Personal Injury Medical Reports – A Guide

If you’ve suffered a personal injury and want to make a claim for compensation then there’s a good chance you’ll need a medical report as part of the evidence for your claim. A successful personal injury compensation claim involves showing that you were injured as a result of another party being negligent.

This could involve a road traffic accident, a slip, trip or fall in the workplace or a case of medical negligence. No matter how your injuries happened, a medical report from an independent expert could establish how you’ve been impacted and what the prognosis for any future recovery is.

In this guide we’ll explain what medical reports are, why they are generally needed for personal injury claims and what the process of having a medical report produced involves.

If you’ve been injured and think it might have happened because someone else was negligent then contact Truth Legal today to find out if you could claim compensation.

What is a Medical Report?

A medical report of some kind is needed for virtually all personal injury claims. It will be written by an independent medical expert, and will provide proof of the nature and severity of the injuries you suffered.

Medical reports also include details relevant to your claim such as pre-existing conditions, medical treatment already received and recommended for the future, and the prognosis for any recovery. The report could also give details of the impact your injuries have had on your ability to work or pursue everyday activities.

In claims based on more serious or complex injuries you may need to have more than one medical report produced, with input from a range of specialists. Any medical report will then be included when we submit your claim to the other party in your case.

How long does a medical assessment last and how many appointments will I need to attend?

Medical assessments used to produce medical reports usually take around 20 minutes to complete, although more complex injuries might need an assessment that takes from 30 minutes to an hour. The team at Truth legal will use their experience of personal injury claims similar to yours to estimate how long your assessment is likely to take before you attend the appointment.

More serious and complex injuries, perhaps involving multiple parts of your body, may require more than one medical assessment, sometimes with specialists in particular fields of medicine, in order to build the fullest possible picture of your injuries. More than one assessment may be needed to establish what your future care requirements are likely to be, for example.

What sort of medical information will I be required to disclose?

The medical information you will be required to disclose during an assessment will include the following:

• Details of the injuries you suffered.
• Your medical history and in particular any past or pre-existing medical conditions.
• Details regarding the pain caused by your injuries.
• Details of how your injuries impact on your mobility.
• Information regarding any treatment you have had for your injuries and how you have responded.
• Details of the impact the injury has had on your life, including the psychological impact – i.e. have your injuries caused stress or anxiety.
• In some cases the practitioner might ask for details of the accident which caused your injuries.

The practitioner carrying out the medical assessment will only ask questions which are relevant to your injuries, and this will include any existing conditions which might have been made worse or which are relevant to how the injuries have impacted you. You will only be asked to undress if the nature of your injuries makes it necessary.

All of the information you provide during the medical assessment is confidential, and will only be shared with other parties if you give permission.

Who performs medical examinations?

Once we are confident that your personal injury claim will be successful we will arrange a medical examination with the appropriate medical practitioner, often through a medical agency. The expert we choose will depend upon the nature of your injuries. In whiplash claims, for example, claimants are usually assessed by a GP, while more complex cases require the attention of a specialist in particular areas.

If you have suffered injuries involving fractures, for example, you will generally be assessed by a consultant orthopaedic surgeon, while head injuries might need to be assessed by a consultant neurologist. In more complex cases you might have to be assessed by multiple specialists.

Can I decide who performs the Examination?

No, you can’t decide who performs the examination as the medical report has to be produced by an impartial expert. Our experience of making successful personal injury claims means that we understand exactly what type of medical expertise is required for each type of injury, and whether you’ll need more than one medical assessment.

As well as choosing the right expert to report on the injuries you suffered we will try to make sure you are assessed by a medical professional who is based as close as possible to where you live. We understand how stressful making a claim while recovering from an injury can seem, and so we try to keep things as simple as possible.

If you have to drive or take public transport to your medical assessment you will be able to include the travel expenses in the final amount you claim as compensation.

Can my solicitor decide who performs the examination?

Yes, your solicitor can decide who performs the examination providing they make the selection from a list of approved, independent medical report providers. The medical professional in question has to have the right accreditation to write a medical report, as well as having the specialist expertise that might be needed to understand and comment on your specific injuries.

Does the other party’s solicitor have a say in who performs the examination?

No, the other party’s solicitor doesn’t have a say in who performs the medical examination. In some claims, however, particularly those with more complex injuries which are likely to increase any compensation awarded, the other party’s solicitor may instruct their own experts to carry out a medical assessment.

The expert chosen will once again have to be an impartial, accredited medical practitioner, and the examination itself will proceed along the same lines as any other. If the two experts have differing opinions and the claim is likely to be high value then they may well meet to prepare a joint report setting out the areas in which they agree and disagree.

If the case is settled in court then the medical experts responsible for your medical reports will generally be asked to attend to give evidence on your injuries, the prognosis for recovery and any care or medical requirements likely in the future. The court will then use this evidence to help decide a fair compensation payment.

Why is a medical report needed for personal injury claims?

A medical report is needed for personal injury claims because it acts as formal proof of the fact that your injuries are genuine, as well as setting out the extent and impact of those injuries and an impartial view of your chances of recovering. A detailed and independent medical report will also set out the following:

• The effect the injury has had on things like your mobility, sight and hearing.
• The impact your injuries will have on your ability to return to work.
• The treatment your injuries have needed and how you have responded to that treatment.
• An account of how the injuries have impacted your day to day life.
• Whether you are expected to require treatment for your injuries in the future.
• Whether your injuries are such that your treatment will have a care component.

Once they have a detailed medical report of this kind the experts at Truth Legal will know exactly how much to claim in damages on the basis of the injuries you’ve suffered. It will also help if there is a delay in reaching a final compensation settlement and we apply for interim payments to help with your recovery and care needs in the meantime.

In some cases the other party may make what is known as a pre-med offer before a medical report has been produced. This is usually done in the hope that you’ll accept a lower compensation payment to get the claim settled quickly.

We always advise our clients to wait until they have a medical report and, with it, a full picture of the extent of their injuries and the likely impact they will have in the future. Armed with this knowledge we can work to claim 100% of the compensation you are entitled to.

How is a medical report used in a case?

Once we have an impartial medical report that you have checked and approved, we will be able to make a provisional estimate of the amount of compensation we think you are entitled to. This will only cover what are called ‘general damages’, which relate directly to your injuries and the physical and psychological distress they have caused.

The rest of any compensation payment will consist of ‘special damages’ paid to cover the financial impact of your injuries. As well as helping us to claim the right amount of compensation on your behalf, a copy of your medical report will be included when we submit your claim to the other party.

Providing the report is detailed and reflects the nature and severity of your injuries, as well as being consistent with your own account of those injuries, it will help to make your claim as strong as possible.

How can a medical report help you win a case?

A medical report can help you win a case by providing an expert, impartial account of how you have been injured and the impact those injuries have had and are likely to have in the future. The key to making a successful personal injury claim lies in gathering enough of the right evidence to back up your account of what happened to you.

This evidence will need to prove how you were injured, how severe your injuries are and what the prognosis for any recovery is. While your own account and statements from other witnesses will help to build your claim, a medical report will show the following:

• If your injuries are consistent with the accident which you claim caused them.
• Whether you have any existing conditions or illnesses which will be made worse by the injuries.
• How the injuries have impacted on things like your mobility and ability to perform basic tasks.

While we understand that you may feel anxious about having to undergo a medical examination as part of your claim we know from experience just how useful an impartial, expert viewpoint can be when it comes to showing that your account of what happened is the truth. As well as helping to prove that your injuries were the result of negligence, a medical report can maximise the compensation awarded by clearly setting out the scale of the impact those injuries have had.

How do I ensure my medical report is correct and avoid issues with the process?

In order to ensure that your medical report is correct and avoids any of the potential risks outlined above you should prepare in advance with the team at Truth Legal. Our broad experience of all types of personal injury claims means that we’ll be able to provide you with the advice needed to get the most out of the process.

Our ultimate aim is for every personal injury client with a medical report to come away with a document which helps to make their compensation claim as strong as possible. In order to maximise the chances of this we advise the following:

• Be completely honest when giving an account of the accident which caused your injuries, and provide full details of the physical and psychological impact the injuries have had on you. Never worry that you are providing ‘too much’ information when it comes to explaining how your day to day life has been affected.
• Provide documentation such as treatment notes, medical records and any reports relating to your injuries from other healthcare practitioners
• Be completely transparent and honest about any pre-existing medical conditions. If something you fail to mention emerges at a later date it could damage the credibility of your claim.
• Keep a detailed journal from the date of the accident, setting out things like the levels of pain you are in, the symptoms of your injuries and the impact they have had on your work, social and family life. Take this journal to the medical examination to ensure you don’t miss any important details.

Once the report has been completed and sent to us we will go through it in detail with you to check the following:

• Are there any factual errors, from your name, address and date of birth through to the description of the accident your injuries and the on-going impact they have had?
• Is anything in the report inaccurate? This could be even a small detail such as which finger was injured or which tooth knocked out, as any inconsistencies could damage your claim further on in the process.

If you spot any mistakes or disagree with anything in the report point it out to the team at Truth Legal. If needed, we can formally ask the medical expert to correct factual errors or deal with obvious omissions.

Can I make a personal injury claim without a medical report?

Although you can technically make a personal injury claim without submitting a medical report it would be extremely risky to do so. In order for a compensation claim to be successful the evidence submitted needs to consist of more than just your own personal account.

An impartial report from a medical expert which backs up your account of your injuries is, by some distance, the strongest evidence you could present in terms of the injuries as they are and what the long term impact is likely to be. In the case of minor injuries which heal in a few weeks a letter from your GP may be sufficient, but anything more long lasting and significant will require more detailed expert input.

On what grounds can a Medical Report be challenged?

You can challenge a medical report on the following grounds:

• The account of the accident contained in the report is incorrect.
• Your injuries are incorrectly reported or are not mentioned in the report at all.
• Details of the impact of your injuries on your day to day life are missing or incomplete.
• Some or all of the treatment you had received up to the time of the medical examination is omitted from the report.
• The report has findings which are not consistent with your own medical records – i.e. injuries that have previously been diagnosed are not mentioned.
• The report fails to take into account pre-existing injuries or conditions which might impact on immediate effect of the injuries or the long term prognosis.
• The report contains findings which are outside the field of expertise of the medical practitioner involved – such as an orthopaedic consultant making judgements on the psychological impact of an injury.
• The report contains findings which are merely opinions, rather than being supported by clinical evidence or data. 

It should be noted that you can’t challenge a medical report merely on the basis that you don’t agree with what it says, without being able to point out specific errors or omissions.

If the challenge is rejected…

If your challenge to a medical report is rejected then you have the following options:

• You can accept the report as it is and continue with your claim
• You can seek a second opinion from another medical professional. Although we handle personal injury claims on a no win no fee basis a second opinion after a challenge to a medical report has been rejected would usually have to be funded by the client in the first instance.

If the claim is then successful you may be able to recover the costs of a second opinion of this kind from the other party.

• You can strengthen your claim by seeking other evidence to back up your account of what happened. This could include witness statements, any photographs, videos or footage relating to the accident and medical records and notes from your GP, specialists you might have seen and, in some cases, the paramedics or other emergency services attending an accident.
• You could choose to wait to see if the prognosis given in the report is accurate. This would mean waiting to see if you recover in the time predicted in the report.

If the symptoms of your injuries persist beyond this timeframe then you could seek a further medical report. The downside to this tactic is that it could significantly delay any possible settlement.

If the challenge is successful…

If the challenge to your medical report is successful on the basis of a factual error such as the wrong injured limb being identified then the medical expert will correct the report. Working with Truth Legal means working with a specialist personal injury solicitor able to spot factual errors or details which have been omitted and knowing how to get them corrected.

You should never be tempted to alter the details of a medical report yourself, no matter how clear an error is, as any changes needed to be made in the form of official amendments, while any omitted information has to be added as an official addendum. Altering a report in any other way could be highly damaging to your compensation claim as a whole.

Should I hire a solicitor to help with medical reports and assessments?

Yes, you should hire a solicitor to help with medical reports and assessments. If you work with the team at Truth Legal then you’ll be offered one to one support from an experienced solicitor with a track record of successful claims.

We’ll help you to prepare for the medical assessment in the right way, and will ease any nerves by communicating clearly exactly what is going to happen. We’ll also work with you to make sure you present a clear and detailed account of how your injuries have impacted you.

Once the report has been produced we’ll encourage you to go through it in detail and alert us to anything which you aren’t happy with or wish to have clarified. The medical report won’t become a part of your wider claim until we’re completely satisfied that it contains the information needed to help you get the level of compensation you deserve.

If you’ve been injured and think you might be able to make a personal injury claim then contact Truth Legal. We’ll talk you through the process and, if we think you could be eligible for compensation we’ll get to work on your claim.