Injury Settlement Calculator Canada
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Personal Injury Payout Guide Canada
A personal injury settlement calculator can serve as a valuable tool for claimants seeking to estimate their potential compensation following an accident. These calculators help evaluate various damages, including medical expenses, lost wages, and pain and suffering, to provide a fair and accurate settlement amount. By inputting specific case details, such as the extent of injury and liability factors, you can receive a quick, user-friendly estimate that can guide their negotiations with insurance companies or personal injury lawyers. While these tools offer a detailed breakdown of financial recovery, it’s important to remember that settlement amounts may vary depending on Ontario’s provincial laws and the unique circumstances of each claim. Using a reliable and customizable calculator can empower injured parties in Ontario to better understand their legal rights and make informed decisions throughout the settlement process.
It is also important to understand that Canadian personal injury claim settlement calculations are not straightforward.
Settlement calculations consider two types of damages, pecuniary and non-pecuniary damages.
Pecuniary Damages vs. Non-Pecuniary Damages
Pecuniary damages include items that are allotted a specific number value such as variations in income due to an injury, physiotherapy costs for treating the injury, medical bills, and costs of prescriptions. Non-pecuniary damages represent the value of items that cannot be quantified such as pain and suffering. Unlike pecuniary damages which are quantifiable, non-pecuniary damages are based on court decisions for personal injury cases.
The Ontario court system strives to calculate personal injury case settlements that will put a person back in the position they were in prior to the accident that caused their injury. It is not an exact science, and every case and calculation related to a Toronto-area personal injury claim is different. The Ontario court system looks to prior cases it has decided where the injury/injuries being claimed by a plaintiff are similar to inform a decision regarding a personal injury claim settlement.
Limits in Canada
In Canada, there are limits on the amount a plaintiff can receive for non-pecuniary damages as part of a settlement. As of today, the maximum is approximately $418,000. Therefore, only the most serious and debilitating injuries, such as quadriplegia, have the potential to result in a personal injury settlement close to this upper limit.
For injuries sustained in Toronto-area automobile accidents, there are additional restrictions on settlements for non-pecuniary damages, which are outlined in the Insurance Act.
Threshold for Non-Pecuniary Damages
The first limit involves a concept known as the “threshold.” If a plaintiff’s injuries do not meet the specified threshold, they are not eligible to receive an award for non-pecuniary damages. The threshold criteria are as follows:
- Permanent serious disfigurement
- Permanent serious impairment of an important physical, mental, or psychological function
- Death
The purpose of this threshold is to ensure that only those suffering from serious injuries are entitled to a settlement for non-pecuniary damages. Generally, soft tissue injuries fall below this threshold unless there is a chronic pain component associated with the injury.
Statutory Deductible
Another important factor in personal injury settlements resulting from automobile accidents is the statutory deductible. This deductible is deducted from the top of any settlement award for pain and suffering or non-pecuniary damages. As of 2022, the statutory deductible is $41,503.50 for settlement awards exceeding $138,343.86.
After non-pecuniary damages are calculated, the pecuniary damages can be added to that figure which would represent the full settlement amount for your injury.
Get Help for a Personal Injury Claim Settlement
If you hired a lawyer to assist you with your personal injury case, a portion of the settlement amount would also include your legal costs and disbursements, both of which HST would be added. Some people may ask, how much does a lawyer cost for a car accident? While there are costs involved, the payment is often a small percentage of the settlement amount. Because of this, some people question whether they need a lawyer after a car accident or injury, but almost always the amount of the settlement received is larger with the help of an experienced Ontario injury attorney than it would be without their help.
