British Law boasts: "INNOCENT UNTIL PROVEN GUILTY"
Medico-Legal Law operates on the basis:
"GUILTY UNTIL PROVEN INNOCENT"!
I make no apologies for the length of this 'Artist's Insight'
Following the non-fault road traffic accident in February 2018 which has left me unable to work, with multiple symptoms & medical conditions, registered as disabled and claiming Universal Credit and full PIP with Mobility Allowance; we currently find ourselves in year 6 of the "Medico-Legal" process.
The process would be impossible to navigate without the assistance of Lawyers (notably one particular individual) who are acting on our behalf on a "No Win, No Fee" basis.
The number of medical assessments with Expert Medical Witnesses have been so numerous over the years that we have lost count. Court dates for Trial (10 days at the High Court, Holborn, London) have come and gone with the latest date being in the 8th year since the accident. Yet this date is still subject to change, and things generally change by the denomination of years rather than weeks or months.
The medical evidence of all treatments undertaken to date is so expansive, filling many box files. Yet still I have to 'prove' the disruption caused to our lives. I often say "I'm just the passenger on this Medico-Legal journey; the true victim is Abby my partner, and now my carer". Our lives are unrecognizable; health, wealth and happiness have been ripped away.
In the last 6 years, meager interim payments have not even facilitated the payment of my mortgage. No medical help has been provided by the Third Party Insurer to aid my recovery and limit my physical losses, or ultimately their 'losses'.
A phrase I heard, "ENFORCED POVERTY", is one of the strongest tools in the Third Party Insurers armoury. "Dither and Delay" force this state on the injured party with the aim to force the Claimant to accept the first settlement offer out of shear desperation.
Your life is watched for all the years until final settlement, with Private Investigators hiding in bushes and following you in your car the moment you step outside your home.
Having lost my eloquence, I now use Sculpture to communicate.
The Medico-Legal process carves us away so that we are unrecognisable from our pre-accident form, each of us being carved to differing degrees and ways depending on the severity of the accident and our personal circumstances. Throughout the years of litigation we sit precariously balanced with the potential to fall at any time. No matter what we do to protect ourselves, some of us inevitably will fall and break, others will try to rebuild again, some will maintain their precarious positioning till the end when justice is not guaranteed. The system itself is broken with only medical witnesses, lawyers and barristers benefiting from the potential high-end 6 figure fee allocation.
Just like the stones, which may appear strong but in fact are remarkably brittle, it is only through calling upon our "INNER STRENGTH" that we, the innocent party, can make it to the end for the hope of justice.
In 2024, just as the granite pebbles have been radically reformed, so does the Medico-Legal process need reforming as is BROKEN... it's time for REFORM!!!!
Dedicated to the charity "RoadPeace" who help those like me and call for change. Please donate generously, we truly don't know where our next journey will take any of us!
Materials: 7 x Carved Granite Pebbles, 7 x Stainless Steel Tripods, 2 x Broken Carved Granite Pebble, Protective Mat
Charity: RoadPeace
Weight: 1 Kg
Size: (w) 50 cm; (d) 50 cm; (h) 45 cm
Copyright © 2023 The 5th P Ltd – All rights reserved.