Solicitor problems for compo: My solicitor emailed... - Headway

Headway

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Solicitor problems for compo

20 Replies

My solicitor emailed me asking me 3 questions. I know none of you know me so you simply cant answer one question.

What is your understanding of your injuries.

What have you suffered medically as a consequence of your fall?

Have you received medical attention

from a neurologist?

Ive asked the psychologist the said ask my doctor.. Ive asked the doctor and they say it wasnt them ive seen from the beggining of recovery..

I quess its asking family what changes they have seen..

I really dont know much what ive suffered medically or in the future..

So is it really common like a must to have seen a neurologist while i was in hospital as i was in a coma from a severe head injury?

Should the solicitor even be asking these questions if he has my medical reports..

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20 Replies
brighton88 profile image
brighton88

yes as they will need to defend allegations against you that your illness, if it exists has not affected you. I went through this and I know it is very distressing; at a time when all you want to do is get better, you have to prove how ill you are, and it's put out for examination. Hang in there it's worth it in the end

in reply to brighton88

I cant personally say how im affected; - Facial scaring, Headaches,deppresion, hormones and all the normal things that come along with a brain injury by damaging the front lobe parietal lobe and the optical lobe. But all these most off these sound like normal day to day peoples problems and dont really sound that bad thats why its a hidden disability. If you understand what im saying

ncmurphy1951 profile image
ncmurphy1951

all i can add is with a brain injury after the surgeon i found the two most important people i relied on and still do was my neuro consultant and neuro phycologist i fail to understand why you were not assigned nor seen by one as for thelawyer surely the fact that you are unable to prove youwere tre\ted with these proves a point should you wish a second opinion from a lawyer an old school friend is a partner in a law firm who specialise in compensation claims i am willing to refer you neil

in reply to ncmurphy1951

I could have been seen by both neuro consultand and phycologist.. but i almost dont recall a whole year.. ive seen a phycologist.. I just dont know if it was a neuro.. begining to think it was

abisupporter profile image
abisupporter

Not sure how far your claim has progressed but based on the informaton you have told us i would question whether this solicitor is experienced enough in abi pi claims. The questions he has asked makes me think he is not. Are they on the headway preferred list? I would go back to the solicitor and ask for an appointment to discuss face to face and take someone with you. We had an excellent solicitor and legal team and you need this because it is s traumatic experience on top of recovering from an abi.You can chsnge solicitor snytime. Good luck.

in reply to abisupporter

No their not on the list.. and i dont think he is experienced with abi claims.. None on the list would accept my claim. But a fuw weeks later quite alot on the list wanted to fight it. i wasnt aware you could change

abisupporter profile image
abisupporter in reply to

I would contact two of the others to ask if they are still interested and state you need support with the process. You can decide who you like best. The first apt should be free. Its important you have an experienced solicitor as you will appreciate. We live in the north west and there are some really good ones in this area. Could your local headway help?

in reply to abisupporter

I am also north west, but only the solicitor from the east accpted to ill have to travel to edingburgh.my nearist headways is glasgow, I have considered changing to an expet but does that not make the process longer?

zainey-lainey profile image
zainey-lainey

if you give them your permission they can access you medical records and find this information.. you have had a brain injury and therefore need SUPPORT and a ADVOCATE maybe... makes me laugh when they ask you questions like your normal. course your going to forget stuff its one of the main consequences of a subdural lobe. i am the same hun ,,,headway will help you

in reply to zainey-lainey

I've already been to headways. I've spoke to them. I do not get what i feel the need from it.. Its just socializing. I can do that anywhere.. plus both them and physcoligys said see my doctor. but the doctor said they cant help with my questions because they never delt with me at the time as ive changed doctors.. and they say see your psycoligyst but its a big loop circle and i really fell uncomfortable talking to psycoligyst and ive just recently said something to the doctor that i kept holding back and i still am holding back alot. Find this better tbh

Danslatete profile image
Danslatete

Andfrew this is common the way you feel. I had to change both gp and hospitals after my accident as we lost our home and the only homeless accomodation we could get was in Scotland. We lived in England prior to that.

I think you are right about the Headway for socialising, but you do need to speak to and get a good relationship with either a social worker that deals with Brain Injury or the physcologist. Dont do one appt and give in. It is hard to throw all your intimate details to the public, it sure seems like you have no choice. I found it hard going with the solicitors. You really do need someone with experience of these claims. I think you need to get some help with finding a suitable one so see if you can get someone to do the explaining as to what happened to you and see what they say. You do need someone who can explain from the outside what they see as changes and then get your perspective, youll be suprised how they differ! I did not recognise half the things they said. I think i was the last person to know how it affected me.

Please be aware that it is a long drawn out process and there will be no quick fixes.

Glasgow has one of the best headinjury units and rehab in scotland, please see if you can get a support worker, they are worth thier weight in gold.

headwayuk profile image
headwayukPartnerHeadway

Hi andrewmullen,

Thank you for your post. The advice from our other members here has been excellent, and we would always suggest you instruct a solicitor who has experience of brain injury cases. Even if they are a long way away, you could perhaps ask if they will do a home visit, and in any case as the claim progresses you should not need to see them very often. It is better to choose a solicitor on their expertise, rather than whether they are local to you.

You should be free to change solicitors, particularly in the early stages of the claim as this seems to be (judging by the questions you were asked). As said previously, try to make use of the free consultation the firms should give you to ask whether they will be able to help.

We have a booklet called 'Claiming compensation in Scotland after brain injury' that you might find useful. Please send us a private message on here with your address and we can post a copy out to you, or contact our helpline on 0808 800 2244 or helpline@headway.org.uk.

Best wishes,

Headway.

It's not the beggining the case has being on going for a year and half, i understand that head injurys are a long fight, but these questions being asked at such a long lenghy stage, and the face he still hasnt got me to a medical expert, i have no experience in this but i would have thought seeing a medical expert was one of the first steps, also my case is against a council which makes it long

headwayuk profile image
headwayukPartnerHeadway

Hi andrewmullen,

Thanks for your reply. While the case has been going on for a long time, if the extent and effect of your injury has not yet been established by your solicitor it would indicate that it is still fairly early stages, at least for a brain injury compensation claim.

As you say, brain injury related cases can go on for many years. Sometimes this is deliberate to allow the full long-term effects of the injury to be accurately assessed and damages calculated accordingly. In any case, you are right that professional medical evidence should be brought in to the claim, either using reports from your doctors or commissioning them for the case.

It's hard to say for sure with individual cases though, so we would usually suggest you contact a solicitor from our list and speak to them about the situation.

Hope that helps a little, but please don't hesitate to contact the helpline using the details above to discuss further.

Best wishes,

Headway.

i was told up to five years for injurys to settle amd my claim took four of them

in reply to

thanks, much appreciated can i ask what the injury was and how it happened, because i am told my injury clain can be high..

jeanni profile image
jeanni

Hello. My son was left with a brain injury and we contacted a solicitor that we thought was suitable . After about six months he seemed to be going no-where. We thought that once started we had to stay with him. After becoming quite frustrated I rang another solicitor to ask for a bit of advice really-he was so understanding of the problems caused by head-injuries I asked if it was possible to change to him. He emailed me a form to sign which meant former solicitor had to send him all the papers etc.and the new solicitor came the next day to see us. He is a solicitor who works with Headway.You have to be confident the solicitor involved really understands brain injury and consequences.They should also help you with re-habilitation after coming out of hospital-we had no advice at all about this and had difficulty finding the right kind until our new solicitor took over.

rierie profile image
rierie

I agree with Jeanni's comment. You may be a year in to the claim, but in the long run, if you instruct a solicitor on the Headway list, you will have a better outcome. You need to have someone that has had lots of experience in compensation claims for people with brain injury! i would also advise that you get an advocacy service in as well.

pollyanne profile image
pollyanne

Hi We are in the north west as well and went through the claims procedure but our solicitor was very experienced in TBI injuries(headway verified) and got us a quick and generous compensation payout (took two years all in all -which is quick!!!). It may be wise to recommend changing solicitors as in the long run you could lose a lot of money and you need someone to fight for you and look after your interests. if you email me privately i can give you details

in reply to pollyanne

Hi, I've got a solicitor it's now been 4 years since Injury and about 4 years of the case running, my case is against the local council which have apt more solicitors but thanks

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