Compensation of permanent tinnitus after whiplash

robiee4u

I had a whiplash accident while I was a passenger in a car in 2011. I had whiplash related symptoms which disappeared but the accident caused moderate tinnitus which still persists.

The tinnitus had a huge impact on my life first couple of years but I have accepted it as a lifelong condition and kind of learnt to live with it. The ringing noise of the tinnitus does effect on the quality of my life though. Co-operative legal services have been dealing with my case since the beginning. The main problem is that the ENT specialist that I been referred many times has been reluctant to provide a prognosis as he said there is no way to tell if tinnitus exists and how long it may last. However, at last, has agreed to provide an estimated recovery period of 5 years on the basis that in his 35 year experience once litigation has concluded he often finds that clients will soon after make a full recovery.

The solicitor at Co-Op legal is leaving me no choice but to accept this and allow him to make the claim based on 5 years of sufferings while I am still suffering the tinnitus and I believe this is a lifelong symptom.
They also suggested that the total amount of claim will not be much different even if were able to prove the symptoms is life long.

They are proposing to claim £11K as compensation to me and 1K for my personal losses.

Should the compensation figure not be significantly higher than what they are proposing if the actual situation can be established that my condition is life long?
What should i do as the co-op legal service thinks that the court/judge will not like choosing another specialist for second opinion?

Is it worth moving to another solicitors, any suggestion or sharing of your experience will be really appreciated.

Many thanks.

straighttalker

How do you know the tinnitus will be life long? Do you have some sort of a crystal ball? Are you saying that the symptoms will be there for the rest of your life so that you get a bigger payout?

If you're not happy, don't settle the claim and don't take any money until you're happy that the symptoms have resolved. Get your solicitors to issue protective proceeedings, stay them and then when you're on your deathbed, get one final medical examination to see if the tinnitus is still there. If it is, the damages will be enjoyed by your remaining estate.

m0bov

Did the airbag go off?

AdrianC

robiee4u wrote: »

The main problem is that the ENT specialist that I been referred many times has been reluctant to provide a prognosis as he said there is no way to tell if tinnitus exists and how long it may last. However, at last, has agreed to provide an estimated recovery period of 5 years on the basis that in his 35 year experience once litigation has concluded he often finds that clients will soon after make a full recovery.

In other words, he doesn't believe you.

Is it worth moving to another solicitors

It sounds as if you need another consultant, not another solicitor.

If your consultant doesn't believe you really are suffering tinnitus as a direct and provable result of this collision, then your solicitors are going to get taken apart by the insurer's solicitors if it ever gets to court.

dannyrst

If you can't prove that you suffer from this now, how will you convince anyone that it will remain for the rest of your life?

BeenThroughItAll

dannyrst wrote: »

If you can't prove that you suffer from this now, how will you convince anyone that it will remain for the rest of your life?

Exactly, and therein lies the problem with tinnitus. I suffer from it in my left ear - have done since I was messing with fireworks as a young lad over 25 years ago (I know, I know!) and one went off in close proximity to my head.


It's constantly there, and if I concentrate on it, it becomes deafening. I can ignore it much of the time, but it's always there.


It's damned frustrating though that no-one else can hear it, so a lot of people don't understand.

OnanTheBarbarian

These are judicial guidelines for tinnitus valuation
(d) Partial Hearing Loss or/and Tinnitus
This category covers the bulk of deafness cases which usually result from exposure to noise over a prolonged period. The disability is not to be judged simply by the degree of hearing loss; there is often a degree of tinnitus present. Age is particularly relevant because impairment of hearing affects most people in the fullness of time and impacts both upon causation and upon valuation.
(i) Severe tinnitus and hearing loss.
£21,800 to £33,500

(ii) Moderate tinnitus and hearing loss or moderate to severe tinnitus or hearing loss alone.
£11,000 to £21,800

(iii) Mild tinnitus with some hearing loss.
£9,250 to £11,000

(iv) Slight or occasional tinnitus with slight hearing loss
£5,400 to £9,250

(v) Slight hearing loss without tinnitus or slight tinnitus without hearing loss.
up to £5,150

The issue you face is the expert opinion. Due to the age of your accident you must already be in litigation and no doubt have court directions to follow as far as the timing for service of expert reports and opinion.

You of course retain a right of privilege on whether an expert report is disclosed, but going "expert shopping" for a potentially more favourable opinion from another ENT consultant has risk as to whether they could come to the same opinion, the costs of reports you don't disclose being taken out of your damages payment and also whether your solicitors would maybe need to make an application for variation of the current court directions to be permitted to rely on additional expert evidence.

colino

I know a couple of people who developed tinnitus (not from car accidents, one from working in heavy industry, the other, "just one of those things") and while their conditions may have changed over the years, theirs haven't gone away, nor are they likely to. A Consultant saying, "in his 35 year experience once litigation has concluded he often finds that clients will soon after make a full recovery." Is as close to saying you are faking it, without him saying you are faking it.
Personal injuries need an envelope to work within so they need an estimate of how this is effecting you to make sure there will not be an attempted, subsequent claim.
You either find another consultant or settle on the current information.

straighttalker

OnanTheBarbarian wrote: »

These are judicial guidelines for tinnitus valuation
(d) Partial Hearing Loss or/and Tinnitus
This category covers the bulk of deafness cases which usually result from exposure to noise over a prolonged period. The disability is not to be judged simply by the degree of hearing loss; there is often a degree of tinnitus present. Age is particularly relevant because impairment of hearing affects most people in the fullness of time and impacts both upon causation and upon valuation.
(i) Severe tinnitus and hearing loss.
£21,800 to £33,500

(ii) Moderate tinnitus and hearing loss or moderate to severe tinnitus or hearing loss alone.
£11,000 to £21,800

(iii) Mild tinnitus with some hearing loss.
£9,250 to £11,000

(iv) Slight or occasional tinnitus with slight hearing loss
£5,400 to £9,250

(v) Slight hearing loss without tinnitus or slight tinnitus without hearing loss.
up to £5,150

The issue you face is the expert opinion. Due to the age of your accident you must already be in litigation and no doubt have court directions to follow as far as the timing for service of expert reports and opinion.

You of course retain a right of privilege on whether an expert report is disclosed, but going "expert shopping" for a potentially more favourable opinion from another ENT consultant has risk as to whether they could come to the same opinion, the costs of reports you don't disclose being taken out of your damages payment and also whether your solicitors would maybe need to make an application for variation of the current court directions to be permitted to rely on additional expert evidence.

OP wants £33,500 and not a penny less.

aeroblade

BeenThroughItAll wrote: »

Exactly, and therein lies the problem with tinnitus. I suffer from it in my left ear - have done since I was messing with fireworks as a young lad over 25 years ago (I know, I know!) and one went off in close proximity to my head.


It's constantly there, and if I concentrate on it, it becomes deafening. I can ignore it much of the time, but it's always there.


It's damned frustrating though that no-one else can hear it, so a lot of people don't understand.

Reading previous posts you also owned thuggish cars in your younger years so I'm honestly not surprised about this whole fireworks stunt.

Gloomendoom

straighttalker wrote: »

OP wants £33,500 and not a penny less.

I'm still unclear as to how any money can actually help though.

£1 or £1,000,000, it won't make a blind bit of difference.