Do I Have To Attend All My Treatment and Follow All Recommendations?

March 20, 2011 / Category: Frequently Asked Questions

Under the mitigation of damages doctrine, a person who has suffered an injury or loss should take reasonable action, where possible, to avoid additional injury or loss. The failure of a plaintiff to take protective steps after suffering an injury or loss can reduce the amount of the plaintiff’s recovery.

A tort victim also should act to mitigate damages subsequent to the wrongful acts of another. For instance, assume that the victim in a car accident suffers a broken leg. If the victim refuses to get medical treatment and the leg eventually must be amputated, the defendant may be liable only for the reasonable medical expenses to repair a broken leg. Because a reasonable person would seek medical attention after suffering a broken leg, a court could find it unreasonable to make the defendant pay for additional damage that the victim could have prevented with minimal effort.

Other types of mitigation includes but not limited to:

• seeking and complying with all reasonable medical treatment;
• seeking to return to pre-accident employment if able
• seeking retraining if can not go back to work if able
• applying for all benefits through all available insurance policies (i.e. work benefits, spouse benefits, private benefits, parents benefits etc…)
• applying for all government assistance (i.e. Ontario Disability Support Program, Canada Pension Plan Disability, Ontario Work, Employment Insurance, Employment Insurance Sick Benefits)

Therefore you must do all that is reasonable to improve your situation and reduce what the defendants may be required to pay you, failing which your damages may be reduced.

To ensure you receive maximum protection and compensation, call our personal injury legal team now.