Mrs M was involved in an accident at work in 2005. She instructed Mr Richard Gayton of Forster Dean immediately to help her pursue a claim for personal injury and losses she suffered as a result of her accident.
Mrs M was employed by a well known supermarket on a part time basis when her accident occurred. She had previously worked in engineering and had taken steps to re-enter that field. Unfortunately Mrs M slipped on a spillage of washing up liquid whilst working at the deli counter, landing heavily on her back. Despite significant treatment, her injuries continued to worsen and unfortunately Mrs M has never been able to return to work.
Mr Gayton fought extremely hard to ensure that the Defendant accepted liability for the accident. However, they did not accept that this accident was the cause of her ever worsening symptoms.
Mr Gayton therefore sought specialist medical evidence which indicated that under normal circumstances, the physical injuries suffered should resolve within 2 years of the accident, but as it was now over 2 years since the accident, it was apparent that there were other issues that needed to be investigated.
As such, Mr Gayton obtained a report from a Clinical Psychologist. This report concluded that Mrs M was suffering from Chronic Pain Syndrome as a direct result of this accident. Chronic Pain Syndrome is an extremely complex condition, which is still relatively new in medical and legal circles. There is no clear definition of the syndrome, but essentially it is when a person remains in significant pain despite the fact that any physical pain should have passed. As the experts in this case referred to it, there is “no organic reason” for the person to still be suffering pain. The pain being suffered is however, very real.
In light of this evidence, the Defendant sought their own medical evidence. This led them to instruct their own specialist Pain Consultant. This medical report was not disclosed to Forster Dean, despite multiple requests and extensions granted by the Court to do so.
The Defendant then applied to Court for permission to obtain a further report from a different expert. Mr Gayton opposed this, knowing that the Defendant would be forced to disclose their original medical report. The Court agreed with Mr Gayton and instructed the Defendant to disclose their report. As Mr Gayton expected, their report agreed with the conclusions reached by Mrs M’s expert, in that she was suffering from Chronic Pain Syndrome as a direct result of the accident.
Still refusing to accept this, the Defendant sought a further report from a Clinical Psychiatrist, which reached a different conclusion. They believed that Mrs M was suffering from somatisation, implying that Mrs M was hysterical and had a history of seeking treatment for illnesses and conditions that had no obvious explanation. Neither Mr Gayton nor Mrs M accepted this conclusion. Mrs M in particular felt considerable anger at what she deemed to be the Defendant calling her a liar.
Mr Gayton believed Mrs M had a strong case with supporting medical evidence and refused to give up on her claim. He had been fighting for almost 7 years and as the Defendant still refused to accept that all of Mrs M’s symptoms were caused by her accident, Mr Gayton issued Court proceedings and a trial date was set for May 2012.
Prior to the trial both Mr Gayton and the Defendant attempted to negotiate a settlement. Following long negotiations, Mr Gayton convinced the Defendant to realise that a Court was extremely likely to find in Mrs M’s favour. Therefore whilst not conceding their position, the Defendant eventually made an offer of £500,000.00, which Mr Gayton felt able to advise Mrs M to accept.
After 7 years of hard work, both Mr Gayton and Mrs M were delighted at the successful outcome.
