Case management: A practical guide

If you’re pursuing a compensation claim, your solicitor will manage the legal process, while a case manager may be appointed to coordinate and oversee your rehabilitation.

This is especially important for those who have experienced life-changing or complex injuries, such as acquired or traumatic brain injuries, spinal cord injuries, amputations, or serious orthopaedic injuries. Case managers can also be instructed following other types of injury where treatment, rehabilitation, or care needs require coordination.

Case management is a specialised service designed to support individuals following a serious injury or illness where there are rehabilitation, care, or practical needs to be coordinated. 

Its primary purpose is to help individuals navigate the complex process of rehabilitation, recovery, and adjustment to new circumstances. 

Rehabilitation case management can play a central role in:

• Assessing an individual’s needs
• Coordinating treatment and therapy
• Bringing together relevant professionals
• Identifying care and practical support
• Monitoring rehabilitation progress
• Adapting the rehabilitation plan as needs change

A case manager does not replace your solicitor or the clinicians providing your treatment. Their role is to help coordinate the different professionals and services involved in your recovery.

A case manager is a professional who helps coordinate the rehabilitation, care, and practical needs of someone recovering from an injury or illness. Case managers often come from healthcare or social care backgrounds, including:

• Nursing
• Occupational therapy
• Physiotherapy
• Social work

They leverage their expertise to assess an individual’s needs, help create a tailored rehabilitation plan, and coordinate the professionals and services involved in recovery.

Case managers may continue to be registered with professional bodies linked to their original healthcare profession. 

The Institute of Registered Case Managers (IRCM) now also operates a dedicated professional register for case managers. Its register opened in 2025, followed by its Pre-Registrant Pathway in January 2026. The IRCM provides standards specifically relating to case-management practice.

In a legal claim, the case manager’s primary role remains rehabilitation. They can also provide factual information about:

• Rehabilitation progress
• Immediate care requirements
• Therapy needs
• Longer-term support
• Associated rehabilitation and care costs

These reports can help the legal team understand the practical impact of the injury and the support that may be needed both now and in the future. 

While legal case management and rehabilitation can overlap, the roles remain distinct. Your solicitor manages the legal claim, while the legal case manager coordinates rehabilitation and support.

At Fletchers Solicitors, we can seek early funding through your compensation claim to establish a bespoke rehabilitation case management and support package where appropriate. 

Our legal team collaborates closely with trusted external case management providers to optimise your rehabilitation journey. In cases where funding cannot be secured due to complexities, our in-house case management service ensures your needs are met, regardless of the circumstances. 

Your case manager will regularly assess your progress and provide detailed reports to solicitors, which can serve as evidence to support your case.

While our legal team focuses on the compensation claim, case managers ensure our clients’ rehabilitation is progressing effectively. Regular communication is ensured with all parties to help align medical, personal, and legal goals, ensuring our clients receive holistic support tailored to their needs.

A case manager is typically needed by individuals who have experienced serious, life-changing injuries or illnesses that require ongoing support and complex rehabilitation. 

This includes people who have been affected by: 

• Traumatic or acquired brain injuries. 

• Neurological conditions. 

• Psychiatric conditions. 

• Spinal cord injuries 

• Complex orthopaedic injuries 

• Amputation 

• Chronic pain conditions. 

These conditions can affect physical ability, cognition, emotional wellbeing, and independence. Where several professionals or services need to work together, case management can help coordinate that support.

The role of a case manager is to coordinate the care, rehabilitation, and practical support needed by someone recovering from an injury or illness.

The key responsibilities of a case manager can include: 

• Assessing required care: Case managers carry out detailed assessments  to identify immediate and longer-term needs.
• Implementing care: Once the needs are identified, they ensure the appropriate services, therapies, and support are in place.

• Coordinating rehabilitation: They can build and coordinate a multidisciplinary team of therapists, clinicians, and support workers.

• Supporting families: Case managers can provide information and practical guidance to family members affected by the injury. 
• Assisting with decision-making: They can help individuals and families understand options relating to care, rehabilitation, education, and community participation.
• Managing rehabilitation budgets: Where funding is available, a case manager may help manage rehabilitation budgets and ensure it is used to meet agreed needs.

The injuries most likely to require case management are those involving complex rehabilitation, ongoing treatment, and long-term adjustments. 

Common injuries that require case management include: 

• Brain Injuries: Traumatic or acquired brain injuries can affect cognition, mobility, communication, and behaviour, which often require extensive rehabilitation.
• Spinal Cord Injuries: Spinal cord damage can significantly affect mobility and independence.. Case management can help coordinate treatment, rehabilitation, equipment, and adaptations.
• Amputations: Someone who has lost a limb may require prosthetics, therapy, psychological support, and practical adaptations.
• Birth Injuries: Some birth injuries can result in lifelong care and rehabilitation requirements for the child and family.

Each of these injuries requires specialist input and ongoing care. The need for case management ultimately depends on the individual’s circumstances and rehabilitation needs, rather than simply the diagnosis itself.

Case management helps to coordinate care, rehabilitation, and legal support for clients who may be recovering from a complex injury. Case managers can provide significant benefits to both clients and their legal teams, delivering a clearer picture of the individual’s needs.

• Better organisation: A coordinated plan can make treatment, appointments, care, and practical support easier to manage.
• Clearer communication: A case manager can act as a central point of contact between the individual, family, healthcare professionals, and the legal team.

• Useful information for the legal claim: Case-manager reports can provide factual evidence about rehabilitation, treatment, care requirements, and associated costs. The solicitor and independent experts remain responsible for building the legal case.

• Supporting rehabilitation outcomes: A coordinated plan can help the individual access appropriate treatment and support, while working towards realistic rehabilitation goals.

The Fletchers team established a comprehensive rehabilitation programme worth over £1 million, which included:

• Specialist case management
• Progressive property adaptations
• Tailored therapy and ongoing support
• Funding for a suitable new home to meet evolving needs

This collaborative approach allowed the client to focus fully on recovery, with high-quality coordinated care. The case manager ensured that therapy, property adaptations, and long-term support were in place and aligned with the legal strategy. 

This structured support provided stability, maximised rehabilitation outcomes, and strengthened the compensation claim, contributing to the life-changing result achieved for the client and his family.

Read the full case study here.

A client who was left paraplegic after a road traffic collision as a pedestrian relied on rehabilitation case management to support their recovery and future independence.

Fletchers worked closely with the case manager from the outset to address urgent short-term needs, enabling the client to return home safely and continue recovery in a familiar environment. 

They also coordinated with property experts to secure a more suitable long-term home that could accommodate wheelchair access and family support. The legal team arranged an early interim payment to ensure these essential adjustments could be made in good time.

The case manager oversaw ongoing adaptations, including:

• Widened doorways
• Adapted appliances
• Wet room
• Therapy rooms
• Ceiling hoists
• Wheelchair-accessible paths

Read the full case study here.

Fletchers Solicitors provide case management services directly and also work with trusted external case management providers.

Where clients have complex rehabilitation requirements, this can provide access to appropriate case management, care planning, and ongoing support while the legal claim progresses.

Fletchers understands the importance of case management in helping our clients recover from serious and complex injuries.

Case managers play a crucial role in: 

• Assessing client needs
• Developing rehabilitation plans
• Providing ongoing support
• Reviewing progress
• Producing detailed reports

Throughout a claim, we ensure seamless communication between our legal teams, clients, and healthcare professionals. This collaboration helps to streamline the claims process, ensuring that all aspects of a client’s recovery are managed efficiently, while building a stronger legal case. 

Regardless of whether a case manager is internal or from one of our trusted providers, we remain committed to putting our client’s needs first, offering a thorough approach to serious injury claims. 

If you or a loved one require legal support following a life-changing injury, get in touch with Fletchers to discuss how we can help. Our No Win, No Fee approach ensures you can pursue justice without financial risk.