Complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) can develop as a result of many different situations, and sometimes this includes an accident due to someone else’s negligence. In these cases, you may be able to recover compensation for your losses, but these cases can be quite difficult.

Because CRPS symptoms are often invisible and difficult to measure with imaging, insurance companies frequently challenge these claims. How strong your case is will depend on what evidence you’re able to obtain and how clearly you can tie your condition to the accident.

Why evidence is so important in a CRPS lawsuit

Evidence is crucial in a CRPS lawsuit because complex regional pain syndrome is a condition that’s hard to see on standard medical tests, and its symptoms are often invisible to others. Proving to insurance companies, judges, or a jury that your injuries are real and caused by an accident requires strong evidence. The more detailed and consistent your evidence is, the harder it is for the other side to argue that your symptoms are made up, exaggerated, or caused by something else.

Important pieces of evidence in a CRPS case

Below are the types of evidence that tend to matter most.

Medical records

Complete medical records are the foundation of nearly every CRPS claim. They show your injury from the very beginning, demonstrate how your symptoms changed as time passed, and establish that you completed treatment.

Depending on your care, your attorney will need to gather emergency room records from immediately after the accident, primary care records documenting your ongoing symptoms and referrals, orthopedic records related to the original injury, and pain management records showing the treatments you’ve tried.

Other records needed may include neurology records documenting nerve-related symptoms and findings and physical and occupational therapy records showing your limitations and progress. These records explain your condition and what you’ve tried to do to treat it.

Your CRPS diagnosis

A clear, well-documented diagnosis is one of the most powerful pieces of evidence you can have. Physicians commonly use the Budapest Criteria(opens in new tab) to diagnose CRPS, which is a well-accepted set of diagnostic criteria that considers both your reported symptoms and visible indicators of sensory alterations, swelling, temperature and color changes, and motor function problems.

A diagnosis made under the Budapest Criteria carries real weight, because it shows your doctor followed the recognized medical standard.

Evaluations from specialists strengthen the diagnosis even further. Insurance companies find it much harder to dispute a diagnosis confirmed by multiple experts, such as pain management physicians, neurologists, orthopedic specialists, and rehabilitation specialists.

Diagnostic testing that may support a CRPS claim

While no one test can prove the diagnosis of CRPS, testing is still important. Some test results can help support the diagnosis and document physical changes, while others can rule out other conditions that the insurance company could try to blame. Depending on your circumstances, your doctors may order:

• Bone scans to detect changes in bone metabolism related to CRPS
• MRI to see tissue changes and rule out alternative causes of your pain
• X-rays to detect bone density loss in the affected limb
• EMG and nerve conduction studies (when appropriate) to evaluate nerve function
• Thermography to document temperature differences between limbs
• Other physician-ordered testing based on your specific symptoms

Even when these tests come back normal, they can still provide valuable information about your condition, and they can also show that you pursued diagnostic testing to understand your condition.

Evidence connecting CRPS to the accident

The challenge in these cases is generally trying to prove the accident caused your CRPS and that it wasn’t caused by something else. Evidence supporting this connection includes:

• Accident reports showing when and how the injury happened
• Photos of the scene of the accident and your initial injuries
• Evidence from witnesses as to how the accident occurred
• Medical records of the initial injury after which CRPS developed
• A symptom timeline of how your symptoms have progressed after the accident
• Opinions of attending physicians relating your CRPS to the trauma

Because CRPS can develop gradually, a clear and well-documented timeline connecting the accident to your diagnosis is often an important part of proving causation, alongside medical expert testimony.

Evidence of your pain and daily limitations

Because pain can’t be seen on a scan, you’ll need other ways to show what living with CRPS is really like. One of the most effective tools is a pain journal, which is a daily record where you document your pain levels, flare-ups, sleep problems, and medication side effects. When one is kept consistently over time, a pain journal becomes a detailed, credible account of your day-to-day suffering that no adjuster can easily dismiss.

Visual evidence can also be important. CRPS is often accompanied by noticeable physical changes, and images can be used to document swelling, color changes in the affected limb, muscle atrophy, and skin abnormalities.

Taking pictures regularly demonstrates how your disease has progressed. Videos can be even more compelling since they can show your limitations in real time, such as difficulty walking, limited use of an arm or hand, or difficulty performing common tasks like buttoning a shirt or opening a jar.

Employment and financial records

CRPS is not only painful, but it can also be costly because it can keep you from working. Some evidence you may use to substantiate your losses in this context includes pay stubs demonstrating your earnings before and after the accident and tax returns to document your earning history.

Other relevant evidence can include statements from your employer to verify missed work time, changes in job tasks, disability history if you claimed or received benefits, and vocational evaluations of your ability to work. These documents can reveal how much your career has been affected and will continue to be affected in the future.

Testimony from family, friends, and coworkers

The people around you see what CRPS has done to your life, sometimes more clearly than you do. Their testimony can be surprisingly powerful because they can describe what your life was like before and after the accident.

This might include changes in your mobility, changes in your personality, your difficulty completing daily tasks, your loss of independence, and your reduced participation in hobbies and family activities.

Expert witnesses

Because CRPS is complex and widely misunderstood, expert witnesses often play a critical role. Depending on your case, your attorney may bring in:

• Treating physicians to explain your diagnosis and connect it to the accident
• Pain management specialists to describe your treatment and prognosis
• Neurologists to explain the nerve dysfunction behind your symptoms
• Life care planners to project the cost of your future medical needs
• Vocational experts to assess how CRPS affects your ability to work
• Economists to calculate your lifetime financial losses

These experts are especially important for showing that you have CRPS, how it affects you, and how it’s going to impact your future.

Contact The CRPS Law Firm today to schedule a free case evaluation

Building a strong CRPS case takes thorough, well-organized evidence that proves both where your condition came from and what it has cost you. The sooner you start gathering that evidence, the stronger your claim will be. At The CRPS Law Firm, we are familiar with what documentation these cases require, and we work with the medical and financial experts needed to prove them. Contact The CRPS Law Firm today to schedule your free case evaluation.