Occupational therapy after an injury
In plain English: occupational therapy (OT) helps you do the everyday things an injury has made hard, from getting dressed and cooking to driving and going back to work. Where a physiotherapist works on the injured body part, an occupational therapist works on how you live with it.
What an OT actually does
An OT will usually visit you at home or see you in clinic and watch you try real tasks. They then suggest practical fixes:
- Equipment such as shower seats, grab rails, perching stools or adapted cutlery.
- Ways to pace your day so you don't crash after a good morning.
- Memory and planning strategies after a brain injury.
- A graded return-to-work plan agreed with your employer.
- Advice on home adaptations or a move to more suitable housing after a serious injury.
Why OT evidence carries weight
Insurers are used to doctors saying you're in pain. An OT report is different: it records what you could and couldn't do in front of a trained observer, and it puts a cost on the help you need. That makes it one of the most useful documents for proving housekeeping loss, future care costs and limits on daily living.
How it works in different places
England and Wales: in larger claims, an OT or care expert often writes a report setting out care, equipment and aids for life. Early OT input may be funded by the insurer under the Rehabilitation Code.
Ontario: occupational therapists commonly complete the assessment of attendant care needs that decides how much attendant care benefit you receive under the accident benefits scheme.
US: OT is usually billed through health insurance, PIP or MedPay. In serious cases, a life care planner, often a nurse or OT, estimates lifetime care costs for your claim.
After a fall on a wet shop floor, a man with a fractured wrist can't manage buttons, jar lids or his job as an electrician. His OT sets up hand therapy, supplies adapted tools and records that he needs his partner's help for about an hour a day. That hour becomes a clear, costed part of his claim.
Getting a referral
Ask your GP, hospital team or physiotherapist. If waiting lists are long, ask your lawyer whether the insurer will fund a private assessment. Keep the reports, because they often become key evidence later.
Next: rehabilitation · physiotherapy · claim value workbook.
Related terms
General information, not legal or medical advice. Rules differ between US states, the UK and Canadian provinces, so check the law where your accident happened. How we write and check · Legal disclaimer