Personal Injury Lawyers | Car Accident
Accident Benefits; Personal Injury Claim
What if I don't have Car Insurance?
Our personal injury lawyers and medical / rehab consultants have dealt with thousands of car accident personal injury claims earning millions of dollars for our clients. We pride ourselves on having our clients cared for and return to their pre-accident lifestyle within reason. Ontario has a "no-fault" system of car insurance; but only a minority of people really know what this means. Ontario's "no-fault" system of insurance is complex; and its regulations and laws change constantly.
If you have been in a car accident; regardless of whose fault it is; you are entitled to "accident benefits" from your car insurance company. If you do not have car insurance, there are complex laws which determine who is responsible to pay for your accident benefits.
Accident benefits are NOT for your pain and suffering; or your past or future income loss, or your loss of earning potential/employability. These damages are covered in the "tort" part of your case, which is completely separate and apart from the accident benefits part of your case.
Tort claims have their own set of complicated laws. Accident benefits cover such things as medical/rehabilitative benefits; income replacement benefits; non-earner benefits; caregiver benefits; attendant care benefits; and housekeeping/home maintenance benefits. Medical/Rehabilitative benefits are for health care/rehabilitation services like physiotherapy, occupational therapy, massage, chiropractic care, aqua fit programs, assistive devices, psychological counselling, housing/vehicle modifications, neuropsychological assessments prosthetic devices and aids etc.
- We can help you recover up to $100,000 in reasonable and necessary medical and rehabilitative needs over a 10 year period for non-catastrophic car accident cases; and up to $1,000,000 for catastrophic car accident cases. These limits will be changing effective September 1, 2010
Income replacement benefits or IRBs are benefits to do exactly what they say they do; to replace your lost income. The limit on IRBs is up to $400/week, which may be higher depending on if you purchased additional insurance coverage. However, the laws set up for calculating IRBs are very stringent and are effectively designed to limit your recovery.
- IRBs only apply to 80% of your NET pre-accident income reported in the 52 weeks or 4 weeks before the car accident. If you did not report your income, you will not be able to claim that you made that income for the purposes of IRB calculations. The IRB calculations are also draconian for self employed persons and small business owners whose income may all be tied in directly to their respective businesses. If the money is not NET, and it is not extracted from the business to pay your salary, then you cannot claim for it for your IRB calculation. Many self-employed and small business owners have a difficult time with IRB calculations, but we have the expertise to get them the income replacement benefit that they’re entitled to.
The Insurance company will ask you for your pre-accident tax returns, pay stubs, employment file and any other information they can get their hands on to quantify your pre-accident income and your ability to return to work. This is an difficult exercise for you, the accident victim. We have helped in countless cases in assisting accident victims getting their financial and employment documents together to present to the insurance company. We work side-by-side with accountants, actuaries, bookkeepers and economists to make sure that you’re getting what you deserve.
If at the time of the accident, the insured person was not working and not earning any income, they may be entitled to a non-earner benefit of up to $185/week. The accident victim must show a complete inability to carry on a normal life as a result of and within 104 weeks after the accident. The non-earner benefit is not payable for the first 26 weeks of the disability, and is not payable for any period before the injured person is 16 years old. The non-earner benefit increases to $320.00/week if an injured person was enrolled in school or completed his or her education in the year prior to the accident, and whose disability has lasted for more than 104 weeks and they are not working and show a complete inability to carry on a normal life.
The insurance act has provisions for persons who where primary caregivers at the time of the accident, and who are unable to engage in their primary care activities as a result of their accident related impairments. These benefits are called caregiver benefits. Caregiver benefits are for people who were looking after a child or a person in need of care at the time of the accident. These benefits are up to $250/week, with an additional $50 for each additional minor or person requiring care.
Attendant care benefits are for those people who are so seriously injured, that they need somebody else to assist them with their day-to-day living and other activities of daily living. Attendant care benefits are to covers such activities as showering, grooming, getting changed, cleaning, meal preparation, grocery shopping or supervision in case of emergency. These benefits are particularly important for brain injured people, accident victims who have lost limbs and other accident victims who cannot walk, talk or communicate simple ideas.
In order to recover attendant care benefits, you have to prove that attendant care is required and that it is being provided. This is accomplished through detailed in-home assessments by persons such as occupational therapists who will work with you to determine what your injuries and deficits are; and what activities you were able to accomplish on your own before the accident; and what activities you need assistance with following the accident. The report prepared to claim attendant care benefits is called a Form 1. The rate of benefits is up to $3,000/month for non-catastrophically injured accident victims, and up the $6,000/month for catastrophically injured accident victims.
Accident victims are also entitled to claim housekeeping and home maintenance benefits for the loss of support around the home. These benefits are for assistance with doing the laundry, cooking, dusting, vacuuming, washing the dishes, doing the laundry, landscaping, taking out the garbage and other general household and home maintenance activities. The rate for non-catastrophic accidents is $100/week for up to two years following the car accident; and $100/week for an unlimited duration in catastrophic cases.
Accident benefits are very specialized and complicated. Because of this, the Ontario Government has created a tribunal which is dedicated to processing and adjudicating accident benefit disputes. This tribunal is called the Financial Services Commission of Ontario (FSCO). FSCO hears cases all across Ontario, including in London and in the surrounding area. The procedures at FSCO are called mediations, pre-hearings, hearings and arbitrations at FSCO. There are no judges at FSCO. The government appoints mediators and arbitrators to make decisions. If you do not like the decision of an arbitrator at FSCO, you may be able to appeal that decision to a Judge.
Our lawyers and legal professionals regularly appear at FSCO on behalf of our clients to get them fast and effective results for their accident benefit disputes.
For a Free consultation contact us today.
Our Experience: We regularly appear at FSCO on behalf of our clients to get them quick and effective remedies for accident benefits and ensuring our clients' peace of mind.
For a Free consultation contact us today.
Car Accidents: What happens if I don't have insurance?
If you are driving a car and you’ve been in an accident, and you don’t have car insurance, then you have broken the law and you will have a difficult time collecting benefits or making a claim.
But some people are the innocent victims of accidents in situations where they are not required to have car insurance. The case of the pedestrian getting hit by a car. The case of a cyclist getting hit by a car. The case of an uninsured passenger in a car which is involved in a bad car accident. In all of these cases, the accident victim does not have car insurance, nor are they required to. In all of these examples, the innocent accident victim will still be able to make a claim for accident benefits and pain and suffering despite not having car insurance.
Car insurance polices in Ontario are written in a standard form. They all include provisions for coverage for accidents with uninsured, or underinsured motor vehicles. You may be able to recover insurance for the at-fault drivers’ insurance for both accident benefits and for pain and suffering.
But what happens in cases where a pedestrian without insurance, is struck by a driver who also does not have car insurance? How do these accident victims claim relief in situations where absolutely NONE of the parties have any form of car insurance. Not to worry.
The Ontario Government has set aside a fund of money to assist these innocent uninsured accident victims. It’s called the Motor Vehicle Accident Claims Fund. It is a fund of last resort for those accident victims who have no access to any sort of car insurance as a result of their accident.
The Claims Fund will compensate accident victims up to $200,0000 in damages which include pain and suffering damages per claim. Claiming from the Claims Fund is not easy, and there are many steps which you need to go through. The Claims Fund has their own lawyers who are very familiar with the laws of the Claims Fund which are called the Ontario Motor Vehicle Accident Claims Fund Act (Motor Vehicle Accident Claims Fund).
Our office has also decided a precedent setting case involving a young girl without insurance and a priority dispute between a major North American insurance company and the Claims Fund which fought over which insurance pool would be responsible for paying out for the accident victim.
The cases involving the Claims Fund are confusing and often involve complicated sets of facts. We have the expertise in deciphering the law and the facts in these situations to maximize our clients’ results and awards.
If you've been hurt or injured in an accident, contact Goldfinger Personal Injury Law today for your free consultation.
