Ontario Blindness and Vision Loss Injury Lawyers
Foster Injury Law can represent people across Ontario with serious blindness and vision loss injury claims after motor vehicle collisions, motorcycle crashes, pedestrian accidents, bicycle and e-bike accidents, falls, burns, defective products, and other traumatic incidents.
Vision loss impacts an individual's work, driving, reading, mobility, safety, independence, family responsibilities, mental health, and future care needs. Some people experience complete blindness. Others suffer partial vision loss, loss of visual field, double vision, optic nerve injury, retinal damage, light sensitivity, or visual symptoms connected to traumatic brain injury.
This page focuses on serious vision loss cases. For more general information about serious injury claims, visit Foster Injury Law’s Ontario personal injury lawyers page.
Blindness, Vision Loss, and the Catastrophic Impairment Test in Ontario
In Ontario motor vehicle accident cases, severe vision loss can result in catastrophic impairment.
Ontario’s Statutory Accident Benefits Schedule includes a specific catastrophic impairment category for loss of vision of both eyes.
For accidents on or after June 1, 2016, loss of vision of both eyes can qualify as catastrophic where the following test is met:
• even with corrective lenses or medication, visual acuity in both eyes is 20/200 (6/60) or less as measured by the Snellen Chart or an equivalent chart;
or
• even with corrective lenses or medication, the greatest diameter of the field of vision in both eyes is 20 degrees or less;
and
• the loss of vision is not attributable to non-organic causes.
This test is important because it considers both visual acuity and visual field loss. A person can have some remaining sight and still meet the catastrophic impairment definition if the remaining visual field is severely restricted.
The assessment can require ophthalmology, optometry, or neuro-ophthalmology evidence. Important records can include visual acuity testing, visual field testing, medical causation opinions, treatment records, imaging, surgical records, and evidence about whether corrective lenses or medication change the result.
Not every serious eye injury will mee this very specific catastrophic impairment category. Vision loss in one eye, partial visual impairment, double vision, light sensitivity, or brain-related visual symptoms might not satisfy the bilateral vision-loss test. Those injuries can still be serious personal injury claims. Depending on the full medical and functional picture, they can also be relevant to whole person impairment, combined physical and psychological impairment, traumatic brain injury analysis, future care, and income loss.
For broader information about catastrophic impairment claims, visit our Ontario catastrophic injury lawyers page.
What Is a Blindness or Vision Loss Injury Claim?
Blindness or vision loss injuries can entail damage to the eyes, optic nerves, visual pathways, or brain systems involved in vision. The injury can be immediate, such as a traumatic rupture of the eye, or it can develop through complications after the accident.
Vision loss claims can case:
• blindness in one or both eyes;
• reduced visual acuity;
• loss of peripheral vision;
• optic nerve damage;
• retinal detachment or retinal injury;
• traumatic cataracts;
• orbital fractures;
• corneal scarring;
• eye burns or chemical injury;
• double vision;
• light sensitivity;
• visual field deficits;
• vision problems connected to traumatic brain injury.
In personal injury cases, the evidence should go beyond the label and show how the vision loss affects work, safety, mobility, care needs, and future plans.
Vision Loss After an Accident in Ontario
Vision loss occurs in many different accident settings. People can suffer an eye injury from broken glass, blunt trauma, airbag deployment, dashboard impact, a fall, a chemical exposure, a burn, or a defective product.
For serious road injuries involving vision loss, see our pages for Ontario car accident lawyers, Ontario motorcycle accident lawyers, Ontario pedestrian accident lawyers, and Ontario bicycle accident lawyers.
Vision problems can also arise after head trauma. A person with a traumatic brain injury can experience visual processing problems, visual field loss, double vision, reading difficulty, dizziness, balance problems, light sensitivity, or difficulty navigating busy environments.
The most common form of vision loss we see in our practice is vision impairment subsequent to a traumatic brain injury.
Why Vision Loss Claims Are Serious
Vision loss is not only a medical diagnosis. It affects his driving, employment, mobility, reading, technology use, recreation, child care, and personal safety.
Some clients require occupational therapy, orientation and mobility support, assistive technology, home modifications, vocational retraining, attendant care, psychological treatment, transportation support, and future care planning.
The case should consider the full impact of the injury, including whether the person can return to the same work, whether retraining is realistic, whether transportation costs will increase, and whether family members have taken on additional care responsibilities.
Vision Loss and Accident Benefits in Ontario
After a motor vehicle accident in Ontario, vision loss impacts both the accident benefits claim and the lawsuit against the at-fault driver.
Accident benefits can include medical and rehabilitation benefits, attendant care benefits, income replacement benefits, and other benefits depending on the policy, the injuries, the date of the accident, and the available coverage. Vision loss claims often require ophthalmology evidence, optometry records, occupational therapy assessment, assistive technology recommendations, transportation planning, home safety assessment, and future care analysis.
As of July 1, 2026, FSRA explains that medical, rehabilitation, and attendant care benefits remain mandatory in Ontario auto policies, while other statutory accident benefits become optional. For serious vision loss claims, reviewing the available policy benefits is especially important because the injured person might need long-term treatment, support, transportation help, income replacement, or attendant care.
Evidence That Can Strengthen a Blindness or Vision Loss Claim
Serious vision loss cases should utilized medical, functional, vocational, and future-care evidence. The records should explain what happened, what changed, whether the condition is permanent, and how the injury affects daily life.
Helpful evidence often includes:
• emergency and hospital records;
• ophthalmology reports;
• optometry records;
• retinal specialist reports;
• neuro-ophthalmology reports;
• imaging records;
• surgical records;
• visual acuity testing;
• visual field testing;
• occupational therapy assessments;
• orientation and mobility assessments;
• assistive technology recommendations;
• psychological treatment records;
• employment and income records;
• witness evidence from family, friends, co-workers, or caregivers;
• future care cost reports;
• vocational and economic evidence.
A vision loss case is stronger ifthe evidence thoroughly desribes how the injury affects mobility, work capacity, household tasks, transportation, safety, reading, screen use, sleep, independence, and family responsibilities.
Vision Loss, Brain Injury, and Psychological Symptoms
Vision loss can sometimes be the consequence of a traumatic brain injury. A client can have eye damage, neurological visual symptoms, vestibular symptoms, cognitive symptoms, headaches, light sensitivity, fatigue, and psychological trauma in the same case.
Brain injury cases with vision loss are usually most serious because of the entire presentation of such a significant brain injury as opposed to solely the vision loss which has occurred. These cases might require evidence from ophthalmology, neuro-ophthalmology, neurology, physiatry, occupational therapy, psychology, neuropsychology, and vocational experts.
If the vision loss overlaps with concussion, traumatic brain injury, headaches, dizziness, cognitive problems, or psychological symptoms, the case can also support a claim involving Ontario brain injury lawyers and serious functional loss.
Vision Loss Personal Injury Lawsuits
Personal injury lawsuits seek compensation from the at-fault party for losses that are not fully covered by accident benefits or other insurance benefits. In serious vision loss cases, compensation can include pain and suffering, income loss, reduced earning capacity, future care, housekeeping limitations, out-of-pocket expenses, attendant care needs, transportation costs, home modifications, and Family Law Act claims for affected family members.
In Ontario motor vehicle cases, pain and suffering claims are affected by the statutory threshold and deductible rules. The injured person generally has to prove a permanent serious impairment of an important physical, mental, or psychological function, permanent serious disfigurement, or another qualifying injury under the Ontario auto litigation framework. For a broader explanation of that requirement, visit our guide to the serious impairment threshold in Ontario motor vehicle accident claims. FSRA also publishes the annual deductible and monetary threshold amounts.
Severe vision loss requires a careful damages analysis because the injury can affect employment, independence, transportation, housing needs, care requirements, and long-term financial security.
Child Vision Loss Injury Claims
Vision loss in a child can have long-term consequences for education, development, independence, recreation, social participation, and future employment. A child might require school accommodations, assistive technology, orientation and mobility support, therapy, supervision, transportation assistance, or future care planning.
These claims cases extra care since a child’s losses, particularly their future losses, are not always obvious at the beginning. The legal team must consider how the injury can affect learning, independence, social development, future work capacity, and long-term support needs.
For further information regarding serious injury claims involving minors, visit our Ontario child injury lawyers page.
Vision Loss After Burns, Falls, and Other Trauma
Blindness and serious vision impairment can result from falls, assaults, sports and recreation incidents, burns, chemical exposures, unsafe premises, defective products, or other traumatic events.
These cases often require careful investigation into how the injury happened, who controlled the location, whether the risk was foreseeable, whether safety rules were followed, and whether another person or organization can be legally responsible.
How Foster Injury Law Helps With Vision Loss Injury Claims
Foster Injury Law is able to help people with serious vision loss claims by building the medical, functional, insurance, and damages evidence needed to explain the full impact of the injury.
If retained, we can help by reviewing the accident history, identifying available insurance claims, requesting hospital and specialist records, dealing with accident benefits insurers and liability insurers, reviewing treatment denials, coordinating appropriate expert evidence, assessing income loss and future care needs, considering whether catastrophic impairment should be investigated, and preparing the claim for negotiation, mediation, litigation, arbitration, or trial.
When to Contact an Ontario Blindness or Vision Loss Injury Lawyer
You should consider speaking with a lawyer if vision loss followed an accident, assault, fall, burn, defective product, or motor vehicle collision. Early legal advice is especially important where there are accident benefits disputes, catastrophic impairment issues, disputed causation, insurer examinations, income loss, future care needs, or uncertainty about whether the vision loss is permanent.
Frequently Asked Questions About Blindness and Vision Loss Injury Claims
Can I sue for blindness or vision loss after an accident in Ontario?
Yes. You can commence a personal injury claim for blindness or vision loss if another person or organization caused the injury and the evidence supports a compensable claim. The claim must connect the vision loss to the accident and prove how the injury affects work, independence, treatment needs, future care, and daily life.
Can vision loss qualify as catastrophic impairment in Ontario?
Yes, in some cases. Ontario’s Statutory Accident Benefits Schedule includes a specific catastrophic impairment category for loss of vision of both eyes. For accidents on or after June 1, 2016, the test looks at whether, even with corrective lenses or medication, visual acuity in both eyes is 20/200 (6/60) or less, or the greatest diameter of the field of vision in both eyes is 20 degrees or less. The loss of vision must also not be attributable to non-organic causes. Vision loss in one eye or other serious visual symptoms might not meet that specific test, but they can still support a serious injury claim.
What is the difference between visual acuity and visual field loss?
Visual acuity refers to the sharpness or clarity of vision, often measured with a Snellen Chart. Visual field refers to how much a person can see around them while looking straight ahead. A person can have some central vision but still be severely impaired if their peripheral vision is restricted.
What evidence helps prove a vision loss injury claim?
Helpful evidence might encompass ophthalmology records, optometry records, visual acuity testing, visual field testing, imaging, surgical records, neuro-ophthalmology evidence, occupational therapy reports, assistive technology recommendations, employment records, income-loss evidence, psychological records, witness evidence, and future care reports.
What if I lost vision in only one eye?
Vision loss in one eye does not automatically meet the SABS catastrophic category for loss of vision of both eyes, but it is still a serious injury claim. The case should consider the effect on depth perception, driving, work safety, employment, reading, screen use, recreation, psychological symptoms, and future care needs.
Can a brain injury cause vision problems?
Yes. Traumatic brain injury is a common cause of visual field loss, double vision, light sensitivity, reading difficulty, visual processing problems, dizziness, balance issues, and difficulty navigating busy environments. These cases require evidence beyond a standard eye examination.
Speak With Ontario Blindness and Vision Loss Injury Lawyers
If you are dealing with blindness or serious vision loss after an accident in Ontario, Foster Injury Law can review your situation and explain your options.
We represent people with vision loss claims involving motor vehicle accidents, motorcycle crashes, pedestrian accidents, bicycle accidents, falls, burns, traumatic brain injury, accident benefits disputes, catastrophic impairment issues, income loss, and future care needs.
Contact Foster Injury Law for a free consultation with Ontario personal injury lawyers.