— TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURY LAWYERS

Protecting your future starts with experienced traumatic brain injury lawyers.

A traumatic brain injury can change the way a person thinks, feels, moves, communicates, works, sleeps, remembers, and lives day to day. Some brain injuries are obvious immediately after an accident. Others are missed at first because there is no visible head wound, no loss of consciousness, and no clear abnormality on a CT scan or MRI.

Oatley Vigmond’s lawyers have secured some of Ontario’s most significant outcomes for people living with traumatic brain injuries, including settlements and trial verdicts worth millions of dollars. Insurance companies know our reputation for thorough preparation, expert medical evidence, and trial advocacy in complex brain injury cases.

TorontoNorth York • Scarborough • Vaughan • Brampton • Mississauga

Oatley Vigmond’s Experience With Brain Injury Cases

Why Experience Matters in Traumatic Brain Injury Claims

— What You Should Know

Understanding Traumatic Brain Injuries and Your Legal Right

Traumatic brain injuries range from mild concussions to severe, life-altering brain damage. Understanding the type and severity of the injury is essential because it can affect medical treatment, insurance benefits, and the compensation available through a personal injury claim.

A traumatic brain injury is not one single diagnosis. It is a broad category of injuries that can range from a concussion that resolves within weeks to a severe brain injury that permanently affects independence, communication, mobility, behaviour, and future care needs. 

The medical classification matters because it affects how your legal claim is built. It can influence accident benefits, catastrophic impairment designation, rehabilitation funding, income loss claims, future care costs, attendant care needs, and the amount of compensation available through a lawsuit against an at fault party. 

The information below is intended to help you understand the legal and medical landscape. It is not medical advice. Your doctors and treatment providers are responsible for diagnosing and treating your injury. Our role is to make sure your injury is properly documented, properly explained, and properly valued in the insurance and legal systems. 

Mild TBI

Concussion

A concussion is a mild traumatic brain injury. "Mild" refers to a medical classification, not its real-life impact. You don't need to lose consciousness, hit your head directly, or have a visible wound for it to occur.

  • Headaches, dizziness, nausea, fatigue
  • Light and noise sensitivity, blurred vision
  • Memory, concentration, and mood changes

Some recover in weeks; others face symptoms for months. Legally, what matters is how symptoms affect your ability to function, not the "mild" label.

Ongoing Symptoms

Post Concussion Syndrome

This occurs when concussion symptoms continue past the expected recovery period, disrupting work, school, parenting, and daily life. Insurers often dispute these claims since symptoms may not appear on standard imaging, but that doesn't make them less real.

  • Ongoing headaches, fatigue, and dizziness
  • Memory and concentration difficulties
  • Sleep disruption, mood changes
Moderate TBI

Moderate Traumatic Brain Injury

A moderate TBI may involve longer confusion, loss of consciousness, abnormal imaging, or significant changes in daily functioning. Recovery is often uneven, improving in some areas while others still struggle.

  • Neurological care, neuropsychological assessment
  • Occupational, speech, and vestibular therapy
  • Cognitive rehab and case management

These claims can become complex as memory, fatigue, judgment, or executive functioning fluctuate over time.

Severe TBI

Severe Traumatic Brain Injury

A severe TBI can permanently affect cognition, physical function, personality, and independence, often requiring hospitalization, surgery, and long-term rehabilitation.

  • Speech, memory, attention, judgment, impulse control
  • Mobility, balance, vision, personality
  • Employment and family relationships
Classification

Acquired Brain Injury

An acquired brain injury is brain damage occurring after birth. A traumatic brain injury is one type; others stem from oxygen deprivation, stroke, infection, or medical complications.

This distinction matters legally, since not every acquired brain injury arises from an accident claim. We carefully assess the cause to determine whether it's a personal injury, medical malpractice, or accident benefits claim, or a combination of these.

Medical Emergency

Brain Bleeds and Hemorrhages

A serious accident can cause bleeding in or around the brain, requiring emergency care and risking serious complications.

  • Worsening headache, repeated vomiting
  • Confusion, weakness, seizures
  • Changes in speech, vision, or consciousness

These cases often involve emergency records, imaging, and specialist evidence to assess long-term neurological impact.

Complex Injury

Diffuse Axonal Injury

A diffuse axonal injury happens when the brain rapidly shifts inside the skull, often from high-force acceleration or deceleration such as a serious collision.

This disrupts communication between brain cells and can cause significant cognitive, physical, and functional impairment. These cases require sophisticated expert evidence, since the full effect may only become clear over time.

FOR FAMILIES DEALING WITH A TBI

Traumatic Brain Injury: A Family Guide

A practical resource for families trying to understand the medical, financial, and legal impact of a serious brain injury, and what to expect at every stage.

Read the guide →

Traumatic Brain Injuries and Catastrophic Impairment Under Ontario Law

For people injured in motor vehicle accidents in Ontario, catastrophic impairment designation can be one of the most important legal issues in the case. Under Ontario's Statutory Accident Benefits Schedule (SABS), this designation can unlock access to significantly higher medical, rehabilitation, and attendant care benefits.

For someone with a serious traumatic brain injury, those benefits may be essential to fund long term care, rehabilitation, cognitive therapy, occupational therapy, psychological treatment, case management, and attendant care. Families can learn more about available funding and support in Oatley Vigmond's guide to Ontario accident benefits.

A traumatic brain injury may qualify as catastrophic impairment depending on the medical evidence, functional outcome, severity of impairment, timing of assessment, and applicable legal criteria. Some cases may involve Glasgow Coma Scale evidence, Glasgow Outcome Scale evidence, Extended Glasgow Outcome Scale evidence, whole person impairment ratings, marked or extreme mental and behavioural impairment, or a combination of physical, cognitive, and psychological impairments.

This is not a simple checkbox exercise. Insurers often dispute catastrophic impairment designation because the financial stakes are significant, especially when the client has an invisible injury, normal imaging, fluctuating symptoms, partial recovery, or a complicated psychological presentation.

Oatley Vigmond has a dedicated team of accident benefits specialists who work alongside our litigators. We fight for catastrophic impairment designation from the earliest stages of the claim, through insurer disputes, medical assessments, Licence Appeal Tribunal proceedings, and litigation when necessary.

What Compensation Can You Claim After a Traumatic Brain Injury in Ontario?

The compensation available after a traumatic brain injury depends on how the injury happened, who was at fault, what insurance coverage applies, and how the brain injury affects your life. In Ontario, brain injury compensation may involve two main streams.

1

Accident benefits

Available through your own automobile insurer if the injury happened in a motor vehicle accident. May help pay for medical treatment, rehabilitation, attendant care, income replacement, caregiver benefits, and housekeeping benefits.

2

Tort claim

May be available against an at fault driver, property owner, municipality, medical provider, product manufacturer, or another negligent party, depending on the facts of the case.

Compensation may include:

Medical and rehab

Medical treatment, rehabilitation, occupational and physiotherapy, speech language therapy, cognitive rehabilitation, psychological treatment, neuropsychological assessment

Income and future care

Attendant care, case management, income loss, loss of future earning capacity, future care costs, pain and suffering

Home and family

Housekeeping and home maintenance losses, transportation expenses, home modifications, family member claims

Retraining and education

Education support, vocational retraining, out of pocket expenses

Brain injury claims are rarely about one category of loss. They are about the total effect of the injury on the person's future. Oatley Vigmond works with medical, rehabilitation, vocational, and financial experts to build the evidence needed to capture the full value of the claim.

What Does a Lifetime of Brain Injury Care Actually Cost?

The long term cost of a traumatic brain injury can be substantial. Even when a person makes progress in rehabilitation, they may continue to need treatment, supervision, support, accommodation, or assistance for years.

The lifetime costs of a serious brain injury may include:

Care and rehabilitation

Attendant care and personal support, occupational therapy, physiotherapy, speech language therapy, cognitive rehabilitation

Medical and psychological

Psychological and psychiatric treatment, neuropsychological reassessment, medication and medical monitoring, case management

Return to independence

Vocational rehabilitation, return to work support, education support, driving assessment, assistive technology

Long term support

Home modifications, transportation and housekeeping support, future loss of income, loss of future earning capacity, support for family caregivers

These long term needs are part of why Oatley Vigmond built its Total Care Network, connecting legal advocacy with treatment access, rehabilitation planning, accident benefits support, and future care coordination.

Brain injury costs are often underestimated because the injury can evolve over time. Fatigue, cognitive overload, mood changes, headaches, sleep disruption, and executive function problems may affect a person's ability to work, parent, manage finances, live independently, or participate in family life long after the accident.

Oatley Vigmond does not accept early settlements that fail to account for the full future impact of a brain injury. We work to understand what the client needs now, what they are likely to need in the future, and what compensation is required to protect their long term stability.

— COMMON SCENARIOS

Common Causes of Traumatic Brain Injuries in Ontario

Car Accidents

High speed, rear end, and T-bone collisions can move the brain inside the skull even without a direct head strike.

Motorcycle Accidents

Motorcycle crashes are a leading cause of serious brain trauma given the lack of vehicle protection.

Truck Accidents

Commercial truck collisions can cause serious brain trauma due to the force involved.

Pedestrian Accidents

Pedestrian impacts often result in some of the most severe traumatic brain injuries we see.

Bicycle Accidents

Bicycle crashes involving vehicles are a common and often serious cause of brain injury.

Slip and Fall Accidents

A fall on unsafe property can cause a concussion, skull fracture, brain bleed, or long term cognitive symptoms.

Boating Accidents

Boating accidents on Ontario's lakes and waterways can result in serious head trauma.

Sports and Recreational Accidents

Contact sports and recreational activities are a common source of concussion and brain injury.

Medical Malpractice

Oxygen deprivation, delayed diagnosis, or surgical complications can lead to a brain injury.

— Recognition & Results

Recognized among Canada's leading personal injury firms

Independent legal rankings have consistently recognized Oatley Vigmond among Canada’s leading personal injury law firms for its experience, reputation, and success in complex traumatic brain injury and catastrophic injury cases.

Our traumatic brain injury lawyers have decades of experience representing children, adults, and families affected by concussions, moderate brain injuries, and severe traumatic brain injuries. We understand the lasting physical, cognitive, emotional, and financial challenges a brain injury can create, and we are committed to securing the compensation our clients need for long-term treatment, rehabilitation, and future care.

Stats row

15 years

Named a Top Personal Injury Boutique by Canadian Lawyer every year since 2011.

Tier 1

2026 Best Law Firms Canada — National rankings in Personal Injury Litigation & Insurance Law.

24/7

Free consultations, day or night. We will come to you if you cannot come to us.

$0

No legal fees upfront and none as your case progresses — payable only if we succeed.

What sets us apart

Personal injury law is the only area of law we practise

Extensive experience with traumatic brain injury and catastrophic injury claims across Ontario

A dedicated team of accident benefits specialists working alongside our litigators

Significant brain injury results, including a settlement of more than $12 million for a client with a severe brain injury requiring lifelong care

Recognized trial experience in serious brain injury litigation

Deep relationships with leading medical, rehabilitation, life care, vocational, and financial experts

Recognized by Canadian Lawyer as one of Canada's top personal injury boutiques

Offices and consultation locations across Ontario, including Barrie, North York, Toronto, Hamilton, Sudbury, and North Bay

We come to clients in hospital, rehabilitation facilities, or at home

Free consultations available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, with no legal fees unless compensation is recovered

— WHERE WE SERVE

Traumatic Brain Injury Lawyers Serving Toronto, GTA, and All of Ontario

— OUR TEAM

Meet The Traumatic Brain Injury Lawyers On Your Side

Our traumatic brain injury team includes experienced trial lawyers who focus exclusively on serious personal injury claims and have helped clients across Ontario navigate some of the province’s most complex brain injury cases.

Our traumatic brain injury lawyers combine decades of trial experience with a deep understanding of the profound cognitive, emotional, and financial impact a brain injury has on individuals and their families.

Troy Lehman

Managing Partner

Troy navigates complex insurance law to secure landmark judgments and maximum long-term care funding for clients with severe brain injuries.

Adam Little

Managing Partner

Adam secures maximum compensation for the most seriously injured clients by aggressively taking complex traumatic brain injury claims to trial.

Brian Cameron

Partner

Brian draws on decades of trial experience to dismantle aggressive insurance denials and secure critical rehabilitation funding for clients with brain injuries.

Robert Durante

Partner

Rob advocates exclusively for seriously injured victims, specializing in securing maximum tort and accident benefits compensation for clients facing life-altering brain trauma.

Kevin Henderson

Partner

Having previously represented Canada's largest insurance providers, Kevin uses his inside knowledge of defence strategies to outmaneuver insurers and win exceptional results for clients with brain injuries.

Karen Vigmond

Partner

Karen combines fierce litigation with deep empathy to secure life-altering accident benefits and long-term rehabilitation support for clients with traumatic brain injuries.

Lara Fitzgerald-Husek

Partner

Drawing on her background in insurance defence at a leading national firm, Lara anticipates insurer tactics to aggressively secure maximum compensation for clients with brain injuries.

Liane Brown

Partner

A Board Member of the Ontario Trial Lawyers Association, Liane regularly overrides aggressive insurer cutoffs at the Licence Appeal Tribunal to protect immediate benefits for clients with brain injuries.

Ben Irantalab

Partner

Devoting his practice exclusively to complex, life-altering trauma, Ben fights at all levels of court to secure future care funding for clients managing catastrophic brain injuries.

Charles Jung

Partner

Recognized for his insights at the Motor Vehicle Litigation Summit, Charles applies elite trial advocacy to hold insurers and other defendants accountable for clients who have suffered traumatic brain injuries.

You Do Not Need Money to Hire Us

— QUESTIONS & ANSWERS

Frequently Asked Questions About Traumatic Brain Injury in Ontario

Our traumatic brain injury lawyers combine decades of trial experience with a deep understanding of the complex physical, cognitive, emotional, and financial challenges brain injuries create for individuals and their families.

FAQ accordion

You may have a brain injury if you experience headaches, dizziness, nausea, fatigue, memory problems, confusion, mood changes, blurred vision, ringing in the ears, sensitivity to light, sensitivity to noise, sleep problems, balance issues, speech problems, or trouble concentrating after an accident. Symptoms can appear right away or develop over hours, days, or weeks.

If you are experiencing symptoms after an accident, seek medical attention as soon as possible. From a legal perspective, early medical documentation can also help protect your claim.

Yes. A brain injury can happen without a direct blow to the head. Sudden acceleration, deceleration, whiplash, or a violent jolt can cause the brain to move inside the skull and result in concussion or traumatic brain injury symptoms.

This is one reason brain injuries are sometimes missed after car accidents and other traumatic events.

Yes. A concussion is a type of traumatic brain injury. Some concussions resolve within weeks. Others cause ongoing symptoms that interfere with work, school, sleep, memory, concentration, mood, and daily life.

The fact that a concussion is sometimes described as mild does not mean its effect on your life is minor.

Seek medical attention as soon as possible. Tell your doctor about the accident and describe every symptom, even if it seems minor. Keep records of medical visits, prescriptions, missed work, expenses, and changes in memory, mood, sleep, concentration, behaviour, or daily functioning.

You should also speak with a lawyer before giving a recorded or written statement to an insurance company.

Families in the earliest days after a serious injury can also read Oatley Vigmond's guide to the first 7 days after a catastrophic injury or sudden loss.

A normal CT scan or MRI does not always rule out a concussion or traumatic brain injury. Some brain injuries do not appear clearly on routine imaging. Ongoing symptoms, clinical assessments, neuropsychological testing, rehabilitation records, and functional evidence can help show how the injury is affecting your life.

Insurers often rely on normal imaging to dispute brain injury claims. Oatley Vigmond works with medical and rehabilitation experts to build the evidence needed to respond.

Compensation may include medical expenses, rehabilitation, attendant care, income loss, loss of future earning capacity, psychological treatment, pain and suffering, housekeeping support, future care costs, case management, vocational support, family member claims, and out of pocket expenses.

The value of the claim depends on the severity of the injury, the long term impact, the available insurance coverage, and the strength of the evidence.

Rehabilitation may be funded through accident benefits, private insurance, disability benefits, or a personal injury claim, depending on the facts of the case. Brain injury rehabilitation may include occupational therapy, physiotherapy, speech language therapy, cognitive therapy, psychological support, vestibular therapy, and help returning to work or school.

Families moving from hospital treatment into brain injury rehabilitation may also find Oatley Vigmond's guide to transitioning from trauma care to rehabilitation helpful.

Oatley Vigmond helps clients pursue every available source of funding.

Accident benefits are insurance benefits available after a motor vehicle accident in Ontario, regardless of who caused the crash. They may help pay for medical treatment, rehabilitation, attendant care, income replacement, and other recovery related expenses.

For serious brain injuries, the accident benefits claim may become just as important as the lawsuit against the at fault party.

Yes. A serious traumatic brain injury may qualify as catastrophic impairment in Ontario if it meets the legal criteria under the Statutory Accident Benefits Schedule. This designation can provide access to higher levels of medical, rehabilitation, and attendant care benefits.

Catastrophic impairment claims are often disputed by insurers, especially when symptoms are invisible, recovery is uneven, or the client has cognitive and psychological impairments that require detailed expert evidence.

You may still have options. Insurance companies sometimes dispute brain injury claims by pointing to normal imaging, incomplete medical records, pre existing issues, or the fact that the injured person appears well in short interactions.

A lawyer can help gather the medical, rehabilitation, family, and expert evidence needed to challenge the insurer's position.

Yes, you may be able to sue if another person's negligence caused or contributed to the accident. A lawsuit may seek compensation for pain and suffering, income loss, loss of future earning capacity, future care, medical treatment, attendant care, housekeeping losses, and other damages not fully covered by accident benefits.

Oatley Vigmond handles both the accident benefits and tort sides of brain injury claims.

If a brain injury prevents you from returning to work, you may be able to claim income loss, loss of future earning capacity, retraining costs, disability related losses, and long term financial support.

These claims often require medical, vocational, employment, and financial evidence. Oatley Vigmond works with experts to assess how the injury affects your ability to earn income now and in the future.

Yes. Family members may be able to claim compensation for loss of care, guidance, and companionship. In some cases, family members may also claim caregiving expenses, transportation costs, home support expenses, and the impact of the injury on family life.

A serious brain injury affects the whole family, not just the injured person. Families looking for practical guidance after a life changing injury can also visit Oatley Vigmond's Catastrophic Injury Family Information Hub.

If a medical error caused or worsened a brain injury, you may have a medical malpractice claim. These cases may involve delayed diagnosis, surgical complications, oxygen deprivation, medication errors, failure to monitor, or failure to respond to neurological symptoms.

Medical malpractice brain injury cases are complex and require careful expert review. Oatley Vigmond can assess whether a malpractice claim may be available.

There is no fixed timeline. The length of a brain injury claim depends on the severity of the injury, recovery progress, medical evidence, insurance disputes, expert assessments, and whether the case resolves through settlement or proceeds toward trial.

What matters most is that the claim is not settled before the full impact of the injury is understood. Settling too early can leave a brain injury survivor without enough compensation for future care, lost income, and long term needs.

Oatley Vigmond works on a contingency fee basis. You pay no legal fees upfront and no legal fees while your case progresses. Our fee is a percentage of the compensation recovered and is only payable if your case is successful.

If no compensation is recovered, no legal fee is owed. Your first consultation is free, and we are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Brain injury claims are often complex because symptoms may be invisible, delayed, disputed, or difficult to prove. A lawyer can help gather medical evidence, coordinate expert reports, deal with insurance companies, pursue accident benefits, assess catastrophic impairment, and seek compensation for current and future losses.

If you or someone in your family has suffered a traumatic brain injury in Ontario, it is important to get legal advice before dealing directly with the insurer.

Speak with a traumatic brain injury lawyer in Ontario today

If you or someone you love has suffered a traumatic brain injury, the decisions made now can shape your future. Oatley Vigmond represents people and families across Ontario in complex claims involving concussions, post-concussion syndrome, and moderate to severe brain injuries.

For decades, insurance companies have known our reputation for thorough preparation and strong advocacy in traumatic brain injury litigation.

Consultations are free, and you pay no legal fees unless we recover compensation for you.

Free
Consultation

$0

Unless we win

Intake Form
First
Last
Consent
Communications