will decide the value of the injury element of the claim.

In your situation it sounds like you were living with a degenerative back problem that you were not aware of until this car accident that caused a trauma injury to your back that during investigations identified the disc disease. It is unlikely that you will be able to hold the 3rd party vehicle driver responsible for the disc disease as it cannot be argued that a road traffic collision could cause degenerative disc disease and as such, you probably won’t be able to claim any compensation for that issue in terms of the condition itself. However, you were living pain and symptom free before this accident and it is fully possible that this incident has caused you to become aware of and suffer from the symptoms of degenerative disc disease far sooner than you otherwise would have.

In this case, you would be able to claim compensation for the trauma injury sustained in the car accident but also for the early onset of pain symptoms caused by the degenerative condition – as long as the medical expert is willing to agree to such in their report.

You can still pursue a claim for compensation. As with any claim, you would be expected to undergo a medical assessment where you would meet with a specialist appointed by your Solicitor. The specialist would have sight of your medical records, discuss with you the nature of the accident, your injuries and ongoing symptoms before conducting an examination. They would then write a report detailing what level of pre-existing injury was present and how the accident has exacerbated or worsened the problem for you.

You could look to mitigate things on your side by getting statements from your Rugby club coach and team mates to confirm your regular fitness and match playing attendance and any other people (such as your employer) to verify your view that although the arthritis may have been present before the accident, you were unaware of any problems and living a normal active life.

I’d be happy to look in to this further for you.

I am sorry to read of your situation and the severe injury you have sustained to your back. If I understand correctly, you had a pre-existing condition/injury that you were managing well and living a normal life. The symptoms and pain was then materially worsened due to what would appear to be a criminal assault? If this is correct, you may be able to pursue a claim for compensation.

In the United Kingdom, there is a Government funded body that anyone who is injured in a criminal assault can pursue a claim for compensation with. This body is called the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA) and they are based in Glasgow, Scotland. There are strict criteria to allow an injured person to succeed with a claim to the CICA such as full cooperation with the Police following any assault, where a statement MUST be made to the Police and charges MUST be pressed. Medical treatment must also be obtained and the claim must be pursued within 2 years of the assault.

Yes, you can definitely claim for this. Although you have had recent surgery, that would not prevent you from claiming. In your case, medical evidence can be used to determine the damage that the recent accident has caused to you and how it has impacted on any pre-existing condition or surgery.

I am sorry to hear about your car accident and I hope that you are not too upset by the incident. The situation you describe would not have any undue effect on a claim for compensation for the injuries you have sustained in this car accident.

If I understand your comment correctly, you had been checked over for a knee injury after a fall down some stairs and given a diagnosis of soft tissue damage – such as bruising etc, with no significant injury. The Hospital have discharged you at that stage with no further medical treatment. The fact that you have then sustained damage to that knee in a road traffic accident a week later in which the injury to the knee is now significant and requiring remedial surgery, simply indicates that the injury was caused by the road traffic accident.

Of course, your knee may have been a little weaker than ‘normal’ due to the existing bruising etc and a defendant insurer may try to use that to settle the claim at a lower rate, but there is no material proof that your knee was weaker given the Hospital’s findings when examining your knee after the fall down the stairs.

You should definitely pursue a claim for this injury and we would gladly assist with this.

I have seen claims arising from identical situations succeed and I have also seen them fail, so whether or not your claim would succeed, I could not be 100% certain. However, I would not let that stop you from making a claim against the bus company.

It is very difficult to know what amount of compensation you will be able to get at this stage – as this can only be properly calculated with the knowledge of medical treatment and in most personal injury compensation claims, by having a specialist medical evidence report written by an expert.

That said, you most certainly should be able to claim for both the whiplash injury and also for the exacerbation of your mental health issue. You should ensure that you report all of your symptoms – both physical and psychological to your GP so that there is a record within your medical notes to indicate that you have reported these problems.

I would have thought that in a few minutes on the phone, we would be able to give you a better understanding of what we can do to help and how our Solicitors would be able to pursue a claim for you – for both your physical and psychological injuries.