Boyes Turner’s personal injury solicitors secured a £55,000 settlement for a passenger after an RTA collision caused PTSD and an exacerbation of their existing functional neurological disorder (FND). Our client was a seat-belted passenger in an Uber taxi travelling on the M25, when their vehicle was hit from behind by the defendant driver’s speeding car. Our client was taken by ambulance to hospital. They suffered minor traumatic injuries, including minor head injury and whiplash, with ongoing symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and functional neurological disorder (FND). Our client approached us after being advised during their direct contact with the defendant driver’s insurers that they needed their own solicitor. We helped our client pursue their claim and received an admission of liability. Causation of injury complicated by pre-existing medical history of FND Prior to the accident, our client already had an extensive and complex medical history involving hospital attendances and diagnoses relating to episodes of FND, severe chronic pain, non-epileptic attack disorder, postural tachycardia syndrome (PoTS) and PTSD. We advised our client that their claim would be limited to compensation for injuries that we could prove were caused by the crash and that, from our experience of successful claims involving FND, we anticipated challenges arising from their complex medical history. Our client’s medical and mental health conditions had also affected their pre-accident employment stability, making it difficult to establish a claim for loss of earnings. PTSD exacerbated claimant’s pre-existing FND with adverse effect on function Our client understood our advice and trusted our expertise and took a pragmatic approach to the claim. On that basis, we proceeded with valuation of the claim and worked closely with our client and FND-specialist neurology and neuropsychiatry experts to identify and understand the injury that our client had suffered from the collision. Our experts were clear that the accident had caused PTSD and a moderate-to-severe depressive disorder which exacerbated our client’s pre-accident symptoms of FND and bodily distress disorder (BDD). This resulted in a more urgent need for more intensive and more complex treatment than they would have needed if the collision had not occurred. It also led to new problems with social isolation and had an adverse impact on our client’s function, resulting in their need for family support with domestic tasks and activities, in circumstances where they had previously been independent. Once we had a clear understanding of our client’s injury and financial loss, we entered into negotiations with the defendant driver’s insurers. We secured a compensation settlement of £55,000 for our client, without the need for court proceedings. If you have suffered serious injury in an accident at work, on the road or on public or commercial premises, you can find out more about how we can help you obtain rehabilitation and compensation by contacting our specialist solicitors.
