If you’ve recently experienced an accident or injury, you may be wondering what you should do next. Are your injuries severe enough to qualify for compensation? What specifically can you be compensated for? How much time do you have to file a claim? When do you need to speak to a lawyer? These questions are common, and it’s crucial to ask them immediately due to personal injury claim limitations that can prevent you from receiving the compensation you deserve.
After an accident, you’re entitled to compensation for everything from medical treatment and loss of income to pain and suffering, property loss, claims of family members, and even housekeeping assistance. Personal injuries can seriously disrupt your life, and the damages you are entitled to are determined by putting a dollar value on your injuries and their consequences.
One particular issue to be aware of after an accident is personal injury claim limitations. All personal injury claims are subject to time and monetary limitations that you need to be aware of to ensure that you receive the compensation you deserve. The more you know about these limitations, the better prepared you will be if an accident occurs. Although speaking to a lawyer is the best way to understand personal injury claim limitations, this blog post will give you a good sense of the basics you need to move forward.
Be Aware of Common Personal Injury Damages
In order to fully understand personal injury claim limitations, knowing the most common types of personal injury damages is important. Different types of damages are guided by different rules. Below is a list of common damages and their limitations.
Medical Treatment
The cost of medical care is almost always covered when personal injury damages are awarded. Medical treatment compensation may include reimbursement for any accident-related medical expenses you paid for out of pocket. It also includes compensation for medical care you’ll need in the future due to the accident. Future medical care compensation is typically based on an estimate of the cost of care and does not have specific monetary limitations.
Pain and Suffering
Pain and suffering damages are considered “pecuniary general damages.” This means that, although they are often included in personal injury damage awards, due to a 1978 Canada Supreme Court ruling, the amount you can receive is limited. The maximum amount that will currently be awarded in a severe pain and suffering situation is just over $360,000.
This cap was put in place because the Supreme Court determined that pain and suffering damages cannot be considered compensatory. This is simply because no amount of money can remedy the pain and suffering of a young person who has become quadriplegic after an accident, for example.
It is impossible to equate pain and suffering to a dollar amount. Rather than equating your pain and suffering to an exact dollar amount, pain and suffering damages are intended to make life easier for you. Although this may seem unfair, if you are injured you are still entitled to complete compensation for future income loss, medical expenses, and care costs.
Another issue to consider with pain and suffering damages is that there is a “threshold” you must meet in order to receive compensation. In order to meet the threshold, the injuries you sustained in your accident must be very serious. A serious accident is defined as one that results in death, permanent disfigurement (such as scarring or loss of a limb), or permanent mental, physical, or psychological damage. If your pain and suffering injuries don’t meet the threshold, you will not be compensated for them.
In addition to the threshold, many pain and suffering claims are subject to monetary deductibles. Currently, a $36,000 deductible will be charged for all claims that meet the threshold. Additionally, Family Law Act claims carry an $18,000 deductible. The exceptions to these deductibles are in cases where injury claims are greater than $121,000, or Family Law Act claims are greater than $60,000.
Income
Loss of income claims are more straightforward than pain and suffering claims. If you are injured in an accident that affects your salary or wages, you will typically be entitled to compensation. If the injury will affect your future income, you are eligible for “loss of earning capacity” compensation.
In loss of income claims, there is no “threshold” to meet. There are, however, a few restrictions on these types of claims. First, you may not claim loss of income within the first seven days following your accident. Up to the time of trial, you are only eligible to receive 70% of your gross income loss and any accident benefits you receive will be deducted from this amount. After the trial, however, you are entitled to 100% compensation for your income loss.
Housekeeping and Home Maintenance Services
If you are not able to perform housekeeping tasks or otherwise maintain your home after an accident, you may be eligible to receive compensation for these services. Dollar amounts for these types of claims will vary by individual.
Property Loss
It is not uncommon for clothing or other property to be damaged during an accident. You can be reimbursed for replacement or repairs equivalent to the fair market value of your lost or damaged property. While car insurance companies are typically responsible for out-of-pocket expenses related to vehicle repairs, if an insurance company does not pay, you may file a tort claim so that you’re eligible for compensation for these expenses.
Family Member Claims
Sometimes your injuries may result in monetary losses that affect your ability to care for or provide companionship to your family. Ontario’s Family Law Act allows family members to sue for these types of losses. Spouses, children and grandchildren, parents and grandparents, and brothers and sisters of the victim are all eligible. Some of these damages include loss of income, funeral expenses, travel expenses during visits, nursing or housekeeping provided by family members after the victim’s injury, or expenses related to a loss of care, companionship or guidance that the injury has prevented. In cases where a claim is below $60,000, it carries an $18,000 deductible. If a death occurs in the accident, the deductible does not apply.
Understand Limitation Dates
It’s crucial to be aware of limitation dates after an accident and to act quickly to file your claim in time. Once you experience an injury in an accident, you have two years to file a Statement of Claim at a courthouse and begin legal proceedings. There are some exceptions to the two-year limitation. In some cases, you may still be able to sue after two years have passed. For example, if you could not know you had medical or other grounds for the claim and they were discovered at a later point, you may be able to make a claim for an accident that occurred over two years ago.
In other situations, such as if you are injured and sue a municipality, the municipality must be notified within 10 to 30 days of the accident depending on the city. In addition, long-term disability claims typically carry shorter limitation periods – often only one year.
Because time limitations can vary, it’s important that you speak to an accident lawyer as soon as possible after your accident. By securing legal advice early in the process, you’ll make sure you don’t miss your ability to file. Even if you think your injuries are not severe, don’t wait to speak to a lawyer as some injuries only become evident as time passes.
Understand How Insurance Companies Work
Although it can be easy to trust your insurance company to take care of you after an accident, it’s important to consider insurance companies’ goals. The first goal of any insurance company is to ensure the safety of their bottom line. Unfortunately, this means that your best interests may not always be their top priority. For example, even if you are in close contact with your insurance company as you negotiate your settlement, if the limitation date passes, they will do everything they can to deny your claim. That’s why it’s imperative that you file your claim on time.
Most personal injury lawyers offer a free consultation or interview to help you fully understand your rights, personal injury claim limitations, and what types of compensation you may be entitled to. Even if you’re unsure whether or not you have a claim, it’s worth it to talk to a lawyer so you can understand the next steps you should take.
If you’ve been involved in a personal injury accident and want to know more about personal injury claim limitations, call 1-855-446-7765 to speak to a personal injury lawyer today.
