My solicitor has just sent me a copy of my Medico Legal Report and I have to say it is a complete hatchet job. I have been suffering with PCS for three years following an accident but he insists that PCS can only last at the most for six months and that any subsequent problems will be due to a pre-existing condition. He has searched my medical records for any evidence, seemingly to use against me, and has unearthed an appointment with my GP before the accident when I complained of being exhausted and leaving the cooker on etc. This was a brief episode due to the shock of my mothers sudden death. It seems that if you have PCS and have any previous history of anxiety or psychological issues they will insist that it is the pre-existing condition causing these symptoms.
The major issue seems to be that there is no test for PCS that is recognised. I have made an appointment with a Behavioural Optometerist who agrees that the medical profession is in the dark when it comes to PCS and he will write a report following my three hour appointment. Does anyone have any ideas on what other tests can be done to prove that your condition is PCS . The neuro 'experts' in the UK seem to all agree PCS, if it even exists (how we all wish that was the case) can only last for a matter of months.
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halinbath
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Hi, going through the same journey myself. A way to see this through the eyes of the NHS is to search their definition of PCS and how long it lasts, then check their definition of what it's called if the symptoms persist, (I think you will find it is Head Injury, meaning there is no definition). Check the definition on the NICE website too and you'll find the same thing.
Don't sign any document at the moment instead look for supporting evidence for yourself.
I think I commented on a post that you wrote before. I said that I did'nt agree with what my legal team were doing and got into a really nasty tit for tat argument. I complained to the Legal Ombudsman, it takes a few months (after an initial 8 week period where your legal team addresses your concerns). I won that argument and my legal team relented and took all my concerns on board.
Ok so back to the PCS definition issue, what does your NHS neurologist or psychologist say? If it is different from the legal medco report you need to question this with your legal team and what can be done about it.
If you have medical evidence that is not in the medical records obtained by the medco company this can be introduced under what is called an 'ADDENDUM' report, where it is taken into consideration and the medco report has to be adjusted to take this into account.
JUST DON'T GIVE IN IF YOU THINK YOU ARE RIGHT.
Right now to your past 'health issues' that they say are the cause of your problems. If you search for 'how to separate a mental health symptoms from PCS symptoms' you will find that this can be done by a psychologist. If you still think you are right go to your GP or put your hand in your pocket and pay to get this done and get a report. (funnily enough you will probably find the psychologist writing this report also works for the insurance industry and ministry of justice too and will write whatever they are paid to do)
I'm lucky because I had the full works at my brain injury unit and was told I would be a permanent out-patient of the unit. They did not say it was a mental health issue but a brain injury otherwise I would have been referred to the mental health people.
You have to cover all the bases and close any holes. You think that your legal people will do this but they won't, so you have to do it yourself and then argue with your legal people to do the right thing. (or take them to the ombudsman like I did, it's funny how your legal team get their shit together, they can be fined up to £50k if they don't.)
I'll leave it at that but if you have specific questions don't hesitate to ask, I have gained a wealth of knowledge.
Can I ask are your legal expenses covered by insurance or are you doing the no win no fee route?
Ok NWNF, so they are looking at it from the point of view of how much money they can make minus the cost of fighting the case. They pay for all the medical report fees and hope to recover that along with a nice sum for the minimum amount of work. If they think that they have to pay out a lot more money to fight your case and only make a small amount on top then it's not worth their time. PCS payouts are in the range of 30 to 380k only if it can be proven that it was caused by your accident, however if you have mental health issues documented in your medical records then these play a big factor especially if some of the symptoms are the same. It might be worth your while paying a neuro-psychologist to separate out your symptoms. It depends on how confident you are, the neuro-psychologist might say they are from the mental health issues and the PCS is in fact minor but have triggered your mental health symptoms. Mental health symptoms are hard wired into your brain and can be triggered by a trauma like a knock on the head. As far as your case is concerned you must focus on the symptoms that you have never experienced before, the other ones could be shared and they will acknowledge that but they will argue that the accident was not the cause of the problem but a reactivation of the existing hard-wired problem.
Anther one to think about. If you are thinking of complaining to the ombudsman then your solicitor has to be registered under the SRA, Solicitors Regulatory Authority, otherwise they cannot deal with it.
This is going to sound very harsh but it is where you are
These are your medical experts appointed by your solicitor, they will write as favourable report on your injuries as they can without embellishing the extent on any injuries.
The opposition legal and medical team will find exactly the same evidence in your medical history and draw the same conclusion but use it to undermine your case.
The behavioural optometrists report will hold little sway with any legal team. All it will say is that you have some visual disturbance but will not be able to say when it occurred.
If you followed the advice we gave you several years ago to seek out a legal team that specialised in Head Injuries then they will have found you an appropriate medical assessor whom is not only familiar with HI but also constructing medical reports suitable for legal scrutiny.
The symptoms from a head injury can indeed resolve quite easily and quickly. Most specialist will expect and accept that from an original injury symptoms may occur a period after the event but they will then ease and to the point where "recovery" plateaus and no improvements are seen.
As we mentioned to you a few years ago a lot depends on you age, health, previous medical history and mental fortitude how far and how long your recovery takes. Without physical signs of injury the only "tests" available are for cognitive ability and cannot test for mood swings, headaches etc.
For mood swings, depression etc. Psychologists and Neuro Psychologists can only form an opinion on what the see and hear when they have face to face sessions. My daughter is qualified in both aspects and will state that it sometimes patients clearly have issues that you can pinpoint to an index incident other times it is really difficult to tell even when there is previous medical history.
in terms of helping your case, I would try and take the emotion out of any dealings with professionals. The more angry, frustrated, dismissive of experts you are the more they will pin on your previous history
No, instructed by my solicitor. Just got back from a two hour meeting with her, she insists it's better for their appointed expert to point out what the other side could bring up rather than the other way around. I agree it is such an awful process.
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