TABLE OF CONTENT
Functional Neurological Disorder in Personal Injury Claims
Not every serious injury appears on a scan. A serious road accident, fall or slip may lead to problems with movement, speech, memory, balance or seizure-like episodes, even when MRI and CT scans look normal. This is often the reality for people living with functional neurological disorder (FND).
FND is a recognised neurological condition that affects many people across the UK. According to research, an estimated 50,000 to 100,000 people in the UK are living with FND.
FND is one of the most misunderstood conditions in personal injury claims. The symptoms can be serious and life-changing, yet medical tests may show no clear damage. This makes the condition hard to explain. It can also make a functional neurological disorder claim more difficult.
Understanding FND, how doctors diagnose it and how you can claim for it can help claimants take the right steps after an accident.
What Is Functional Neurological Disorder?
Functional neurological disorder is a condition that affects how the brain and nervous system send and receive signals. Unlike a stroke or multiple sclerosis, FND does not usually cause visible damage to the structure of the brain. The problem is with how the nervous system functions.
Many specialists explain it in a simple way. The brain’s hardware is intact, but the software is not working as it should. A person can still experience real neurological symptoms even when scans and tests look normal. That can affect daily life in a serious way.
In the past, FND was often called hysteria or conversion disorder. Today, doctors understand FND as a complex condition that sits between neurology and psychiatry. This is why a functional neurological disorder claim often needs clear medical evidence from the start.
How Does FND Affect A Personal Injury Claim?
FND can make a personal injury claim more complex because the symptoms are often serious but standard medical tests may appear normal.
A broken bone may appear on an X-ray. A spinal injury may appear on an MRI scan. FND is different. Symptoms may be severe, but standard tests may appear normal. This can lead to doubt from insurers and defendants. One key question is whether the accident caused the FND.
In some cases, symptoms begin soon after the accident. In others, they appear weeks or months later. This delay can create arguments about causation.
A defendant may say the symptoms are not linked to the accident. They may argue that another factor caused them. They may also say the claimant was already vulnerable and would have developed FND anyway. This is why strong medical evidence is needed to support a functional neurological disorder claim.
Dr. Alastair Santhouse, a London-based consultant psychiatrist, notes that patients with FND were historically dismissed as weak or exaggerating, but medicine now understands the condition far better and, as he puts it, “These symptoms are not made up or imagined.”
How to Make a Functional Neurological Disorder Claim in the UK?
Making a functional neurological disorder claim follows the same basic legal process as other personal injury claims, but the medical complexity of FND means each step needs extra care.
1. Time Limits for Making a Claim
In England and Wales, personal injury claims must usually be started within three years of the date of the accident, or three years from when the condition was linked to the accident, if that is later. This is important in FND cases, since symptoms can appear weeks or months after the initial incident, and it can take time to reach a firm diagnosis.
2. Proving Liability
Before FND itself becomes the focus, the claimant must first show that the defendant was at fault for the original accident. This works the same way as in any personal injury claim, using evidence such as accident reports, witness accounts and, where relevant, CCTV or dashcam footage.
3. Linking the Accident to FND
One of the important factors is causation. It is about proving that the accident caused or triggered the FND. This is usually the most contested part of an FND claim. It relies heavily on medical records, expert reports and a clear symptom timeline.
4. Valuing the Claim
Once causation is accepted, the claim is valued. It is usually based on prognosis, ongoing care needs, lost earnings and other losses. Because FND can improve, stay the same or worsen over time, prognosis evidence from a specialist plays a central role in reaching a fair valuation.
5. Working with a Solicitor
Because of the medical and legal complexity involved, claimants are usually best served by a solicitor experienced in FND or neurological injury claims. A good solicitor can instruct the right experts and build the evidence needed to support the claim.
What Compensation Can You Get in an FND Claim?
Compensation in a functional neurological disorder claim usually has many types, each covering a different type of loss. Together, these can add up anywhere from around £45,000 for moderate cases to several million pounds for the most severe, lifelong cases, depending on how the condition affects someone’s life.
1. Pain and Suffering
This covers the physical and emotional impact of living with FND, including the distress caused by symptoms such as seizures, weakness or loss of function. The amount awarded depends on how severe the symptoms are and how good the prognosis is.
2. Loss of Earnings
This accounts for income already lost due to time off work, as well as future losses if someone can no longer work at the same capacity. In more serious cases, this can form a significant part of the overall claim.
3. Treatment Costs
Treatment costs can include physiotherapy, psychological therapy, occupational therapy and rehabilitation aimed at improving symptoms and daily functioning. These costs are usually calculated based on the specific treatment plan recommended for the claimant.
4. Care Costs
Care costs reflect the support someone needs with everyday tasks like washing, dressing, cooking or housework. This can include professional care or the value of care provided by family members.
5. Travel Expenses
This covers the cost of getting to and from medical appointments, treatment sessions and specialist assessments. These are usually calculated from actual travel costs rather than a fixed amount.
6. Future Needs
In more serious cases, this can include mobility aids, home adaptations and pension losses if FND affects someone’s long-term working life. Future needs are assessed based on the claimant’s specific prognosis.
Every case is different, so the final amount depends on individual medical evidence, prognosis and how the condition affects daily life.
Case Study: £500,000 FND Compensation Claim (2022)
A hospitality manager was struck on the head by a falling wooden panel at work in 2017. Her CT scan showed no abnormalities, but weeks later she developed severe symptoms, including dissociative seizures, weakness down her right side, poor balance, and blurred vision. She was diagnosed with Functional Neurological Disorder in 2018.
Her employer admitted liability, leaving only the value of damages to be settled. Neurologists on both sides agreed she showed features of FND, reached by ruling out any structural brain or nerve damage rather than by a positive scan finding.
The case settled for £500,000 covering pain and suffering, past and future care, loss of earnings, therapy, and rehabilitation, since she remained unable to work with an uncertain long-term prognosis.
This case shows how FND can follow a head injury with no visible scan damage, and how, once liability is admitted, the dispute often shifts entirely to prognosis, which can heavily influence the final settlement value.
Conclusion
In cases of personal injury claims, FND is found to be a tricky one. The symptoms are real, but they can be hard to explain through normal scans and tests. This creates challenges around diagnosis, causation, evidence and functional neurological disorder compensation.
The key message is that FND should not be dismissed as something minor or imagined. FND is a recognised medical condition and its symptoms are real. With early diagnosis, proper rehabilitation and strong legal support, people affected by FND can access the treatment. They can even get the functional neurological disorder compensation needed to rebuild their lives after a serious accident.
The medico-legal specialists at Concise Medico understand the complexities of functional neurological disorder claims. Get in touch with us today to discuss your case.
Our medico-legal experts understand the complexities of functional neurological disorder claims, including complex neurological injuries and disputed causation.
Contact us today and make sure your symptoms, challenges and future needs are properly understood and documented.
Our medico-legal experts understand the complexities of functional neurological disorder claims, including complex neurological injuries and disputed causation.
Contact us today and make sure your symptoms, challenges and future needs are properly understood and documented.
