If a claimant has sustained injuries, either physical or psychological, evidence is necessary to prove the harm suffered.  To present a claim to a defendant without any evidence to substantiate the harm suffered, it’s unlikely they’ll entertain the claim at all until such evidence is provided. Therefore, it becomes necessary to work with experts for the purpose of obtaining medico-legal reports.

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A relevant expert would be able to assess the full extent of a client’s injury.  They assess the initial symptoms, their longevity and establish a prognosis too. Psychological medico-legal reporting, in this regard, is very in-depth as its primary purpose is to provide expert analysis on the injuries acquired.  In addition, the report can help establish causation between the actual event and the harm suffered. This is partly done by the expert reviewing the client’s medical history to see if there was any pre-existing mental illness. Through this, the expert can come to any of the following conclusions:

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    •    All of the psychological distress/issue were as a direct result of the incident.

    •    There may have been a pre-existing mental illness that was exacerbated by the incident. They can also conclude that some mental harm was caused by the incident and other mental health problems were exacerbated by it.

    •    The mental health issues were already present before the incident, weren’t worsened by it, and so were not caused by it. 

The report from the medico-legal psychologist also enables lawyers to value the injuries suffered.   A medical report serves as a key piece of evidence in a claim relating to injury. Without the ability to prove that the injuries were, on the balance of probabilities, caused by the accident, and with no knowledge of the severity of those injuries, it can be difficult to firstly prove a claim, and secondly, to judge how much it’s worth.