Being a professional working with people living with Acquired Brain Injuries brings with it a heady responsibility.
That responsibility sometimes requires us to go beyond the scope of our role.
Depending on the support you provide and level of involvement you have in your client or patients’ lives, you may come across information that makes you feel that they are not being properly served by some of the professionals that are meant to be supporting them.
If so, what are your options for making them or their close loved ones aware of your concerns?
Brain injury will often be life changing so having the right team of professionals in one’s support network makes a really big difference.
Likewise, having a professional who does not fully understand the individual or family’s needs can have a more negative effect on them and their long-term recovery and outcomes.
This is a complicated topic.
There may be many angles to explore regarding the effect on the client, and the way to go about notifying them can differ depending on what type of professional you feel is likely to be letting them down.
In extreme cases where you suspect a client may be mistreated or even abused it is vital you talk to someone immediately and raise the alarm to relevant services including the Police.
In this article we are going to focus on what we know best; what to do if you suspect your client is being let down by their legal team.
Changing Solicitors – Is it Worth It?
Over the years, we have taken over hundreds of cases that were initially started by other firms of solicitors.
The ways clients found their way to us, and reasons for needing a change have varied wildly but some of the key themes that come up again and again include the following:
– Lack of Expertise
Some injury claims are straightforward, some (including brain injury) are much more complicated. The mechanism of injury can also have a bearing. A generalist firm without specialist neurological expertise may find themselves unable to appreciate the right strategy to achieve the best outcome for a client, to include rehabilitative options. The legal and medical landscape changes quickly in these complex cases.
– Significant delays
Even though personal injury cases can sometimes take years to settle clients should always be kept in the loop with that is happening and the reasons of any delays.
It may take some time for prognosis to become sufficiently certain, especially with children and paediatrics.
In many cases we have seen instances where delays were disproportionate to the challenges of the case and clients were not aware of what was holding things back.
– Lack of experience
Some of the cases we have taken over were previously valued significantly lower to the amount of compensation we have managed to achieve for clients.
In extreme circumstances this difference in value can be in the millions.
That generally happens when the client’s needs and rehabilitation options are not fully understood and correctly quantified.
A common example is not giving proper consideration to the provision of long term care.
A client might be having to rely on family care where paid support would be much more appropriate.
Having supported many clients who have suffered similar injuries means a lawyer will be able to better understand the need a client has and how to approach the claim accordingly.
– Relationship Breakdown
Personal Injury cases can take a long time to settle, even when approached correctly. During this time a personal injury lawyer will have to properly understand their client.
Context in brain injury claims is all important. Each client will be unique.
All too often we have seen situations where the solicitor has not taken the time to understand the client, the injury, their family, the rehabilitative needs, their employment situation and future prospects and many more factors.
Interim payments of damages will not have been obtained.
These factors will result in the claim not progressing properly and will inevitably put strain on the solicitor / client relationship.
It is really important that clients are comfortable with their solicitor and trust them.
If for whatever reason there has been a breakdown in that trust then it is likely that the client will be better served by a change in solicitor.
How can you make a difference?
Depending on your role and relationship you have with your client and their family you may find yourself able to broch the subject of their legal representation.
If you feel it is not your place to talk to them directly it may be that you can raise your concerns with your manager or the Case Manager coordinating their care.
Likewise, if you are the Case Manager you may feel you are conflicted from speaking out because of the professional relationship you have with the lawyer.
In most cases you will have been directly appointed by them and you don’t want to jeopardise your role.
Again, in this case it is important to evaluate all the information you have and whether raising the subject is in the client’s best interests. I
It is better for the client to change their representation than to have their case under settled then have to consider further litigation against the solicitor in negligence.
That will be the best way to make sure that adequate compensation is recovered and to make sure that the client has the financial security that they deserve.
It is important that other professionals have these discussions with the family.
Having an anonymised discussion with a trusted personal injury solicitor can help you understand if your concerns are valid and suggest ways to help you raise them with the family.
Further, the process of changing solicitors is often more straightforward than clients, or others might imagine.
If you want to have a free, confidential discussion about any concerns you may have, a member of our Personal Injury Team will be able to help you.
You will not have to share any of your client’s personal details but can give us a general idea of the circumstances so we can offer a second opinion and some guidance on what you could do to help them.
We have a dedicated team, led by Huw Ponting, supporting clients living with ABIs.
You can contact Huw direct or another member of our team here.
Find out more about Enable Law at enablelaw.com
