When “It Was Just a Fender Bender” Isn’t Simple: Why Minor Crashes Can Lead to Serious Injuries

Can it be more ironic? After more than a decade of careful driving with no accidents, your car gets hit as you’re backing out of your parking spot.

Your insurance agent was quick to comfort you by calling the incident a ‘fender bender,’ complimenting you on your own previously unblemished safe driving record.

Although relieved that your car had sustained only relatively small damages, needing only two days in the shop, you’re not so sure about your own ‘damages.” Although nothing serious showed up on the scans, your neck pain hasn’t gone away, and neither have the headaches. Perhaps it’s psychological, because you find yourself mentally ‘freezing up’ every time you get behind the wheel, particularly in that very same parking lot at your workplace. 

When you reported your continuing discomfort to your doctor, he suggested some physical therapy, which you’ve begun. But when you went back to your insurance company with those reports, they dismissed  your symptoms as ‘psychological.’ The agent was told you were simply ‘overreacting.’ You were directed to the Minor Injury Guideline (MIG), and told that you could fill out a request for an exception, but they doubted you would qualify.

Whereas your earlier conversation with the agent had you feeling comforted — after all, it was just a ‘fender bender’ now you’re feeling very isolated, viewed as an enemy rather than as a client. Should you seek legal help, you wonder?

Even a “minor” fender bender can cause real injuries like whiplash, soft-tissue strain, concussion symptoms, chronic pain, and driving anxiety. Symptoms often show up hours or days later. In Ontario, insurers may label these injuries “minor” under the Minor Injury Guideline (MIG), capping treatment at $3,500, unless strong medical evidence supports an exception.

What is whiplash, and can you get it in a ‘fender-bender’?

Whiplash is a neck injury caused by a rapid back-and-forth movement neck. The condition might result from a sports accident or even from physical abuse, but it is commonly caused by a rear end car crashed.

When the car is “jolted” from behind, the neck of the person sitting in the driver’s seat can be sprained, the Mayo Clinic’s website explains.  

Symptoms may include headaches, loss of range of motion in the neck, tiredness, dizziness, and headaches. Most get better within a few weeks, but some end up with long-lasting complications.

Rear-end collisions account for nearly 30% of all car accidents, Alexander Orthopaedics.com notes, making them one of the most common causes of whiplash injuries. Sometimes symptoms don’t appear at all until weeks after the initial Incident, orthopedic spine surgeon Dr. Joshua Abrams explains. Adrenaline  released right after the injury can mask the initial effects, even when micro-tears have occurred. Possible delayed symptoms include:

• neck pain and stiffness
• headaches
• sleep disturbances
• ringing in the ears
• depression
• difficulty concentrating

Can a ‘fender bender’ really cause serious injury?

A low-speed impact can cause serious harm to the human body for two basic reasons:

Anatomical physics: When you’re in the driver’s seat and your car is hit from the rear, your neck snaps forward and back in just milliseconds.                 

Car construction: Stiff seats and head restraints are designed to protect drivers and passengers in high-speed crashes, but in low-speed impact situations, they are less helpful in preventing strain and soft tissue damage Modern bumpers are built to remain rigid at low speed, so that when an automobile is rammed from behind, energy transfers to the body rather than to the car.           

The benefit spectrum – MIG to SABS

 What is the Ontario Minor Injury Guideline (MIG)?

The minor injury guideline is a framework used by insurance companies in Ontario to classify certain injuries and limit the medical benefits available to accident victims..When your injury is classified under the MIG, it restricts your access to treatment and puts a cap on the benefits you can claim.

Insurance companies typically apply the minor injury guideline​ when they believe your injuries will heal within a few weeks or months with minimal treatment. The MIG puts a $3,500 limit on medical and rehabilitation benefits, meaning that once you’ve used up this amount, you will be  need to pay out of pocket for any further treatment.

The only way a claimant can get out of the Minor Injury Guideline in Ontario is to provide medical evidence showing that the injuries are not minor and that they deserve to be viewed as ‘major’ under SABS.

What is SABS (Statutory Accident Benefits Schedule)?

SABS is an Ontario regulation that mandates no-fault insurance coverage for individuals injured in motor vehicle accidents.  That means that, regardless whose fault the accident was, essential benefits are provided  by the insurer to injured parties, (which might include drivers, passengers, pedestrians, or cyclists.

The Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario supervises the auto insurance sector, and SABS, the Statutory Accident Benefits Schedule is included in all automobile insurance as standard coverage.

Potential benefits under SABS include:

• medical treatment
• rehabilitation
• income replacement
• caregiver support.