Back injuries range from a disc that settles in a few months to a spinal cord injury that changes every part of a person’s life. They are handled very differently, and the difference is not always obvious at the start.
How this injury is treated in a claim
Soft tissue and disc injuries are fought on whether the restriction is permanent. Spinal cord injuries are rarely fought on whether there is a loss. They are fought on the size of it, and the size depends on evidence assembled over years: attendant care, housing modification, equipment that wears out and has to be replaced, and a working life that ended early.
What gets disputed
- Degenerative change on imaging. Almost every adult spine shows some. The question is whether the collision made a quiet condition into a disabling one.
- Whether the restriction is permanent, which is often argued long before anyone can honestly know.
- The cost of future care, which in a serious case is the largest single component of the claim.
- Housing and equipment. A home that has to be modified, and equipment that needs replacing every few years for the rest of a life, has to be costed properly rather than estimated.
What makes the difference
- A life care plan prepared by someone who does this work, costing care over a lifetime rather than a year.
- Occupational therapy and home assessments that record what the house cannot do.
- Vocational evidence on what work is realistically available and what it pays.
- Family evidence about the care being provided unpaid, which is a real loss even when nobody is invoicing for it.
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.
The most serious spinal cord injuries may meet the test for catastrophic impairment. It is a designation within the accident benefits system, and it significantly expands the money available for treatment and care. Whether an injury qualifies is assessed case by case.
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Speak to a lawyer about a back or spinal cord injury
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.