Foreign travel with CRPS and chronic pain

Many of my clients are people whose life before CRPS included plenty of travelling. Indeed, some tell me that foreign holidays are among the things they miss most. Of course, a loss of income swiftly curtails life’s non-essentials. But if we can overcome that financial barrier, why shouldn’t you once again explore places further afield? With careful planning and organisation, foreign travel with CRPS is often achievable.

Foreign travel with CRPS: include it in your claim

However, travelling comfortably and enjoyably with CRPS comes at a cost, and often a significant one. Nevertheless, if you enjoyed foreign travel before developing the condition, there’s no reason in principle why you shouldn’t claim for the additional costs that travelling further afield now presents. After all, the purpose of civil damages (compensation) is to put you in the same position as if the accident hadn’t occurred.

When I take over compensation claims from other law firms, I find it incredible just how many potential areas of claim they overlook. And one of the most common is overseas travel.

The starting point is a client’s witness statement, which is one of the most crucial documents in the entire claim. Regarding travel, the statement should detail their pre-accident holiday history, and their travel plans had CRPS not intervened. Other witnesses, possibly their partner or other close family members, may be able to detail in their own statements any discussions they had with the claimant concerning future travel. With their permission, this is an extract from the recent statement of a client’s spouse:

“My sister lives in Australia, and at some point, we were going to get around to visiting her and seeing something of the country. It’s a long way to go and we always thought it would be great to also visit New Zealand before we came home.”

The important thing to remember is that the claim is not for the cost of holidays per se but for the additional cost for the claimant in ensuring a reasonably comfortable experience given their condition. And it’s crucial that you support each element of the travel claim with medical evidence.

Below are some of the common travel-related claims made by our clients.

Porterage

Another potential obstacle to travel with CRPS is luggage. So, one service I recommend to every CRPS sufferer is luggage porterage. You pack your bags ready for the holiday, but then they’re collected from your home and transported to your destination. On short-haul flights, there’s a saving from having to pay to add hold baggage, whereas, for long-haul flights, which include baggage, it can be a significant extra cost. However, there’s no lugging cases into taxis, wheeling them around the terminal and lifting them onto the conveyor. And at the other end, averting the mad scramble for luggage.

Mobility scooter/aids

Travel with CRPS may mean either transporting your trusted mobility scooter from home or hiring one at the destination. Obviously, this depends very much on your destination, but scooter hire is often available in urban destinations. So, investigate and cost this option.

Private Transfers

Before CRPS, you may have otherwise made do with airport transfer included as part of the holiday. However, modes of transport vary considerably from small minibuses to large coaches. Sometimes these transports are airconditioned and half full, whilst at other times packed, hot and cramped. Whilst the hotel or villa may be only a few miles away, it can take several hours to complete the drop-off before arriving at your accommodation. After a long flight, this is likely to be very unappealing, if not impossible. So, budget for private transfers, allowing you space, comfort and speed.

Taxi costs

While on holiday, it can be challenging to get around on public transport or, indeed, to travel longer distances on foot to visit local museums, art galleries, or historic sights. Just getting to the beach with a bag can be difficult on foot. So, factoring in the cost of taxis may be essential.

Automatic/adapted car hire

If you hire a car, you may need an automatic vehicle, which can be more expensive than hiring a manual version. Hiring an adapted vehicle is often possible, but again, at an additional cost over and above just taking one of their regular fleet. This is also likely to require organising through the car hire company some considerable time prior to travel.

Flying – Additional legroom/Business Class

Assistance through the airport and onto/off the plane is free. However, depending on the length of the flight, comfort may come at major additional cost. Seating with additional legroom often carries a significant premium, particularly in business class on long-haul flights.

The most resistance I experience in travel-related claims concerns the cost of business class travel. But if we can establish that it can make the difference between the holiday happening or not, we usually succeed.

Foreign travel with CRPS: ensure your solicitor includes a travel claim

If you’re making a compensation claim after developing CRPS, ensure that you discuss including future additional travel costs with your solicitor. After all, life with CRPS is limiting enough, so why shouldn’t you still enjoy the adventures you always planned?