A Practical Guide to Chronic Pain & Related Conditions - Live at Your Desk - Learn Live

Introduction

Chronic pain is usually mediated by both physical and psychiatric factors. It may be associated with another major injury, such as a fractured spinal cord, or a less severe injury but from a significant disability in itself. It may, in rare cases, require surgical intervention including amputation. This is an area of personal injury litigation which tends to be contested because a chronic pain syndrome often has uncertain aetiology and prognosis.

In this live session broadcast you will be able to see when and why chronic pain may form part of an injury claim, what medical evidence and factual evidence may be needed together with the types of quantum issues which chronic pain may disclose and of the likely prognoses depending on the medical evidence.

What You Will Learn

This live and interactive session will cover the following:

Analysing the Symptoms & Disabilities

• Did the pain syndrome appear immediately or some time after the index accident?
• Has the Claimant suffered other substantial injury?
• What treatment has been given for the pain syndrome?
• Has the Claimant responded to that intervention?
• What is the presentation now?
• How much of the current symptomatology is attributable to the pain syndrome?
• What is the prognosis?

Evaluating the Claim

• What are the likely medical expert reports?
• What is the likely treatment and the probable cost?
• Other claims (care, losses of future earnings, costs of accommodation) which may be referable to the chronic pain and/or other injuries and/or pathology not deriving from the accident

False or Exaggerated Claims

• Is the claim genuine?
• If it is genuine, is it possible/likely that it is at least partly exaggerated?
• What expert (or factual) evidence may be needed to establish this?

Case & Costs Management

• Instructing Counsel and liaising re the instruction of experts
• The need for the Claimant’s lawyers to see the Claimant (preferably at home) to see the context of the pain syndrome
• The need for the Defendant’s legal team to consider the use of DVD evidence if they suspect that the claim is false or exaggerated
• Conference with counsel and experts to prepare and consider the case
• The need to explain and justify the costs of experts to the Court in order to obtain permission to use that evidence and recover the costs.
• The particular difficulty of obtaining permission for numerous experts if the case covers several possible disciplines
• The importance of proportionality and the circumstances in which expert investigations may or may not be allowed
• Approaches to the joint settlement meeting