Pain that does not resolve is one of the most common outcomes of a collision and one of the most contested. The injury that heals on the scan can leave a person unable to work.
How this injury is treated in a claim
Chronic pain claims turn on function rather than imaging. The question a court asks is not what a scan shows but what you can actually do, for how long, and at what cost to the rest of your life. That makes the treatment record, the functional evidence and the testimony of people who know you the centre of the case.
What the other side will say
- The imaging is normal. Chronic pain frequently does not appear on imaging, which is a feature of the condition rather than a flaw in the claim.
- You had something before the accident. A pre-existing condition that was manageable and then became disabling is still a loss.
- Your activity is inconsistent with your complaints. One good day, or one photograph, gets offered as proof of capacity.
What makes the difference
- Early and continuous treatment. Gaps are the single most damaging thing in these files.
- A functional capacity evaluation rather than only a diagnosis.
- Evidence of what you used to do. Employment records, hobbies, volunteer work, the household tasks you handled.
- Witnesses who knew you before. A spouse or a supervisor describing the change is often the most persuasive evidence in the file.
The two claims that usually run together
After a motor vehicle collision there are normally two separate processes, and they have different deadlines. One is your accident benefits claim against your own insurer, which pays for treatment and income replacement. The other is the claim against whoever caused the collision. They run on different timetables and both matter. Our car accident page sets out the deadlines.
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Speak to a lawyer about a chronic pain claim
Initial consultations are free. Our fee schedule is published in full, by stage of the case, on our Fair Fees page. Call 905-409-2438, send a text, message us on WhatsApp, or use the contact form.
Steven Polak is licensed as a lawyer in Ontario and practises with Lerners LLP at 123 Athol Street, Whitby.