Rehabilitation in serious injury claims

Rehabilitation or ‘rehab’ is the process of restoring someone back to health and normal life, as far as is possible, through training and therapy. Ideally, rehab should follow as soon as possible after the immediate or ‘acute’ medical or surgical hospital/NHS treatment which follows a traumatic injury. If we are instructed early enough, we can often arrange a seamless transfer from acute care to rehab, to maintain and build on the healing that has begun to take place and maximise the potential for recovery.

Each client’s rehab will be individual to them, depending on the extent, type, severity and complexity of their injuries. Head injury and major trauma usually involve a multidisciplinary approach to coordinate the many different treatments needed for physical, neurological and psychological recovery. Amputation often requires physical, prosthetic, pain management and psychological expertise, whereas rehabilitation for someone with PTSD but no physical injury will focus on psychiatric or psychological needs.

Rehabilitation goes far beyond ‘fixing’ a physical or psychological injury. Life will be different after a serious injury, but for many, it can still be fulfilling. In many cases, rehabilitation can help our disabled clients access education, live independently or return to work.  

Our seriously injured clients often benefit from rehabilitation for:

• Physical injury and disability, including:
  • surgery or medical treatment
  • pain management
  • personalised prosthetics
  • physiotherapy
  • occupational therapy (OT)
  • speech and language therapy
  • hydrotherapy
  • assistive technology
  • specialist equipment

• Psychological effect of injury, Including:
  • counselling
  • CBT or other therapies

• Financial implications of injury, including:
  • vocational rehabilitation
  • assistive technology
  • support

• Mental, intellectual or cognitive effect of the injury, including:
  • support with special educational needs
  • assistive technology
  • educational psychology  
• Home, family and social life, including:
  • supported independent living
  • adapted vehicles
  • home adaptations or alternative accommodation if existing home cannot be adapted
  • psychological support for the family

We have secured rehabilitation and compensation for clients who have suffered severe injuries, including:

• brain injury
• spinal injury
• amputation
• major trauma, multiple injury or complex trauma
• severe orthopaedic injury
• PTSD and other serious psychological injury
• chronic pain and complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS)
• blindness or hearing loss

In the majority of our serious injury claims we are able to obtain funding for our client’s rehab from the defendant’s insurer.

We aim to secure rehab funding as soon as possible after the injury to avoid any delay or gaps in our client’s treatment between NHS acute care and rehab.

Where possible, we work collaboratively with the insurer under The Rehabilitation Code 2015 to ensure our client’s needs are met, whilst acting in our client’s best interests, and supporting their family, at all times. The Rehabilitation Code encourages injury claims lawyers and defendant insurers to prioritise the injured person’s rehab in any compensation claim.

If an insurer unreasonably refuses or delays responding to our request for rehabilitation funding, we escalate our request to someone with higher authority within the insurance company, following The Serious Injury Guide. This ensures that our request for rehab funding is considered quickly by someone within the insurance company who has authority to take action. In most cases where the defendant’s liability for our client’s injury is clear, we are able to get our client’s needs assessed and their rehab underway with Rehabilitation Code insurer funding.

Occasionally, if full liability for our client’s injury is strongly disputed by the defendant, the insurer may refuse to provide Rehabilitation Code funding but agree to make an interim payment.

An interim payment is a part payment of compensation paid to the claimant in advance. The client can use their interim payment to pay for their rehabilitation.

The advantage of Rehabilitation Code funding is that it is always paid in full. Interim payments are advance payments of part of the final settlement, which may be reduced (discounted) for risks, such as contributory negligence. A discounted final settlement reduces each part of the compensation recovered by amount of the discount. This includes any rehab costs paid from interim payments. We believe that rehabilitation should always be a priority.  In our experience, we usually recover our clients’ reasonable past rehab costs, along with the rest of their compensation, in their final settlements.

Rehabilitation following serious injury is a lifelong process. It’s rarely ‘all done’ in the first few months or years following the accident. Clients may need ongoing help to adapt to changes in life circumstances, house moves, jobs, prosthetics or ongoing counselling and therapy during tough times. We keep our clients’ rehab needs under review throughout their claim and ensure that their settlement provides for any ongoing or further rehab that they will need in future.

Throughout our care of our client, our experienced solicitors can help ensure that our clients receive their full entitlement to benefits and social care.

Recovery is better and faster with early rehabilitation. The injured person has the best chance of regaining more function and independence if rehab continues on, without interruption, from the acute medical care which follows the traumatic injury.  

Instructing us as soon as possible after the accident enables us to:

• carry out a full assessment of the injured person’s rehabilitation needs before they leave hospital;
• secure defendant insurer funding sooner and liaise with them throughout;
• ensure a seamless transition from acute care to rehabilitation, to keep the recovery momentum going;
• appoint a skilled case manager to coordinate, facilitate, communicate and support the family through the rehabilitation
• ensure the injured client’s best interests are met throughout their NHS treatment and rehabilitation;
• support the family with being heard and decision making at multidisciplinary team meetings;
• help the family plan for the injured client’s future needs, such as care and support, independent living, therapies, equipment and home adaptations;
• support assessments of the client’s ability to return (supported if necessary) to school, university, work or independent living;
• help the client try out technology, prostheses, return to work, therapies and independent or supported living, to ensure that their compensation settlement is realistic and fully meets their lifelong needs.

This approach gives the injured client:

• access to the rehabilitation and support that they need, when they need it;
• the best chance of maximising recovery and ongoing quality of life;
• full compensation which properly meets their lifelong needs.

Rehabilitation does not replace compensation. Rehabilitation maximises recovery. Clients who participate fully in their own rehabilitation and recovery go on to live more meaningful and fulfilling lives with the help of compensation. Those who have not reached a level of recovery where they can benefit from available help do not receive the highest amount of compensation.

Compensation is not a random lottery win/windfall. Despite the impression given by the media, compensation is carefully calculated for each individual according to rules that are set by law.

In a major injury claim, most of the compensation reflects the costs of meeting the injured person’s needs arising from their new disability. The greater the recovery, the more the client can use compensation, to access help, support, technology and other assistance to live an independent or meaningful life. Whichever way you look at it, it is in our clients’ best interests to help them make the best recovery. We do this through rehabilitation. 

Disability and other consequences of a severe injury affect the injured person for the rest of their life. Our commitment to rehabilitation comes from our experience of working with seriously injured clients. Our clients receive full compensation, but many also regain more than money alone can provide – restored independence, fulfilment, and the ability to participate in whatever’s important to them in life.

We understand severe and complex injury. Our clients have suffered severe physical and psychological injury, which is often made worse by chronic pain and fear for the future. Their recovery and their claims need experienced management to ensure that they receive their rehab at a time and in a way that is most effective, with proper support.

We are experienced at securing substantial and timely rehab funding to meet our clients’ needs. We have the skills and the persistence to ensure that our clients’ needs are met.

We also understand the impact that a sudden, severe injury has on other members of the family. Our compassionate and experienced lawyers have supported the parents, partners and children of our injured clients through the toughest of situations.

Our process for securing our client’s rehab begins as soon as we are instructed to investigate and pursue our client’s claim. This involves:

• alerting the defendant’s insurer, to our client’s injury, their need for rehabilitation and the insurer’s responsibility to compensate them and provide immediate rehabilitation funding;
• securing an agreement from the insurer to fund the client’s rehabilitation;
• appointing an experienced case manager to carry out an immediate needs assessment (INA);
• reviewing the INA recommendations and securing insurer funding to put the rehabilitation plan into action;
• supporting the rehabilitation by attending multidisciplinary team meetings with the client or their family;
• reviewing and obtaining regular reports on the client’s progress;
• liaising with the insurer to ensure that funds are available for each stage of the rehabilitation;

• supporting the client’s move from rehab to home or supported independent living.

Like any complicated project, rehabilitation should be carefully planned, properly funded and coordinated to achieve the best outcome from the available resources. Our specialist lawyers work with trusted case managers, medical experts and the client’s family, and with the funding insurer, to ensure that our client’s rehab needs are fully and quickly met