If you have been involved in a car accident and have suffered injuries you may have access to benefits to help you manage the fallout of your pain and suffering. The province of Ontario has a no-fault auto insurance system. This means that if you are injured in an accident regardless of if you were at fault or not, you can receive compensation for your pain and suffering, lost income, assistance with rehabilitation therapy, and even help with taking care of your household and loved ones if you cannot do so because of your injuries. Before you think about settling a car accident claim you need to first understand the types of claims you may be eligible to file.
There are three main types of claims people who have been involved in a car accident have available to them depending on their individual circumstance:
Accident Benefits Claims
Accident benefits claims (AB claims) are awarded irrespective of who was at fault for the accident. There are many types of compensation available in AB claims including income replacement benefits, medical/rehabilitation benefits, non-earner benefits, caregiving benefits, death and funeral benefits, and attendant care benefits. Filing AB claims are time-intensive and require completion of numerous forms within strict time deadlines. There are also threshold issues in AB claims that can restrict your entitlement to compensation or expand your entitlement. These thresholds are dependent on your degree of injury whether your injuries are minor, non-minor, or catastrophic. The auto insurance company against whom you are filing the AB claims will respond to your claim.
In order to ensure you recover all benefits you are entitled to, we recommend you seek out legal advice.
Tort Claims
If you were not at fault for the accident, you may be able to file a claim against the person who was at fault for the accident and recover compensation for your injuries. Tort claims can yield compensation for a variety of types of damages including medical and rehabilitation therapy expenses, lost income, disability, disfigurement, pain and suffering, mental distress, how your injuries have impacted your relationships, the expenses you have endured to hire people to assist you with your home, and any decreased ability to work as a result of the accident.
Tort claims, however, are also subject to a deductible in the range of a little less than $40,000 which means, you must consider this when negotiating a settlement. When a claim is filed the insurance company of the at-fault person or entity will respond to your claim. We recommend you seek out legal representation to assist you in this process given that insurance companies are sophisticated entities whose goals are to pay as little as possible to any claimant.
Disability Benefit Claims
If your injuries render you disabled and unable to work, you may also need to start a claim for disability benefits as well, arising from the injuries you received from the car accident.
How much you obtain in compensation and the type of compensation you receive from a settlement for any of the claims listed above is dependent on which of the claims you file, who was at fault, and your injuries and extent of impairment.
Negotiating a car accident settlement involves quite a bit of work on your part, patience, and knowledge. We recommend you hire a lawyer to assist you and layout a plan to maximize your compensation.
Car Accident Claim
Making a car accident claim requires that the following be done:
- Determine who was a fault and if more than one person/entity is at fault determine the percentage of fault for each at-fault party
- Document your injuries, seek out the appropriate medical care, obtain supporting documentation for your injuries from all your health care providers
- Understand what heads of compensation you are entitled to by reviewing your car insurance policies or the policies you are making an AB claim under
- Review past injury cases that have been decided in Ontario to see how to value your damages, where do you stand, and what your first offer should be
- Consider if your claim is subject to a deductible (tort claims for motor vehicle accidents are subject to a deductible), and factor this into your settlement offer
- Present a maximum recovery offer and ascertain what range of counter-offer you are willing to accept
- Don’t accept an offer if it is too low (remember insurance companies want to pay as little as they can to close your claim)
- Know the law so you know the extent of your entitlement and prepare for court if the insurance company is not negotiating with you fairly
Get Help
If the insurance company is not willing to work with you to fairly resolve your matter, a court may be your only option. Personal injury law can be a complex field to navigate alone, a lawyer will ensure you move through the process swiftly and effectively.
