August 18, 2026 - Bergeron Clifford LLP

You are recovering from an injury, but your family has had a vacation booked for months. Can you still go?

In most cases, taking a vacation does not automatically hurt your personal injury claim. Injured people are allowed to travel, spend time with family and enjoy their lives. But how you travel, what you do while away, and what ends up on social media can become relevant evidence in an Ontario personal injury case.

Why Would an Insurance Company Care About Your Vacation?

A personal injury claim often requires evidence about how an injury has affected your day-to-day life. That can include your ability to work, exercise, complete household tasks, participate in hobbies and travel.

A vacation can attract attention if your activities appear inconsistent with the limitations you have reported.

For example, there is a difference between saying, “I cannot walk more than 15 minutes without significant pain,” and saying, “Walking is difficult, so on vacation I took breaks, avoided longer excursions and sometimes needed assistance.”

The issue is not whether you went away. The issue is whether the evidence given in regard to your vacation is consistent with the evidence pleaded.

This is one reason injured people should understand how surveillance can be used in Ontario personal injury claims.

That Vacation Photo May Not Tell the Whole Story

Social media creates a particular problem.

Imagine someone with a serious back injury takes a photograph smiling beside a swimming pool in Florida. The picture does not show the painful flight, medication, missed activities or two hours spent resting afterward.

But viewed by itself, it may create a very different impression.

Insurance companies and defence lawyers may review publicly available social media as part of their investigation of a claim. In a recent blog post, we discuss what injured people should know about surveillance in personal injury cases.

The practical rule is simple: do not exaggerate your injuries, but do not assume a vacation photo will always be understood in its proper context.

Should You Avoid Travelling While Your Claim Is Ongoing?

A personal injury claim should not require you to put your entire life on hold. But you should continue following medical advice. If your doctor has recommended avoiding certain activities, doing those activities on vacation could create questions about both your recovery and your credibility.

Treatment matters too. A two-week trip may be perfectly reasonable. Repeatedly missing physiotherapy, medical appointments or recommended treatment because of travel could be more difficult to explain.

Every case depends on its facts, including the nature of the injury, the medical advice you received and the activities you participated in.

If you are injured during a trip, different legal questions can arise. For example, an injury at a rental property may engage Ontario Occupiers’ Liability Act, while an accident outside Canada can raise jurisdiction issues. We have previously explained when someone injured on vacation abroad may be able to pursue a claim in Ontario.

What Should You Do Before Leaving?

If you have an active personal injury claim in Ottawa or elsewhere in Ontario, a few practical steps can help prevent unnecessary problems:

Follow your doctors’ recommendations.
Keep attending treatment where reasonably possible.
Be accurate and consistent when describing your limitations.
Be thoughtful about vacation photos and social media posts.
Tell your lawyer about significant travel plans, particularly if the trip could affect treatment, examinations or litigation deadlines.
Remember that being able to do something once does not necessarily mean you can do it repeatedly or without pain.

Most importantly, live consistently with what you are saying about your injuries.

Can You Take the Trip and Protect Your Claim?

Yes. A vacation is not proof that someone has recovered from an injury. People dealing with chronic pain, brain injuries and other serious conditions still have birthdays, weddings, family trips and good days.

What can hurt a claim is evidence that contradicts what has been reported elsewhere.

So take the vacation if it makes sense for you and your recovery. Follow your medical advice, be truthful about what you can and cannot do, and remember that a five-second vacation video rarely captures the other 23 hours, 59 minutes and 55 seconds of the day.

If you have questions about a personal injury claim in Ottawa or elsewhere in Eastern Ontario, the team at Bergeron Clifford Injury Lawyers is pleased to help. You can schedule a free consultation today.

Why Would an Insurance Company Care About Your Vacation?

That Vacation Photo May Not Tell the Whole Story

Should You Avoid Travelling While Your Claim Is Ongoing?

What Should You Do Before Leaving?

Can You Take the Trip and Protect Your Claim?

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