UK solicitor sets out how to claim for serious injuries in a high speed motorway car accident collision including severe whiplash, cervical spine disc damage, a dislocated neck, labral tear in the hip, concussion and PTSD
Car accident claim solicitor describes in a question and answer session how your solicitor obtain expert medical evidence to help calculate how much compensation you can claim for serious in injuries in a high speed motorway crash using the example of a victim who has suffered severe whiplash, cervical disc damage, a neck dislocation, a cartilage tear in the hip / labral tear, possible concussion and post traumatic stress disorder.
Motorway car accident victim question
I was had been driving an Audi A4 company car for work – our office is based in Sheffield. I had visited Rotherham and was travelling up the M1 having passed Barnsley and approaching Wakefield when there was a line of traffic up ahead, which seemed to be queuing on the motorway.
Car Accident Neck Claim
I slowed the car down and stopped my vehicle as the vehicles ahead were stationary.
The car driver behind me (in a red Skoda Octavia) did not realise that everyone had come to a halt and drove straight into the back of my vehicle at high speed.
My car was thrown into the car ahead of me. I was knocked unconscious and came too in an ambulance on the way to hospital.
At hospital I was diagnosed with severe whiplash – a damaged cervical disc and a dislocation in my neck with damaged ligaments and nerves.
I also had a severely swollen left hip, but was initially told this was soft tissue injury.
My road to recovery has been slow – but my left hip still caused me pain when my neck problems had abated and after a year of treatment I was x-rayed then scanned (MRI scan) and I was diagnosed with a labral tear, which will require surgery to remedy.
I believe the Skoda driver was prosecuted by the police and accepted that he was distracted using a mobile phone at the time of the accident.
It is over a year since the crash and I now feel able to commence a claim – can you tell me how to go about claiming compensation for my neck injuries and labral tear and how much I will likely be able to claim?
Road traffic accident solicitor response
As a prosecutions has taken place – the issue of liability or who is at fault is largely resolved as the prosecutions and police report can be used in evidence in a civil claim for personal injury and the burden of proof for a criminal claim is far greater than that for a civil matter.
It will still be necessary to prove medical causation – in other words, be able to prove all of the injuries which were caused by the car crash including the labral tear.
To do this you must contact a specialist personal injury solicitor familiar with large value / high quantum claims. A medical expert – most likely an orthopaedic consultant, will be instructed to produce a report describing all your injuries as a result of the accident together with further treatments necessary, recovery periods and potential disabilities.
You have mentioned the severe whiplash, neck dislocation and labral tear in your hip. In addition there could well be concussion symptoms and a psychological element such as PTSD, which need to be explored.
In addition the labral tear operation can leave a patient wheelchair bound for a number of months as the labrum cartilage in the hip will likely be have to be shaved. The labrum holds the top of the thighbone (femur) in place so it is a crucial body part.
The medical expert will also look at your ability to work given your injuries and whether any further absences from work are necessary as a result of a surgical procedure.
Based upon the medical report – your solicitor can then calculate the amount of compensation payout you can receive for the pain and suffering for your injuries together with the amount of financial losses you have suffered with a projection into the future for ongoing expenses and losses. Including lost income, medical expenses, help in the home, etc.
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