Rehabilitation plays a key part in aiding the recovery period for clients who have suffered due to personal injury. As part of the claims process your file handler, most often with the help of an independent medical expert, will assess your injuries and/or illness and advise on what rehabilitation is needed to speed up your recovery. The cost of any rehab treatment will also be taken into consideration when quantifying your claim.

The aim is to give clients their independence back following injury or illness. It can include:

• Providing medical treatment and therapy.
• Providing additional aids and adaptations to help injured people to do their day to day tasks.

Rehabilitation can take many different forms. The type of treatment will depend on each individual case but can typically involve:

Minor Injuries: – Sprains and muscle strain/bruising/shallow cuts or abrasions.

• Physiotherapy
• Psychological treatment

Moderate Injuries: – Temporary or remediable injuries such as broken bones.

• Surgery
• Physiotherapy
• Psychological treatment
• Occupational therapy
• Domestic help

Serious injury: – Life changing injury such as head, brain or spinal injury and limb loss.

It often entails all of the above for complex, life changing injuries including:

• Prosthetics (in amputation cases)
• Aids and equipment
• Home adaptations – such as handrails, widening of door frames, stair lifts etc.
• Vehicle adaptations
• Speech and language therapy
• Support workers
• Neuropsychological help
• Accommodation needs

True Solicitors are able to get you access to private rehab, which is likely to be quicker than through the NHS, which often has long waiting lists for treatment.

Brain injuries can be unique and difficult continuous problems both physical and mental. Brain cells cannot regenerate once they are damaged, making a full recovery more difficult. 

As part of the brain injury claim, we will arrange a medical assessment of your injuries to recommend any treatment and rehabilitation you need to help you live with your brain injury. 

The below treatment could be instructed: 

Physiotherapy: To help you to recover coordination and power 

Speech therapy: Your brain injury may have had an impact on how you can speak, eat, drink and swallow. Speech therapy will help you to be able to communicate again 

Occupational therapy: Your home will be assessed by an occupational therapist and adapted to help you manage your brain injury. They will also come up with practical ways to help you to organise your day and minimise the impact your brain injury has had on your short-term memory 

Psychological therapy: To support your mental health following a brain injury we could provide psychological therapy to help you come to terms with your injury and a new way of living as well as managing stress and anger

The Personal Injury Pre Action Protocol outlines the Rehabilitation Code. The code is in place to ‘help the injured claimant make the best and quickest possible medical, social, vocational and psychological recovery.’ The aim of the code is to get the claimant and the defendant’s solicitors to work together to ensure that the injured party receives treatment as early on in the process as possible. The rehabilitation treatment is paid for by the defendant.

Interim payments are used to cover the costs of rehabilitation before the final settlement is calculated. As personal injury claims can go on for several months to even years, it is essential that the client’s treatment needs are addressed as early on as possible to ensure that they make as best a recovery as they can.

If the third party’s insurer admits liability then they will cover the costs of the interim payments. If the insurer denies responsibility then your solicitor may need to start court proceedings to decide if the insurer is required to pay and what amount.