General Damages for Concussion in Atlantic Canada

General damages for concussion depend on recovery time far more than on the word concussion in a hospital record. A concussion is a mild traumatic brain injury, most resolve within weeks, and an award for a resolved concussion is modest. The minority that do not resolve are a different claim entirely. This chapter states how courts draw that line.

Recovery Time Decides Most Concussion Awards

For the person whose headaches and fog clear in a month or two, the award compensates a bad but closed chapter, and the reported cases keep those figures in the low range. Courts read the clinical notes for the arc of recovery. A record that shows steady improvement supports a modest award. A record that shows symptoms persisting past the expected window changes the comparison cases entirely.

General Damages for Concussion Rise Sharply with Persistent Symptoms

A minority of concussion patients develop symptoms that last months or years. Headache, dizziness, light sensitivity and cognitive fatigue that persist can end careers, and courts treat established persistent symptoms as a serious injury, with awards well above the soft-tissue range in the reported cases. The medical fight is usually causation, because there is rarely an objective marker. Consistent reporting to treating practitioners from the first week is the evidence that wins it.

The Motor Vehicle Minor Injury Caps List Soft-Tissue Injuries, Not Concussion

The minor injury caps in New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island define minor injuries around sprains, strains and whiplash-associated disorder. A concussion is a brain injury, not a listed soft-tissue injury, and the firm’s position on car accident files is that a concussion claim is assessed outside the cap on its own facts. The regulations are on CanLII.

A Concussion That Does Not Resolve Is Assessed as a Brain Injury

When symptoms persist and neuropsychological testing documents real cognitive change, the claim moves onto the ground covered by the brain injury chapter, and the award moves with it. Cyclists are overrepresented in these files, and the bicycle accident pages state the provincial rules. The guide’s opening chapter explains how all of these awards are built from decided cases.