November is Fall Prevention Month, and there's a reason why it warrants a month of its own. According to the Public Health Agency of Canada, falls are the leading cause of injury-related hospitalization in the country, affecting people across age groups and settings.
In the world of Independent Medical Examinations (IMEs), including Accident Benefits and disability claims, the question often arises as to whether a claimant meets diagnostic criteria for an Adjustment Disorder, Major Depressive Disorder, or Generalized Anxiety Disorder. Distinguishing among the three is important not only when considering treatment options, but also when answering referral questions about functional impairment, prognosis, recovery, and return-to-work planning.
October is Healthy Workplace Month, and most of the attention it draws - rightly - goes to prevention: safer environments, better ergonomics, and healthier cultures.
World Mental Health Day is a fitting moment to examine a distinction that sits at the centre of nearly every mental health claim, and that is remarkably easy to blur: the difference between a diagnosis and an impairment.
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September 10 marks World Suicide Prevention Day. The current international theme, carried across 2024 to 2026, is "Changing the Narrative on Suicide" - a call to move from silence and stigma toward openness and support.
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September 30 marks the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. For the medico-legal community, it is a prompt to consider something that rarely enters discussions of assessment quality: cultural safety.
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Few determinations carry more weight than a finding of catastrophic impairment. The designation changes the benefits available, the trajectory of a claim, and often the life of the individual at its centre.
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PTSD Awareness Month each June - and PTSD Awareness Day on June 27 - is a useful prompt for the medico-legal community to revisit how trauma is assessed.
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For many men, mental health remains the conversation that doesn't happen. The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health reports that men account for roughly three in four suicides in Canada, yet are significantly less likely than women to seek treatment for depression, anxiety, or post-traumatic stress.
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June is Brain Injury Awareness Month – an annual prompt for the legal community to revisit how brain injury claims are evaluated.