Chronic pain can start as a result of trauma, such as injuries from a car accident or a fall. Though there’s no specific timeframe for definition, pain lasting more than a year without clear cause is typically considered “chronic”. This is in contrast with “acute” pain, which usually resolves itself within 30 days.
In our legal practice we often see clients who develop chronic pain after a soft-tissue or muscular injury. While chronic pain may occur anywhere in the body we often see it after neck and back injuries. Often clients with chronic physical pain also develop emotional symptoms, such as anxiety, depression, difficulty sleeping and fatigue. This can become a vicious cycle where the physical pain causes increased emotional distress, which in turns makes the experience of physical pain worse.
Chronic pain cases can be difficult to prove because they rely on your ‘subjective’ complaints of pain. This means the cause of your pain is not something that can be seen on an x-ray or an MRI, like a broken leg. As a result, insurance companies, defense lawyers and juries can be skeptical of this type of claim. However, it is a real injury with real life impact. It can affect all aspects of your life including your ability to work, to do your regular housekeeping tasks and to engage in leisure activities with your family.
It takes more time and skill to prove an injury that can’t be seen by the insurance company. We have this experience. Give us a call at 416-800-4378 or 416-533-7133 and book a free consultation to speak to us about how we can help you maximize your recovery.
