----- Original Message -----
From: "Jel Coward"
> I used to do a lot of medico-legal work. Whiplash was by far the
> commonest problem that I saw
> The country has decided that we should have an adversarial legal system
> and so an expert retained by the claimant is not going to be in the
> business of 'catching them out' - it is for the other side to get an
> expert opinion if they doubt that of the claimants. Of course, the cost
> of this is prohibitive and so virtually everything gets settled without
> a fight. This of course is not natural justice but is the only justice
> that we have
> I think a large number of clients that I saw were probably 'playing it
> up', but I dutifully recorded what they told me and my examination
> findings
> Cheers
> Jel Coward
Of course since April 1999 medical experts have been jointly instructed, so
I now find myself constantly on the lookout for evidence of exaggeration or
"fraud". I agree that a large proportion of patients, while not actually
fabricating their symptoms, will exaggerate their symptoms and any
disability arising therefrom. There are telltale signs but I suspect such
matters are outwith the remit of this mailing list, as such exaggeration
tends to occur months and years down the line, not hours or days after the
accident when the patients turn up at A&E departments.
Adrian Fogarty
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