By Marie-Lissa Grenier, paralegal
While it can be easy to demonstrate that you suffered from a broken leg or from a herniated disc after an accident, certain diagnoses are far more difficult to prove! Incredibly painful and often completely disabling, fibromyalgia can be defined as a diffuse chronic pain syndrome that travels through the whole body, and can also cause great fatigue. However, this condition is still widely misunderstood, and is very difficult to diagnose even though it’s been officially recognized by the World Health Organization since 1992.
If you suffer from fibromyalgia caused by a car accident or an occupational injury, it is of the utmost importance that this diagnosis gets recognized by the SAAQ or CNESST since it may keep you from going back to work long after your bumps and bruises have healed. Often time, these organizations will say that you already had this condition before your accident or that they are not related because of how long it took to diagnose.
Unfortunately, one of the only ways to prove the relation of your diagnosis with your accident is to ask a chronic pain expert to do a thorough analysis of your case and to produce a report for the court. On the bright side, tribunals have shown more and more open-mindedness in the last few years when it comes to accepting fibromyalgia in work or road accident cases. If you suffer from this condition, talk to your doctor, and get as much documentation as possible.