Occupational therapists play a vital role in life-changing injury claims. Ben Townsend, explains how to build effective working relationships with solicitors to achieve the best outcomes for claimants.
A key priority for claimant catastrophic injury solicitors is to install a rehabilitation team around their clients as soon as possible. Occupational therapists (OTs) are an important part of that team. OTs should have an effective working relationship with the solicitor. Their communications should flow in both directions to ensure the OT can assist the claimant to achieve the best possible results from their rehabilitation and litigation. Although this article is aimed specifically at OTs, much of it also applies to other rehabilitation providers.
OTs as part of the rehab team in a compensation claim
As with all professionals, OTs have a duty to act in their clients’ best interests. This applies to the rehabilitation the client requires. It also means the OT needs to assist the claimant’s solicitor in maximising the compensation recovered for their client.
Solicitors ought to take an active role in their client’s rehabilitation. It is not their role to direct that rehabilitation, but they ought to be aware of the rehabilitation their client is receiving and the issues the rehabilitation team, including the OT, is encountering. The solicitor needs to attend multidisciplinary team meetings, which are an opportunity to assess how effective the rehabilitation regime is.
OTs and OT experts
In addition to the OT on the rehabilitation team, there may be OT experts on both sides involved in the compensation claim who report to the court. The solicitor will therefore potentially have access to the views of three OTs in the case.
When the solicitor receives OT expert evidence from either side, they will want to consider whether the rehabilitation being implemented reflects the OT experts’ recommendations. It is not the experts’ job to drive the direction of the rehabilitation. However, if their views diverge from those of the rehabilitation OT, they ought to be carefully considered. The solicitor will probably want to put the expert OTs’ views to the rehabilitation OT. While the OT is not obliged to follow those views, they should be aware of alternative views and prepared to justify their divergence from them.
For instance, when an OT expert recommends a piece of equipment, it would be sensible for the client’s solicitor to ask whether the rehabilitation OT also backs it for the client. Differences of opinion between similarly qualified professionals can happen, but the solicitor and their client should consider the reasons given by those concerned.
OT recommendations
The rehabilitation OT will have views on the client’s equipment needs. They will recommend items the client should try. The solicitor will need to obtain money from the other side to pay for the recommended items.
The work the OT needs to put into justifying a piece of equipment will depend on the expense involved. For instance, if the client requires equipment costing £20 to help her to tip a kettle of boiling water safely, little justification will be required. For more expensive items, a letter outlining the recommendation may suffice. For large items, perhaps costing tens of thousands of pounds, a formal report may be justified.
It is likely that a variety of approaches can solve the client’s issue, only one of which may involve an expensive piece of equipment. The OT will need to consider the alternatives, explain their pros and cons and the reasons for the final recommendation. It is not helpful to ignore the downsides of the equipment, as the defendant’s solicitor will raise them. If the rehabilitation OT has not addressed those at the outset, it can make their report appear weak and poorly considered.
If the client requires an expensive piece of equipment, there may be similar items available from several different providers. The rehabilitation OT should review the various suppliers and the differences between their products. Very expensive items may be subject to an individual quote. However, it is always helpful to have a number of quotes. The client does not have to choose the cheapest option; the court just wants to know they have acted reasonably. That is not the same as purchasing the cheapest item available. The rehabilitation OT needs to be able to justify why cheaper items do not meet the client’s needs if they are not recommended.
It is always helpful for the OT to arrange for the client to trial the recommended equipment or something similar, confirm that it works for them and is something they wish to obtain. It is much easier to persuade the defendants and the court to provide money for an item that is not just useful in theory.
The OT will need to consider whether the item is available free of charge through statutory services, such as the NHS or the local authority. While the client is not obliged to use equipment available through statutory services, it makes sense for the OT to consider the possibility. The OT will outline the likely lead-in time through that route and any restrictions in the equipment that can be provided.
Planning and funding equipment
The occupational therapist will need to plan the client’s equipment needs, potentially well in advance. There may be a significant delay in obtaining the money for a large, expensive item.
The process for the solicitor may be as follows:
- Obtaining a full report from the rehabilitation OT
- Ensuring the rest of the rehabilitation team supports it, to the extent it comes within their expertise
- Checking the expert OT supports the item
- Checking the client is content with the recommendation and wishes to proceed with requesting a large interim payment to pay for the recommendation
- Requesting an interim payment from the other side
- If the defendant’s solicitor rejects the request, the claimant’s solicitor may need to apply to court for the money.
This process means that anything the OT can do to flag future needs to the solicitor in advance will make the process run quicker and more smoothly.
Conclusion
The relationship between treating OTs and claimant solicitors is a two-way conversation between professionals working together to obtain the best possible result for their mutual client. It is important that they collaborate closely to ensure the client receives the rehabilitation and compensation they need to cover their equipment costs for the rest of their life.
This article was first published by B&SI Handbook.
