InjuriesCRPS Lawyer

Reflex sympathetic dystrophy also known as Complex Regional Pain Syndrome is difficult to treat, extremely painful and not subject to a diagnosis that can be easily verified through an objective test. Each of these factors make RSD or CRPS cases extremely difficult to resolve with insurance adjusters. Insurance adjusters are trained to focus on objectively verifiable injuries like herniated discs, broken bones, bruises and torn ligaments. They tend to compensate for complaints of pain that are backed up by injuries that are objectively verifiable and they often dismiss or minimize subjective complaints of pain without corroboration from x-rays, MRIs or visible injury. Insurance adjusters are also inclined to deny compensation for medical treatment that persists after most people with soft tissue injuries recover. It is critical to retain the services of a personal injury lawyer that has litigated complex regional pain syndrome cases to fight against the skeptical treatment by insurance adjuster

CRPS arise from minor injuries. George Patterson represented a client that sustained a contusion to her foot due a handle falling off a poorly maintained ice cream machine. This relatively minor injury led to a diagnosis of Complex Regional Pain Syndrome. The insurance company originally denied the claim. The insurance company believed that the ice cream handle was too light to have caused an injury. The insurance company did not make any offers until three weeks before trial. The case was ultimately resolved for $1,000,000.

In another Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy (RSD) also known as Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS) case, George Patterson obtained a resolution of the case in the Federal Court located in Greenbelt, Maryland for $587,500. George Patterson’s client with RSD had incurred less than $20,000 in medical bills but was left with constant pain. The CRPS occurred after the Shady Side resident injured his hand in a truck accident that occurred in Prince George’s County. The defense questioned the seriousness and existence of the disorder but was persuaded by an internationally renowned expert on RSD hired by CRPS lawyer George Patterson.

CRPS is very difficult to treat and resolve. Such conditions are frustrating to patients and their doctors. Conventional treatments for the underlying injuries that lead to the condition are ineffective and painful for the patient to endure. Some of the associated symptoms such as hair loss, a limb occasionally developing a blue tint, changes in the growth of fingernails, differing temperature in one limb, and spreading of the condition to other limbs may not initially be recognized by doctors as indications of CRPS. Notations of such objective findings are often given little weight by insurance adjusters. Insurance companies will demand increasing levels of objective evidence of an injury the longer it takes a car accident victim to recover. CRPS victims often deal with complaints of intense pain that persist for years.

RSD or CRPS cases require skilled expert witnesses. These injury claims are often not supported by clear medical evidence like a fracture shown on an x-ray. Reflex sympathetic dystrophy cases are vulnerable to attacks by doctors hired by insurance companies because the symptoms typically do not fully appear until weeks or months after a car accident. This delay makes it easier for experts to suggest other causes for the condition than an injury from a car accident.

CRPS also cannot be verified by a diagnostic test like an MRI or nerve conduction study. This makes it easy for doctors hired by insurance companies to suggest that the complaints should not be believed because the person is seeking compensation.

Maryland CRPS lawyer, George Patterson obtained a policy limits offer on behalf of a client that had two prior car accident lawyers that failed to obtain any offers for the client. This is not uncommon because CRPS requires significant knowledge about the condition to properly present the claim to an insurance company or to a jury. If you have been diagnosed with CRPS or reflex sympathetic dystrophy from a car accident or truck accident please contact CRPS lawyer George Patterson for a free consultation.