This Month’s Question:
Can a Medical/Legal Consultant Help in Answering Specific Medical Questions Related to Depression in Trauma Cases?
Physician Legal Consultants Response:
Our colleague recently had a case of a 52-year-old woman whose vehicle was broadsided in an auto crash. The client had multiple injuries including ruptured discs at C4-5 and L5-S1. The client continues to experience severe neck and back pain which limit her functioning in the activities of daily living and her ability to work. The client’s husband was the front passenger seat and was injured as well. The injuries sustained by the husband exacerbated a pre-existing cancer diagnosis, and the client’s husband died approximately two months after the accident. It was documented in the medical records that the husband’s treating doctors felt the auto crash injuries more likely than not contributed to the progression of his cancer and his demise.
Approximately eight months after the auto crash the client complained of several symptoms of depression which were also limiting her ability to function. The attorney asked our colleague to write a report giving their medical opinion regarding if the depression was accident related. Obviously the question arises if the client’s depression was due to grief after the death of her husband, or related to the traumatic injuries she sustained, or both situations. The question was complicated by the nature of the client’s and her husband’s relationship and events prior to his death.
Ultimately it was our colleague’s opinion that in this specific case the client carried a diagnosis of Depression related to a Medical Condition, specifically her injuries sustained in the auto crash, and our colleague spelled out their reasoning.
Ultimately, the settlement included the depression as a medical damage in the case supported by our colleague’s report.
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Interesting medical questions and responses to them