Complex Injury Forum: Psychiatric considerations in catastrophic injury claims

Overview

In this session we’ll be joined by Professor Alan Carson, Consultant Neuropsychiatrist and Honorary Professor of Neuropsychiatry at the University of Edinburgh, to talk more about his research focused on disorders at the interface of psychiatry and neurology

Professor Carson will focus on the psychiatric impacts of head and major bodily injury – including the risk of future dementia following head injury, the evidence for early rehabilitation, and the key distinctions between care and rehabilitation from a clinical perspective. He’ll also consider assessment of subjective function and disability, in particular the impact of fatigue as well as the thorny issue of exaggeration – including how to distinguish between conscious and unconscious exaggeration. Finally he’ll look at whether treatment should commence before, during or after litigation.

About the Complex Injury Forum

In 2019 we launched a series of live events and webinars giving insurers the opportunity to hear from and put their questions to leading experts in established and emerging areas of complex injury. Each session is chaired by a senior member of our nationally-renowned Catastrophic Injury and Large Loss team.

Speaker Profile

Professor Alan Carson's research focuses on disorders at the interface of psychiatry and neurology. Traditionally both academic study and NHS services for 'brain' disorders has been separated into these two 'camps' of understanding, where as patients have diseases that incorporate both; i.e. depression is one of the major determinants of outcome after stroke and one of the commonest causes of paralysis is 'functional'.

The theme of Professor Carson's research has been to bring an integrated understanding on both a personal level, and via collaboration, to these disorders. The particular focus has been on enhancing the understanding and treatment of functional paralysis and seizures which we refer to as 'functional disorders'.