I must apologize - it's been a while since I have had the time to blog. I have been travelling doing appeals out here in the West. In late May I attended four appeals - all men - and all different types of back injuries. Chronic Pain, Mechanical Back Pain, Low Back Pain, whatever you want to diagnose it as - has its challenges when trying to establish disability under the legislation. The appellants were all different - the circumstances all unique - but the underlying issues were that none of them could work due to the pain and limited mobility they experienced.
Often times, there is argument by the Feds, that there is no objective information to substantiate the appeal. Sometimes, they argue a Pension Appeals Board case that states that Back Pain is due to activity intolerance, or deconditioning. This seems to be a favourite case of the Fed's that I have been presented at the various levels of appeals - http://www.pab-cap.gc.ca/english/docs/2007/cp24738e.web.pdf
Now keep in mind that this is only one case - and as we all know - there are cases that can support a claim for chronic back pain. I would just like to post this case so that you can be prepared - as this seems to be the case de jour at the moment.
I will agree that chronic back pain, or myofascial pain, or chronic pain syndrome are challenging cases to establish eligibility. The most successful appellants have done all that they can to mitigate their disability - they have gone to chronic pain clinics, they have tried to return to work in some capacity - if some residual capacity exists - they have tried everything they can think off to get back on their feet and back to work.
In these cases, The Feds will argue that there is no objective evidence - but remember objective evidence - is only one part of the overall picture. Subjective evidence can be considered in the totality of the evidence presented to the Feds. Credibility of the appellant goes a long way when assessing the weight of subjective evidence. Also, chronic pain is often diagnosed in the absence of objective evidence. Here are some of the cases that I have been involved that may help:
http://www.pab-cap.gc.ca/english/docs/2009/cp26006e.web.pdf
http://www.pab-cap.gc.ca/english/docs/2009/cp26189e.web.pdf
http://www.pab-cap.gc.ca/english/docs/2005/cp22721-e.pdf
http://www.pab-cap.gc.ca/english/docs/2008/cp25115e.web.pdf
If you have any questions, please contact me at info@dcac.ca