Can a Car Accident Cause a Pulmonary Embolism in Ontario?

Yes. A car accident can cause or contribute to a pulmonary embolism, usually indirectly. The collision can lead to leg trauma, surgery, hospitalization, reduced mobility, or deep vein thrombosis. If a clot forms in the leg and travels to the lungs, it can cause a pulmonary embolism.

A pulmonary embolism which occurs after a crash is a serious medical event. They are not always diagnosed on the day of the collision. Some people leave the emergency department focused on fractures, bruising, chest pain, concussion symptoms, or back pain, then return days or weeks later with shortness of breath, worsening chest pain, dizziness, leg swelling, or other symptoms.

For an Ontario car accident claim, the key question is whether the medical evidence connects the collision to the pulmonary embolism. The crash does not need to be the only medical factor, but there must be a reliable explanation for how the accident caused or contributed to the chain of events that led to the clot.

If you developed a pulmonary embolism after a crash, our Ontario car accident lawyers can help review the medical records, accident benefits claim, insurance issues, and potential lawsuit against the at-fault driver.

How can a car accident lead to a pulmonary embolism?

Pulmonary embolisms happen when clots block blood flow within an artery in the lung. According to Mayo Clinic, these clots often begin in the deep veins of the legs, known as deep vein thrombosis or DVT, before travelling to the lungs.

After a car accident, the risk can increase when the injured person has leg, hip, pelvic, or spinal trauma; a fracture requiring casting, bracing, surgery, or restricted weight-bearing; prolonged bed rest; reduced walking; orthopedic surgery; or trauma-related inflammation and vascular injury.

These links are more often indirect. The accident causes injury. The injury leads to reduced mobility, surgery, or increased clotting risk. A DVT forms. Part of the clot travels to the lungs and causes a pulmonary embolism.

Timing and documentation are important. A pulmonary embolism diagnosed soon after a leg fracture, surgery, and limited mobility creates a stronger medical timeline than one diagnosed long after the person returned to ordinary activity.

Symptoms of pulmonary embolism after a car accident

This article is legal information, not medical advice. A pulmonary embolism can be life-threatening. Anyone who has symptoms of a possible pulmonary embolism should seek emergency medical care.

Symptoms can include sudden shortness of breath, chest pain that worsens with breathing, coughing blood, dizziness, fainting, rapid heartbeat, unexplained sweating, or sudden weakness. A DVT can also cause calf pain, leg swelling, warmth, redness, or tenderness, often on one side.

After a crash, these symptoms can be missed or attributed to something else. Chest pain might be blamed on seatbelt bruising or rib trauma. Shortness of breath might be blamed on pain, anxiety, medication, or deconditioning. Leg swelling might be assumed to be part of an orthopedic injury.

What evidence helps prove the crash caused the pulmonary embolism?

Cases involving a pulmonary embolism after a collision often depend heavily on the records. The insurer will usually look at the accident date, the injuries from the crash, the person’s mobility after the collision, when symptoms began, how the clot was diagnosed, and whether there were pre-accident risk factors.

Useful records often include ambulance and emergency department notes, hospital records, discharge summaries, CT pulmonary angiogram reports, ultrasound reports for DVT, orthopedic or surgical records, medication records, family doctor notes, specialist reports, physiotherapy notes, and work restriction notes.

Stronger file documentation will be able to explain the full medical chain of events. For example, the records might show a car accident, a leg fracture, surgery, restricted weight-bearing, calf swelling, DVT on ultrasound, and pulmonary embolism on CT scan. That sequence is easier to explain than a file where the pulmonary embolism appears much later with little documentation connecting it to the crash.

Insurance companies will almost always dispute these claims since blood clots can have many cases. They might point to age, prior clotting problems, family history, cancer, medication, smoking, travel, or an unknown clotting disorder. Those arguments do not end the analysis, but they make the medical chronology and specialist opinions more important.

What if there were pre-existing clotting risks?

Pre-existing risk factors do not necessarily defeat a claim. Some people have clotting risks before a crash, including age, smoking history, certain medications, prior clotting problems, family history, cancer, pregnancy, or other medical conditions. The existence of those risks does not necessarily mean the accident played no role.

In Canadian injury law, the accident does not need to be the only cause of the injury. In Athey v. Leonati, the Supreme Court of Canada confirmed that a defendant can be liable where negligence caused or contributed to the injury, even when other non-tortious factors were also involved.

The medical opinion should explain the mechanism, not simply list the pulmonary embolism as something that happened after the collision. A stronger opinion connects the trauma, reduced mobility, DVT, embolism, treatment, complications, and long-term impact.

Can a pulmonary embolism affect an Ontario car accident claim?

Yes, pulmonary embolisms can impact both the accident benefits claim and the lawsuit against the at-fault driver.

Accident benefits are claimed through the injured person’s own auto insurer, subject to Ontario’s statutory accident benefits system and the coverage available under the policy. For auto policies entered into on or after July 1, 2026, FSRA states that medical, rehabilitation, and attendant care benefits are mandatory, while other accident benefits coverage becomes optional.

A pulmonary embolism can also affect the tort claim against the at-fault driver if it causes hospitalization, pain, fear, reduced stamina, work absence, blood thinner complications, breathing problems, or future medical risk.

For pain and suffering claims in Ontario motor vehicle cases, the injured person must also address the statutory threshold. Under Ontario Regulation 461/96, the analysis focuses on whether the person has a permanent serious impairment of an important physical, mental, or psychological function. In other words, the long-term consequences of the pulmonary embolism are usually more important than the diagnosis label alone.

Speak with an Ontario car accident lawyer

A pulmonary embolism which occurs subsequent to a car accident should be taken seriously. It can involve emergency treatment, hospitalization, blood thinners, specialist follow-up, lost income, and ongoing concern about recurrence.

Foster Injury Law represents people across Ontario in serious motor vehicle accident claims. We help clients gather medical records, deal with accident benefits, review insurance coverage, assess causation issues, and pursue claims against at-fault drivers where appropriate.

If you developed a pulmonary embolism after a car accident in Ontario, contact Foster Injury Law for a personal injury free consultation.