Treatment and Therapies after a Serious Injury

Those early weeks and months after a serious injury can be hugely challenging for both the injured person and their family. Many questions need answering and whilst a compensation claim may follow, the initial focus should, and will, be on rehabilitation and ongoing therapies.

Our specialist team of Serious Injury lawyers follow the Rehabilitation Code of Practice which is a framework agreed by both the claimant’s lawyer and the defendant (the insurer) which puts the needs of the injured party at the forefront of the claims process.

The injured party’s need for their rehabilitation to be fully assessed, and addressed, is our priority, and you can be assured that our specialist lawyers are skilled at working with a wide range of clinicians to deliver these services. 

Once the acute healing phase is complete, ongoing assessment will determine if further rehabilitation is required, with a focus on mobilisation and day-to-day needs such as washing, dressing, and eating.

A carefully thought-out and implemented programme of rehabilitation ensures the best outcomes for physical, psychological and social recovery following trauma. In addition, you may require ongoing support for psychological rehabilitation.

Rehabilitation does not necessarily need to be carried out in an acute hospital setting but is more likely to be facilitated by a specialist rehabilitation centre or through outpatient appointments. Rehabilitation therapies may also be supported at home, or through residential transitional living. Our forward-thinking lawyers will work with you and with other relevant professionals, including professionals including physiotherapists and occupational therapists, to deliver for you a programme that suits your needs and which will achieve for you the best possible outcome, so that you can move forward with your life.

For those who need to spend a significant period of time recovering in a rehabilitation centre, following discharge from an acute trauma ward, homes can be adapted during that period which will assist with speedier hospital discharge.

We would also seek to appointment a case manager, a professional who arranges a collaborative and co-ordinated programme between you and your family and the health and social services experts.

Our years of experience also mean we are very aware that money may be an issue when you, or a loved one, is unexpectedly seriously injured.  Often someone is too ill to manage their own financial affairs, particularly in the early weeks, post injury.

The Power of Five

If someone is too ill to manage their own financial affairs or make decisions about their health and welfare then they will need a mental capacity assessment, which needs to be made by a doctor or a mental health trained practitioner.

In many cases of Serious Injury, we work closely with our expert colleagues in our Court of Protection department, because following a traumatic injury a person’s capacity may well change, and even return, as they recover. Where there is lasting brain injury, the Court of Protection will need to appoint a financial Deputy who will assist with managing financial matters.

When someone is over 18, retains mental capacity but decides that as they are too unwell to deal with their finances, it is possible they will wish to ask someone else to make decisions for them, a Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) can be drawn up.

If you would like to discuss any of the issues raised here, please contact the Serious Injury team on 03333 058375 or email SeriousInjury@psg-law.co.uk

Read our Serious Injury Claims FAQs