According to the NHS, chronic pain is when you experience constant pain in one or all parts of your body. Chronic pain is also classed as an illness in its own right and can be caused by a previous injury. This pain can be felt in your head, back, neck, legs, arms and shoulders. Chronic pain can be short term or long term depending on the medical condition or injury that has occurred. The type of injury that could cause chronic pain includes a whiplash injury from a road traffic accident or any type of injury suffered as a result of an accident at work. Many people believe that there can be no compensation for chronic pain injuries but this is not the case and you could be entitled to claim if your injury was caused by somebody else’s negligence or if your condition has been worsened as a result of your most recent job.
At Scott Rees and Co, we are specialists in personal injury and medical negligence and we try to help people who believe that they were injured as a result of an accident that wasn’t their fault or because of mistreatment by the person responsible for their care. Anyone who suffers from chronic pain deserves to receive the right treatment and if they don’t receive this, then they should have the right to get justice for their misfortune.
Examples of chronic pain
The most common type of chronic pain exists within the back muscles or the spine, and according to the BBC in 2014, 31 million days of work were lost due to back muscle problems. This type of pain can be caused by a recent medical condition or a historical workplace injury. Back pain can come in many forms, including slipped disk, sciatica and whiplash. Whiplash in a motor accident is a common complaint linked to chronic pain and can cause serious conditions such as misaligned vertebrae.
Other examples of chronic pain include painich, which can be a debilitating condition and can cause long term problems,ch as not being able to work for a living. Leg pain can be linked with lower back painich can sometimes cause numbness, weakness or foot pain. This can be life changing and could mean that general everyday tasks can be made difficult.
Neuropathic pain is also another type of chronic pain is when nerve damage occurs as a result of tissue damage caused by an accident. It can also be caused by pre-existing issues such as back, leg or hip problems. Nerve damage can be treated with medication and physical therapy but can result in serious disability.
How does chronic pain affect a person?
Chronic pain can cause great discomfort and can affect person’s general day-to-day functions as walking, driving, shopping and cleaning. Constant pain can also affect your daily life as well as your work life as it could jeopardise your position or make you stop working altogether. This then causes a domino effect and could cause you financial difficulty moving forward through loss of earnings.
Another affect of chronic pain is the dependency of prescription medication and physiotherapy can be costly, time-consuming and affect mental health. Chronic pain can also make a person feel down being in pain all the time can affect a person’s sense of wellbeing which if not acted on can cause mental illnesses such as depression and anxiety. The condition can also lead to lack of motivation, isolating behaviour, weight gain, loss of appetite and stress. If you present any of these symptoms then you may need to speak to a professional practitioner to find out if you have a claim.
There have also been recent claims that chronic pain can actually affect a person’s brain chemistry in the long term. This in turn, can affect the nervous system and can also lead to disrupted sleep cycles and insomnia.
Overall the effect of chronic pain on a person can be life changing and alter a person’s every day routine are suffering from any of the symptoms we have listed and believe that this is due to a personal injury caused in an accident that wasn’t your fault, then you need to speak to a professional at Scott Rees & Co.
Why should you claim for Chronic Pain?
Anyone who has suffered an injury whilst in work in a public place, which has caused chronic pain should be entitled to compensation. Chronic pain is a life changing condition that can affect you financially and psychologically. Also, if your injury was caused at work and you feel that your employer may be at fault, you could be entitled to claim for compensation.
As part of a claim for chronic pain injury, we could help you recover any loss of earnings for time off work and recover any money spent on trips to the hospital. We can also provide the best medical knowledge and experience to help you with your case and more importantly your recovery.
We are specialists in personal injury and have more than 23 years of experience dealing with claims for injuries such as chronic pain. You can rest assured that we will try our absolute best to get the justice you deserve, allowing you to have peace of mind while you focus on getting your life back on track.