Types of Benefits Available in Ontario
The types of motor vehicle accident benefits that are available to an injured person or the family of a deceased victim include:
Weekly benefits such as:
- Income replacement benefits: which pays a person 70% of their gross loss of income to a maximum of $400 per week provided they are unable to perform the essential tasks for their own occupation for the first 2 years following the accident. After two years, the person must show they are unable to engage in any occupation that they are reasonably suited to by virtue of their education, training, and experience.
- Non-earner benefits: which pays a person $185 per week for a maximum of 2 years. This benefit is for those that were not working at the time of the accident and have suffered a complete inability to carry on a normal life.
- Caregiver benefits: which pays a person $250 per week for the amount paid to look after someone who is in need of care. An additional $50 per week is paid for each additional person in need of care. This benefit is only available to those who are designated as having suffered a catastrophic injury.
Health benefits such as:
- Medical and rehabilitation benefits and attendant care benefits: which pay for treatment, medications, assistive aids, home modifications or renovations, community rehabilitation professionals, and personal support workers who assist a person with their activities of daily living.
- The maximum available to someone with a non-catastrophic injury is $65,000 and is available to the injured person for 5 years from the date of the accident. If a person receives a catastrophic designation, the maximum payable is $1,000,000 and the benefits are available for the injured person’s life.
- Case management services can be available if the person is designated catastrophic or if optional benefits were purchased.
- Housekeeping and homemaking assistance: which are payable to a person with a catastrophic designation to a maximum of $100 per week to reimburse for housekeeping assistance that they did before the injury.
Death and funeral benefits such as:
- A benefit of $25,000 is paid to a surviving spouse or same sex partner and $10,000 to each of the victim’s dependents.
- Reimbursement for funeral expenses to a maximum of $6,000.
What is a Catastrophic Impairment?
For the purposes of claiming Statutory Accident Benefits, a catastrophic injury caused by a motor vehicle accident is defined as one or more of the following:
- Applicants under the age of 18 at the time of the accident
- Traumatic Brain Injury: accepted for admission on an in-patient basis at a public hospital name in a Superintendent Guideline with positive findings on a computerized axial tomography scan, a magnetic resonance imaging or any other medically recognized brain diagnostic technology indicating intracranial pathology.
- Traumatic Brain Injury: is accepted for admission on an in-patient basis to a program of neurological rehabilitation in a paediatric rehabilitation facility that is a member of the Ontario Association of Children’s rehabilitation Services.
- Applicant over the age of 18 at the time of the accident
- Paraplegia or quadriplegia
- Severe impairment of ambulatory mobility or use of an arm, Amputation or total and permanent loss of use of an arm or leg
- Loss of vision in both eyes
- Serious traumatic brain injury such that the person is vegetative for 30 days, severely disabled after 6 months of recovery, or moderately disabled after 12 months of recovery in accordance with the Glasgow Outcome Scale-Extended (GOS-E)
- A combination of physical and mental/behavioural impairments that amount to at least 55% whole person impairment assessed 2 years after recovery
- Severe or at least 3 marked impairments due to a mental or behavioural disorder
For those that have been seriously injured, catastrophic designation is a key component to their case. It provides the person some peace of mind knowing that there is $1,000,000 available for the remainder of their lives.
Our Accident benefits lawyers are dedicated to ensuring that those deserving of the higher level of protection receive the catastrophic designation. We will work with a team of medical and rehabilitation experts to accomplish this task.
