RSD or CRPS: The Pain that never ends
I had the privilege of representing a client who had been represented by seven lawyers before I was retained. He read my blog in January, 2011 and I went to trial for him in March, 2011 and won. His case involved RSD which came about after a trucking accident in 2005 when he was rear ended on I-75 by a tractor trailer going 70 mph. SIx months later he developed RSD in his left leg and it progressed to his right leg and begin to spread further about his body. Eventually in 2011 we went to trial and won.
I was shocked that none of his first seven attorneys had listed thermograms on the Plaintiff's Exhibit list. Some of the earlier attorneys were big name Advertisers in Florida. With only a month to get ready for trial, I scheduled and took the video trial deposition of his RSD doctor who had his color thermograms in the chart. That way we could show the thermograms to the jury. A photo is worth a thousand words and the thermograms were convincing. The result was a seven figure verdict 6 times larger than the highest defense offer made at any time before trial.
Thermograms are infra-red photos which show color variations in the affected limb as compared to the opposite side of the body. The side without as much blood is cooler than the opposite side. It turns blue or purple. The loss of blood flow is due to small blood vessels in the painful limb being shut down or closed due to the action of sympathetic nerves which are reacting to the injuries. Most of the time RSD shows up within a few weeks after the accident, and in the same limb as the trauma. The jury in my case believed the doctors who said that in their medical opinion the crash caused the RSD.
So, if you have a case involving RSD make sure your lawyer plans to show your thermograms to the jury. If none have been taken, tell him to contact me immediately. It may make all the difference in your case.
I previously wrote a blog about RSD here. You might find it worth reading.
