By Lewis Hendrix. Last Updated 8th August 2023. If you have been diagnosed with fibromyalgia, and you can prove that you suffer from this due to a relevant third party breaching their duty of care, you may be able to make a claim for compensation.
In this guide, we will discuss the fibromyalgia compensation claims process and when you may have a valid claim. We will also share the various instances where you are owed a duty of care, and how a breach of this could cause you to suffer with fibromyalgia.
This guide will also answer common questions such as ‘How much compensation for fibromyalgia could I receive?’ and ‘What is the average settlement for fibromyalgia in the UK?’
Finally, we will also look at how one of our solicitors could assist you with your claim on a No Win No Fee basis, and the benefits of making a claim under such an arrangement.
If you would like to discuss your specific case, you can contact our team of friendly advisors today. They are available to help you 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. They can offer you free advice as well as answer any questions you may have. To contact them today, you can:
- Call 0800 073 8801
- Use our live chat.
- Contact us online.
Select A Section
- A Guide To Fibromyalgia Illness Claims
- An Overview Of Fibromyalgia
- What Could Cause Fibromyalgia?
- Could Road Traffic Accidents Or Accidents At Work Cause Fibromyalgia?
- Symptoms And Type Of Fibromyalgia
- Diagnosing Fibromyalgia
- How Is Fibromyalgia Treated?
- Misdiagnosis Of Fibromyalgia
- Are Those With Fibromyalgia Considered Disabled?
- Fibromyalgia Personal Injury Claims Calculator
- Additional Damages You Could Claim In A Fibromyalgia Accident Claim
- No Win No Fee Compensation Claims For Fibromyalgia
- How Our Medical Misdiagnosis Specialists Could Help You With Fibromyalgia Compensation Claims
- Contact The Team At Accident Claims UK About Fibromyalgia Compensation Claims
- Essential Resources Relating To Fibromyalgia Compensation Claims
A Guide To Fibromyalgia Illness Claims
Welcome to our fibromyalgia compensation claims guide.
If you suffer fibromyalgia which has been triggered by an accident that wasn’t your fault, you could be eligible to claim compensation for it. Whether your fibromyalgia was caused by a workplace accident, or a car accident, you could claim for pain and suffering and any costs incurred because of it.
Fibromyalgia is an incurable but treatable condition that causes pain across the whole body and could affect quality of life. In this guide, we’re going to look at why you might be able to claim compensation for fibromyalgia and how much compensation you could be entitled to by using our fibromyalgia compensation calculator. We’ll also look at why misdiagnosed fibromyalgia could lead to a claim too.
Having fibromyalgia itself might not be a reason for being compensated. However, there are a number of potential causes which could lead to a claim. We’ll cover these throughout the guide. Also, we’ll try to answer the following questions:
- What are the first signs of fibromyalgia?
- How does a person get fibromyalgia?
- How serious is fibromyalgia?
- What is the average settlement for fibromyalgia in the UK?
Something that needs considering is the personal injury claims time limit. In general, this is 3-years from the date of the accident, which caused injuries or illnesses to occur. However, in the case of fibromyalgia, which can sometimes take a long time to be diagnosed with, the time limit could begin from the date you receive your diagnosis.
Something else to consider is that we could help you claim if you’re considering claiming on behalf of a loved one who has fibromyalgia. There is a process that allows a ‘litigation friend’ to represent a claimant if they don’t have the mental capacity to do so themselves.
When you’ve finished reading this guide, please contact us if you decide you’d like to proceed with any fibromyalgia compensation claims. Also, remember we offer free legal advice. If you have any concerns or queries, please ask.
An Overview Of Fibromyalgia
Fibromyalgia is a condition that leads to pain across the whole body. It’s also known as fibromyalgia syndrome or FMS for short. We’ll cover the causes and symptoms of fibromyalgia later in this guide, but those suffering from FMS suffer from chronic fatigue, nausea, headaches and memory issues.
The condition is thought to be linked to abnormal chemical levels in the brain and the way the nervous system deals with the way pain messages change. There is also some suggestion that fibromyalgia could be passed on genetically.
However, the type of FMS that could lead to a compensation payment is triggered by an event such as an injury or infection caused by somebody else’s negligence. According to the British Medical Journal (BMJ), there could be as many as 10% of the population who are currently living in the UK with fibromyalgia. Note that fibromyalgia often goes unreported as the initial symptoms are first developing. So, this suggests that there could be even more people with the condition than what various studies state.
Please read on for more information about fibromyalgia compensation claims.
What Could Cause Fibromyalgia?
According to the NHS, there are several possible triggers for fibromyalgia. These include:
- Suffering an injury – this could be a soft tissue injury, a head injury, or other types of injury
- Undergoing an operation
- The death of a partner or loved one
- Suffering from a virus
- Giving birth
- Being abused by a partner
- The breakdown of a relationship
Other potential causes for FMS include disturbed sleep patterns, genetics and chemical imbalance and also abnormal pain messages.
It’s thought that sufferers have developed changes in their nervous system to deal with pain messages sent by the body. It’s thought that this is linked to low levels of dopamine, serotonin and noradrenaline, as this is often the case with FMS sufferers. These are all hormones which help process pain messages from nerves, and they’re important because they regulate mood, sleep, behaviour, appetite and dealing with stress. Any of these could result in fibromyalgia compensation claims.
Could Road Traffic Accidents Or Accidents At Work Cause Fibromyalgia?
A common fibromyalgia misdiagnosis can occur following a road traffic accident. Often the misdiagnosis is that you’ve suffered whiplash injuries instead, and the true diagnosis might not be made for many months or even years.
If you’ve suffered Fibromyalgia after a road traffic accident, and it was misdiagnosed as whiplash or other injuries, you could be entitled to claim compensation. That’s because the medical misdiagnosis would’ve meant that you suffered more because the correct treatment didn’t start sooner.
Please call to discuss whether you could claim using our No Win No Fee service today.
Symptoms And Type Of Fibromyalgia
Before we look at fibromyalgia compensation claims, let’s first ensure we understand what this illness might look like.
Several symptoms can be caused by fibromyalgia. Not all sufferers have to deal with all of the symptoms though. Here are some of the main symptoms:
- Widespread pain – Continuous pain across the whole body can occur. It can feel like a burning sensation, aching or a sharp stabbing pain
- Stiffness – This can be worse when you’ve been in the same position for a long time
- Extreme sensitivity – Even the softest of touches can feel painful. Also, pain will last longer than it normally would
- Poor sleep – You could wake up tired even after a long sleep.
- Fatigue – This can come on suddenly and feel similar to flu-like symptoms
- Fibro-fog – This is a cognitive problem which could lead to trouble remembering things, slow speech and struggling to concentrate or pay attention
- Headaches – From mild headaches all the way up to migraines. You could also suffer from nausea
- IBS, Irritable Bowel Syndrome – Some sufferers of FMS also go onto suffer with IBS. It’s a common problem with the digestive system leading to bloating, constipation and diarrhoea
The above are the main symptoms of FMS but some other symptoms that can also occur include dizziness, tingling, numbness, restless legs syndrome, clumsiness, feeling too hot or cold, depression, anxiety and unusually painful periods for women. If you experience any of these, you may begin thinking about making fibromyalgia compensation claims.
Diagnosing Fibromyalgia
Fibromyalgia is often misdiagnosed because symptoms can be very similar to other conditions. Usually a GP will ask you about what symptoms you’re suffering and what affect they have on your daily life.
Then they’ll examine you to rule out other conditions such as:
- Rheumatoid arthritis causing painful swelling in the joints
- Chronic fatigue syndrome (ME) leading to long-term tiredness
- Multiple Sclerosis (MS) affecting movement and balance
Some criteria used by medical experts to diagnose fibromyalgia include:
- Severe pain in 3 to 6 areas of your body or mild pain in 7 or more areas
- The symptoms have been at the same or similar levels for over 3 months
- There is no indication that the symptoms have been caused by any other condition
If you suspect that you have fibromyalgia, we would always recommend seeking medical attention from your GP. You may wish to consider asking for a second opinion if you believe their diagnosis is wrong, which if proven, could give you grounds to make fibromyalgia compensation claims.
How Is Fibromyalgia Treated?
As mentioned earlier, there’s no cure for fibromyalgia which means GP’s and medical professionals can only try and ease the symptoms. Because no case of fibromyalgia is the same, it might mean that several different treatment options are attempted before the best one for you is found.
Depending on how you’re being affected by FMS, there could be several different medical professionals involved. Your GP will lead your treatment and help decide the best course of action. Then they could use the following professionals to support you:
- Neurologist – they are specialists in assessing and treating issues relating to the central nervous system
- Rheumatologist – who will help deal with pain in the joints and muscles
- Psychologist – who specialises in psychological injuries and mental health treatments. They may suggest cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) that we mentioned earlier.
As well as these different therapies, medication may be used to help ease the symptoms. This could be in the form of painkillers and also anti-depressant medications. The mix of medication and other treatments will be assessed regularly and may be changed until the right balance is found.
Misdiagnosis Of Fibromyalgia
A misdiagnosis of fibromyalgia could result in unnecessary harm being caused. You may have been wrongly diagnosed with fibromyalgia, meaning you were treated in a way that exacerbated your actual condition. Or, you may have been diagnosed with another condition when in fact you had fibromyalgia.
If you were involved in a road traffic accident, and this exacerbated your fibromyalgia, a car accident settlement could take this into consideration. However, this would be a personal injury claim – if you were misdiagnosed, this would be under a medical negligence claim.
As part of the claiming process, you could be invited to an independent medical assessment. The resulting report could change the amount your claim is worth.
If your fibromyalgia was misdiagnosed, leading to a fibromyalgia attack, you could potentially claim for the suffering you experienced as a result.
Call our advisors to discuss your potential claim at any time.
Are Those With Fibromyalgia Considered Disabled?
Under section six of the Equality Act 2010, fibromyalgia is classed as a disability. That’s because both physical and mental impairment is caused by the condition. Therefore, it can cause long-term issues on the sufferer’s daily ability to function.
It can also impact on the ability to work too depending on the severity of the symptoms suffered. As you’ll see in the next couple of sections, this could have an impact on the amount of compensation awarded for fibromyalgia.
Fibromyalgia Personal Injury Claims Calculator
One of the first questions asked when we’re contacted by new clients is, “How much compensation will I receive?”. While we can’t cover that in this guide, as every case is unique, we can provide the personal injury claims calculator table below.
| Type of Injury / Illness | Severity | Range | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| Psychiatric Damage Generally | Severe | £54,830 to £115,730 | Poor prognosis |
| Psychiatric Damage Generally | Moderately Severe | £19,070 to £54,830 | Optimistic prognosis but currently prevented from returning to work. |
| Psychiatric Damage Generally | Moderate | £5,860 to £19,070 | Marked improvement with good prognosis. |
| Psychiatric Damage Generally | Less Severe | £1,540 to £5,860 | Cases falling short of specific phobias. |
| Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS)—also known as Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy | Severe | £52,500 to £84,010 | Poor prognosis with reduced ability to work. |
| Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS)—also known as Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy | Moderate | £28,030 to £52,500 | Significant effects experienced for prolonged period with optimistic prognosis for future. |
| Fibromyalgia | Severe | £42,130 to £62,990 | Fibromyalgia with significant symptoms which affect the ability to work and result in care requirements despite treatment having been given. |
| Fibromyalgia | Moderate | £21,070 to £38,490 | The top end of this range is for ongoing symptoms where the abilty to work is affected less than severe cases. At the bottom end, a full recovery has been made after symptoms persisited for a number of years. |
You’ll notice that in each category, the payout bracket for fibromyalgia compensation claims is quite wide. Therefore, your solicitor needs to use medical records, reports from independent doctors and other evidence to prove exactly how serious your condition is.
Our solicitors have many years’ experience of making medical negligence, clinical negligence and personal injury claims. Therefore, they understand the process and always aim to ensure enough quality evidence is supplied to try and ensure claims are settled for the highest possible amount.
To find out how much you could be entitled to, please call an adviser today. After they’ve assessed your claim, a personal injury lawyer could help calculate a more personalised estimate once your case is understood.
Additional Damages You Could Claim In A Fibromyalgia Accident Claim
When you begin your fibromyalgia compensation claims, your solicitor can use different ‘heads of loss’ to make your claim. Essentially, these are different elements to your claim that are used depending on how your suffering has affected you. Here are some of the elements they could use:
- General Damages – This is the compensation that was shown in the previous section’s table. It covers the pain, suffering and loss of amenity caused.
- Loss of Income – When claiming compensation for fibromyalgia, the ability to work is a big factor. Initially, if you need to take time off to recover or for medical appointments, you could claim any lost income back. However, a larger compensation payment might be needed if your condition means you’re unable to work for a longer period. Therefore, you could also claim for future loss of earnings too
- Care Costs – If your condition is debilitating enough that you need professional care to support you, then you could claim for any associated costs. Also, if a member of your family or friend cares for you, it could be possible to claim for their time too
- Medical Costs – While you will usually receive treatment on the NHS for free, you might end up with large prescription costs. There are also over the counter treatments to consider. Finally, if you use a private physio or any other medical service, you might be able to claim their costs back too. However, there would need to be evidence as to why the NHS wasn’t used in this instance
- Travelling Expenses – There are two elements to this part of a claim. Firstly, you could claim fuel and parking costs associated with medical appointments. You could also claim alternative travel arrangements if you’re fibromyalgia leaves you unable to drive for any period of time.
Special Damages
Any financial losses raised as part of fibromyalgia compensation claims, including financial losses, will fall under the umbrella of ‘special damages’. As claiming compensation for fibromyalgia can cover long periods of time, we suggest that you create a diary or log of any spending and keep hold of any receipts. Therefore, when your solicitor asks why an expense is being claimed back, you’ll easily be able to recall why and how it was linked to your condition.
If there is an expense that you’re not sure about, we suggest you ask your solicitor before committing to it. They’ll be able to advise whether you’re likely to be compensated for it.
No Win No Fee Compensation Claims For Fibromyalgia
There are times when the thought of claiming compensation might seem daunting. Also, you might worry about the costs involved. That’s why our solicitors offer a No Win No Fee service for any claim they take on.
When the solicitor has assessed your claim and agrees to take it on, they’ll prepare a conditional fee agreement (CFA) for you. This is your contract which confirms that you won’t have to pay the solicitor’s fees unless you receive compensation.
When that does happen, the CFA will provide details about the success fee you’ll pay. This is a percentage of your compensation that’s deducted before the compensation is paid to you. Doing it this way means that you don’t have to have the funds available to pay the solicitor yourself. We believe this reduces the financial risk and stress levels involved in making a claim.
To find out whether you could be entitled to use our No Win No Fee service to make fibromyalgia compensation claims, please get in touch today.
How Our Medical Misdiagnosis Specialists Could Help You With Fibromyalgia Compensation Claims
Our team of solicitors, regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority, have up to 30 years of personal injury claims experience meaning they know what’s required and what’s not to make an accurate claim. Here are some more reasons we believe you should use Accident Claims UK:
- Our advisors provide free advice about your fibromyalgia compensation claims
- They offer a no-obligation assessment of your claim
- Our solicitors always try to ensure you receive the correct amount of compensation you could be entitled to
- We can arrange medical assessments locally
- Our solicitors have great feedback from previous clients.
- And, finally, they always try to resolve claims as quickly and efficiently as possible
Contact The Team At Accident Claims UK About Fibromyalgia Compensation Claims
Hopefully, now that you’ve read this guide about seeking compensation for fibromyalgia, you’d like to begin your claim with Accident Claims UK. If so, you can get in touch by:
- Calling a specialist advisor on 0800 073 8801
- Using our live chat feature to connect to an advisor from any page on this site
- Contacting us by sending an email with details of your claim to office@accidentclaims.co.uk
- Finally, you could request a call back by filling in this onlince claim form
Essential Resources Relating To Fibromyalgia Compensation Claims
We hope you’ve enjoyed reading this guide about fibromyalgia compensation claims. For your information, we’ve linked to some more guides and resources that we hope you’ll find useful.
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) – This guide from the NHS explains how CBT works. It’s a talking therapy that can be used to help treat fibromyalgia.
Fibromyalgia Action UK – A UK charity providing information, news and support for those affected by fibromyalgia.
MS Society – Multiple Sclerosis is one condition that needs to be ruled out when diagnosing fibromyalgia. This group supports those affected by MS.
Misdiagnosis Compensation Claims – This guide explains why you could claim for medical misdiagnosis. It also covers what compensation you could be entitled to.
Road Traffic Accident Claims – As it’s possible for fibromyalgia to be caused by injuries sustained in a car accident, we’ve included this guide.
Birth Injury Compensation Claims – This guide explains how you could claim for injuries caused during childbirth.
Medical References Relating To Fibromyalgia Compensation Claims
Finally, here are some resources that may help you understand fibromyalgia and related conditions.
Fibromyalgia – This is an informative guide from the NHS about the symptoms, causes, diagnosis and treatment of fibromyalgia.
Irritable Bowel Syndrome – Another guide from the NHS covers the symptoms of IBS, which can be a symptom of fibromyalgia.
Thank you for reading our guide about fibromyalgia compensation claims.