Causation
Question
I had a no fault accident 6 months ago and the driver’s insurer admitted liability. They instructed a rehabilitation company but the insurance company is refusing to pay for physio to help my back and neck pain because they say they dispute causation of my injury. What is going on – they say they admit fault!?
Colin Watts, by email
Answer
In your claim you must prove that the accident caused the injuries for which you are claiming compensation. This is evidenced by obtaining expert medical evidence in the form of a medical report. Things that can be relevant are any pre-existing conditions that may have existed, for example previous back or neck ache, either constitutional or as a result of a previous accident.
It is important that your medical expert has access to all of your medical records so he can deal with this issue and the report should deal with any relevant history and the causation of your injuries, in other words were they more likely than not caused by the mechanism of the accident. Assuming you have supportive medical evidence then there is no reason why the defendant should not pay for your physio costs.
If for example, you had tripped over a wall a few weeks before the bike accident and thus had pain before the bike accident then your opponent’s insurance company does not have to compensate you as the injury pre-dated the accident. However, accidents can exacerbate pre-existing symptoms and it is very important that the medical experts deals with this where applicable, apportioning injury between the two accidents.
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