A peak behind the Functional Neurological Disorder (FND) curtain with Warren Collins, at Penningtons Manches Cooper
Life was good was Charlie. Correction: life was great.
Charlie (not her real name) had reached the peaks of a successful life.
A loving husband and children, a beautiful home in the leafy suburbs of south-west London and a stella career in the city, reflected by numerous industry accolades and awards which justified her six figure salary.
Charlie enjoyed the high life: glamourous fashion, exotic international travel and fine dining. She worked hard and deserved it.
But above all, her passion was motorcycling: big, fast and powerful motorcycles. All of this changed in 2020: the time of the pandemic.
Charlie was riding her motorcycle and was on her way to deliver some of her home baked goodies to a loved one in hospital.
Traffic had built up and an impatient car driver decided to reverse out of a queue in order to take a different route.
The driver collided with Charlie and although this was a low speed collision, Charlie was knocked off her bike.
At first, it seemed this was just a minor accident. Charlie got herself up, dusted herself down and apart from a broken wing mirror and some minor dents and scratches on the bike, it seemed that both she and the bike had escaped anything more serious.
Charlie’s mind was on her hospital visit and she continued her journey.
Then the headaches started. Within days of the accident, Charlie started to suffer the kind of dizzy, nauseas headaches that a dose of paracetamol just won’t shift.
Warren Collins
A visit to the GP led to stronger pain killers but within another couple of weeks she had to call an ambulance when she was so dizzy, she could barely stand.
Charlie soldiered on. She as convinced that the symptoms would pass and when her motorcycle insurers offered her a courtesy bike and lawyers to advance a claim, she agreed.
She was assigned a “specialist motorcycle law firm”. They told her she had a big claim – maybe as much as £15,000. That would pay for a nice holiday, she thought.
We were in the middle of lockdown, so she could manage her symptoms from home and take breaks so no one would notice. The symptoms increased both in frequency and intensity.
Headaches, panic attacks, memory loss, concentration difficulties, stomach cramps, bloating. Super woman was losing her super powers.
And those at work did notice. Charlie was missing deadlines, missing meetings and quite often missing the point.
When the lockdown restrictions eased and colleagues returned to the office: Charlie was “missing in action” and when she did eventually make it to office, often late in the working day, it was a disaster.
She was rude to colleagues and clients and was making mistakes. She presented as chaotic and unkempt.
By late 2022, the “specialist” motorcycle lawyers were very excited.
They had secured an offer of settlement of £15,000 and they recommended she give it serious consideration because she would be at risk of losing everything if she ended up being awarded less.
This did not seem quite right to Charlie.
he explained to her lawyers that she had been diagnosed with Functional Neurological Disorder (FND) and yet they seemed to have no understanding of what that meant.
Charlie felt she needed a second legal opinion. After undertaking her own research in December 2022, Charlie approached Penningtons Manches Cooper.
We are used to taking over cases from previous solicitors. It is often easier to take cases from lawyers who are wholly out of their depth than to refine mediocre or bland handling of a claim.
The handling of Charlie’s case fell into the former category and this meant, we simply started the whole process again.
We secured a complete set of clinical notes and records and then commissioned expert evidence from a neurologist and neuropsychiatrist with credible expertise in FND.
Within a matter of months we secured witness statements from 8 colleagues who could speak of the stark difference between pre and post-accident performance at work as well as expert evidence supporting intensive treatment.
For the insurers facing the claim: play time was over.
Presentation of compelling evidence led to an initial interim payment of £60,000 (four times their previous officer) to fund the private medical treatment.
Treatment was commenced but Charlie had a lot of work to do.
Although by now, she was only to work part-time, it was clear to all that her remaining at work was not only damaging to the business, she was damaging her own reputation in her industry.
It was time for her to give up work for a while and concentrate on her recovery. She could return to work after the treatment.
The evidence was compelling and this was a case we were confident we could negotiate with the insurers. It was up to them whether that would be before or after the issue of court proceedings.
They realised that we had secured evidence to support a considerable settlement and we agreed to meet for negotiations.
A settlement meeting took place in July 2024. Offers went backwards and forwards but by the end of a lengthy day, a settlement in excess of £500,000 was reached.
Sometimes, it really does make a difference to go to the real specialists.
About the Author
Warren Collins is a leading catastrophic injuries solicitor based in London. He has represented severely brain injured accident victims for over 30 years.
He is a member of and Chief Assessor for the Law Society’s Personal Injury Panel and accredited brain injury and spinal cord injury specialist by APIL (Association of Personal Injury Lawyers).
He is listed as a leading expert in Chambers UK and Legal 500 “Hall of Fame”.
He is available for an initial chat about a new or existing catastrophic personal injury claim and can be reached at: warren.collins@peningtonslaw.com
