Following a complex three day hearing in the County Court of Victoria, a client of Redlich's Work Injury Lawyers has been granted a Serious Injury certificate in a case involving very unusual symptoms which arose following a car accident.

The client who was in his early 40's, had a relatively minor car accident in 2003.  He sustained a mild head injury, but did not require hospitalisation at the time.  In the weeks following the accident he went on to develop painful sensations throughout his body, which he compared to being bitten by insects.  These symptoms have continued to this day and have not decreased in intensity. 

The primary and most significant effect of these symptoms on our client, has been the disruption to his sleep which they cause.  Sleep tests conducted on him show that he wakes up continuously during the night due to the sensation that he is being bitten by spiders.  The studies showed that he gets less than half the normal sleep of a healthy individual due to these painful sensations.  His inability to get a proper night's sleep has had a huge impact on his quality of life.  He has not been able to work since the accident.

Initially, a variety of medical experts failed to determine the precise cause of our client's symptoms or to diagnose his actual condition.  Following advice from Redlich's Work Injury Lawyers, our client was referred to the most eminent expert in sleep disorders in Australia who diagnosed him with periodic limb movement disorder, obstructive sleep apnoea and hypersomnia.   He linked the development of these conditions to the relatively mild head injury which he had sustained in the car accident. 

Redlich's Work Injury Lawyers successfully illustrated to the Court that such unusual and debilitating symptoms could be caused by a relatively mild head injury.  The Court accepted our argument, and rejected the view of the TAC that the client's symptoms were psychological in origin.  The client is now free to sue the negligent driver for the pain and suffering and loss of income caused by the accident.