Legal advice

Bossyboots

SMC wrote:

Thanks again, it is great to be able to share and compare.

It is indeed.

mattymoo

You both appear to have stumbled upon the pecking order that exists in the medical profession.

Top of the tree is neurologists closely followed by orthopaedic consultants.
Osteopathists come next with people like GP's, physios, chiropractitioners etc barely ranking above herbalists and accupuncturists.

Normally only consultants are engaged in medico legal work and they tend to be quite dismissive of the other medical fields in this area.

SMC_2

Yeah looks like it.

I am just not convinced it is just an orthopaedic that should be assessing me but hey we shall see what happens once I question the lawyer.

hotbod

anybody know anything about medical negligence claims using a insurance company legal cover policy ?

Astaroth

It is probably worth starting a new thread on it hotbod. Medical negligence is going a fair amount beyond my experience but what is the query?

SMC_2

Well I finally got a reply from the lawyer.

She is adamant the insurers won't up their offer on my comments about their person's report without medical evidence. To be honest it is not so much them upping the offer right now that I want, I want them to be told the person they had assess me was useless and the report error filled. Surely they should pay to see someone else?

If they don't go back to the insuers and I want to pursue this she says I would have to be seen by two specialists now, one psychologist and one orthopaedic. Now I have to agree to foot that bill if we can't claim it back from the insurers.

My inclintation is to stand my ground with the lawyer and enclose a copy of a psychologists report I have which proves I am suffering as a result of the accident.

I am so angry, I did nothing wrong, I wasn't the one driving like a maniac, I was minding my own business and the accident happened in front of me.

Bossyboots

SMC wrote:

I am so angry, I did nothing wrong, .................., I was minding my own business and the accident happened ...........

I have got to that stage this week.

Although I have had a minor improvement, my physiotherapist has now said that he believes physio is not the appropriate treatment and that I am going to have to be referred on to the pain clinic. This is likely to mean the only resolution to my pain is going to be injections in my back and shoulder. I have had this done in my foot and it is not a pleasant experience, although admittedly after the first few days I felt the benefit but heaven only knows what the waiting list is like. I will be seeing my physio tomorrow for a review of my treatment from last week but he has already indicated where we are going so I expect him to discharge me. If he confirms what I suspect and that the waiting list is at least six months just to get a first appointment, I will pay to have this done at the local private hospital and add the cost to my claim. I don't see why I should wait another six months for the pain to be relieved when it is someone else's fault.

SMC_2

Bossyboots wrote:

I have got to that stage this week.

Although I have had a minor improvement, my physiotherapist has now said that he believes physio is not the appropriate treatment and that I am going to have to be referred on to the pain clinic. This is likely to mean the only resolution to my pain is going to be injections in my back and shoulder. I have had this done in my foot and it is not a pleasant experience, although admittedly after the first few days I felt the benefit but heaven only knows what the waiting list is like. I will be seeing my physio tomorrow for a review of my treatment from last week but he has already indicated where we are going so I expect him to discharge me. If he confirms what I suspect and that the waiting list is at least six months just to get a first appointment, I will pay to have this done at the local private hospital and add the cost to my claim. I don't see why I should wait another six months for the pain to be relieved when it is someone else's fault.

Thanks is good to know someone else feels the same, was starting to feel I was being unreasonable.

18 months on yeah there is slight improvement, but I am still not sleeping well, suffer from very vivid dreams and nightmares plus still in a lot of pain in my neck, physio helps as the treatment realeases the muscle tension but gradually it all tightens again plus I don't have full movement from the shoulder area. So I can't see an end to the physio treatment so my costs keep going up plus the interference the lack of sleep etc... has on my life overall.

Now my lawyer seems to think I need to pay to have another assessment done, well two, so you could be looking at £2000!!!!! Why should I pay this when the insurers are at fault, getting some awful doctor to assess me and right a report full of lies!!!!

SMC_2

I had an interesting conversation with some one in the medical profession today. They were telling me that one of the things that gets drummed into people about doing Expert Witness is that they should never ever make comment to the patient or in report about any ailments the patient has which they are not qualified for.

This led me to think, how the heck can the insurers get away with getting an orthopaedic surgeon to assess me and he has made endless comments about my health in general but also a great deal on the psychological effects of the accident?

Bossyboots

Hope you are getting things sorted SMC.

I just thought I would update you with the lasted piece of crass stupidity inflicted on me.

I received an e-mail from my solicitor telling me that my physio notes start in June 05 and end in July 05 and that there is no mention of treatment for accident injuries. It mentions a shoulder problem and the expert has pointed out to her that I had claimed not have any previous shoulder problems. I was advised on the effect of pre-existing conditions on my claim.

The fact is, I did not have the physio treatment in those notes but rather than realise they have made a mistake, they have effectively accused me of lying. They are now blaming the hospital for the error but taking no responsibility for the fact that just looking at the notes should have made them realise something was amiss, even if another patient's details had been entered onto my records.

I cannot describe how angry and upset I am. I have made a complaint to my legal expenses insurer and am awaiting hearing back as to where we go from here.