What Makes Chronic Pain Cases Complex and How Singer Kwinter Achieves Success in Litigating Them

An accident can result in both acute injuries and chronic pain. Acute injuries include soft tissue damage, head injuries, and fractures in bones. Proper medical and rehabilitation treatment will improve the likelihood of full resolution from such injuries. Sometimes, however, pain symptoms will continue to persist, combined with significant emotional distress or functional disability, without any objective explanation. In such cases, the overall condition might be classified as chronic pain.  

Treatment for chronic pain varies as it depends on the individual’s response. Some might rely on opioid medications, while others might cope by using cannabis to manage their pain. Both have dangers in store for an accident victim: with opioids, there is a risk of developing dependency; while, with cannabis, there is a risk of not being compensated for this expense. Aside from ingesting prescription (which may extend beyond opioids) and non-prescription substances, patients are frequently recommended for multidisciplinary rehabilitation and/or injection therapies. 

In summary, chronic pain is a secondary injury that can arise after an accident. By definition, it cannot be verified with objective testing.  

As a result, defendants and insurers faced with chronic pain cases will commonly deny the correctness of the diagnosis, which can be done by attacking the claimant’s credibility. Because physicians rely on their patients’ subjective reports in reaching the diagnosis of chronic pain, the claimant’s credibility is key. It only takes the defence lawyer or adjuster finding inconsistent statements in medical reports or observing surveillance showing the claimant engaging in activities they claimed to be unable to do for the diagnosis to be cast in doubt. For this reason, chronic pain cases must be skillfully prosecuted to be successful.  

Singer Kwinter retains the title of having won the largest award for a chronic pain case in Canada. More recently, Singer Kwinter recovered an award of damages exceeding $1,000,000.00 at trial in a chronic pain case.