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[clio]

Morning ladies

I posted on here a few weeks ago about my broken leg.  In brief, stood in hole in road/kirb, in the dark (on my way to work), went over on ankle and broke my fibula, off work still (approx 10 wks), having physio, ankle still sore but loads better, having problems with metatarsal caused by me distributing weight when walking (dont understand the science behind it but physio said its a knock on effect of the fracture). Ive been thinking of seeing a solicitor about making a claim, however not sure what to expect or how it works, I just want to try and cover the cost of mainly my heating bill which im not looking forward too.  Because ive been in the house during this cold season the heating has been on alot more than it normally would of been if I had been at work.  Ive also bought an extra sock at  just short of £6 for the weight bearing boot I had to wear so I could at least wash and change my sock regularly and ive also bought some little pads from boots that goes under the ball of your foot which i hope will ease the discomfort when I return to work.  They were only £5 or just under but all these things are adding up.  Im a worrier, paranoid and suffer with anxiety and panic disorder and I really dont want to make myself any worse, im also negative and always think of the worse.  Ive been googling lots about this and read about a guy who put a claim in against the council for some injury and it turned out his injury was due to him jumping off a wall so he ended up doing time in jail for making a false claim 

Ive taken pictures of the hole and measurement etc, I dont hav any witnesses as it was too early in the morning and everyone else on my street was in bed.  I only had my husband with me and he was locking the door to our house so didnt see what happened.  He thought I had just sprained it, we carried on too work, I was given a different duty to do by my manager, he drove me home, mid morning and my dad took me to a&e in the afternoon cos it was soooo painful. 

Night times are the worse for my panics, say if they dont believe me and put me in prison for making a false claim, even though it wasnt a false claim.  Im just so paranoid but feel Im within my rights to make a claim and hopefully the council will come and sort the hole out.

Please ladies, do you have any experience with this, or what would you do??

Thankyou for reading

Clio

[honeybun]

Why not have a word with Citizens Advice. They will be able to tell you what you should do. I think I would avoid personal injuries firms as if you do get any compensation they take most of it in fees.


Honeyb
x

[purplenanny]

Very good  advice from HB.

Sorry to hear of your accident 

PN x x

[annieb]

Not sure about whether you can claim  but just want to make a comment about solicitors. Some solicitors offer a half hour FREE consultation where they will  listen to your issue and tell you whether you might successfully claim. Solicitors love personal injury claims as they can be quite lucrative so unless they can be fairly certain of success a reputable firm they will not advise you to proceed. Try ringing round a few to ask if they offer this service.  Also a reputable firm does not take any of your compensation - solicitors put in a separate claim for their fees and get this paid by  the "defendants" insurance company direct to the solicitor.
Hope you get better soon xx

[CLKD]

You can certainly CLAIM! I spent hours of my working Life typing up claim medical reports. Your physio should be able to advise but it used to go:

Accident = treatment
Treatment with a Consultant so notes are taken - these notes then form part of the on-going medical report/s …… which are submitted to usually a car insurance company but there will be a Legal Dept. in the Council which the Consultant is probably aware of.

So do speak with your Consultant's secretary or the Physio ……… most of the Reports I typed were whiplash so it made a change to type something a wee bit different 

You could check on your Household Insurance to see if it covers you for time off work/heating etc..

Thanks Annieb - had forgotten that part of it.  It can be stressful though so speaking with the Consultant/physio should be your first approach.

[clio]

Thanks for the replies. I only saw my consultant the once, when I went for my followup apt and had the boot off I saw a young not very helpful chap who discharged me and sent me on my way without the physio promised by the first consultant.  I'm having private physio now and under my gp for sick notes etc.  I'm seeing my physio on Friday so will ask him. I've been looking at solicitors on line e and they all seem to be the no win no fee approach. I would just put it down to one of them things but the fracture has had an inpact on my foot causing me lots of discomfort and worry and will caused me problems for a while doing my job so I feel I'm entitled to some compensation.  Tried ringing citizens advice........does anyone get to speak to someone......so sacked that idea. I will phone a few solicitors and see what they say.

Keep you posted

Clio

[CLKD]

Contacting the Consultant who saw you initially is the correct procedure.  He will be working for various Solicitors all the while if he prepares Medical Reports so will be aware of what the charges are like to be and whether or not putting in a Claim is worthwhile for you.  Will save you money ringing round.

As for having to pay for Physio.  that should not have been necessary! as the Hospital would have arranged the appt. or through your GP and we can refer us to NHS Physio. ………. you may be able to claim for the private physio. too 

People who have long-term effects from RTAs etc. will have to undergo examination/s by the Consultant in charge of their care to submit to the Car Insurance Company/ies ……. whiplash, post traumatic stress, loss of earnings ……… 

[clio]

Hi clkd, I pay into a plan that will pay for my physio if there is a waiting list for nhs.  My doc was contacting the hospital to see if the consultant has arranged for this but not heard anything yet, if he hasnt my doc was going to refer for some.  I can have 4 possibly 6 physio sessions, my 4th is tomorrow.

Question.... will my leg be totally pain and discomfort free soon, is it me thats just panicing about work and keen to get back, am i just being inpatient, how long does it take for a fracture and everything that goes along with it to heal properly.  I was thinking this last sick note would be my last as Im thinking I should be back at work cos its slowly on the mend but not totally healed??

Clio

[CLKD]

Thanks for the explanation re the physio - glad you are able to claim from the Plan! the sooner a patient receive phsyio. the better!

You are exactly like many patients I talked with years ago when a Medical Secretary - how long is a piece of string  .  All injuries take time and dependant on where the injury was depends on the muscle structures which also need time to heal.  Most fractures take 6-8 weeks to heal but that depends on how bad the fracture was - so ask your Physio. for advice. 

If you are panicking about work ask your Personnel Dept for an appt., if necessary they can speak with your Physio. - again your Physio can advise on to when returning to your job might be possible.  Physiotherapists have a LOT of experience with these types of questions.

The 1 thing you can't do is hurry the healing process.  Regardless of how your Company handles their employees sick leave won't hurry up healing!  The way to clear your mind is to speak to your colleagues/Personnel Dept. and take your worries to the Physio. 

Let us know how you get on.  I always work on the premise, If I don't ask I don't get!