If you have had to go through the particularly challenging event of a car accident, a motor vehicle or a cycling incident, for instance, or any other personal injury, you are capable of filing for accident benefits as per the current legislation of Ontario. What is more, you should file your claim directly towards your insurance company as there is the so called ‘no fault’ rule which is instituted and it allows you this opportunity. It is explicitly set forth in the Rules of Fault Determination which is a special part of the Insurance Act of Ontario. So, let’s dig a bit deeper.
With this in mind, you should understand that relying on professional personal injury lawyers is absolutely critical for this to work as intended. There are quite a lot of different accident benefits that you can seek, so let’s take a look at some of them.
Income Replacement Benefits
Income replacement benefits are capable of covering up to 70% of the net income that you used to receive before the accident. The maximum amount, however, is $400 per week. This is provided by your basic coverage so keep in mind that if you’ve subscribed for additional optional coverage, the income replacement benefits could be higher.
Non-earner benefits
This is designated towards those people who haven’t been employed at the time of the accident. In order to protect them as well, the law has set aside a maximum of $185 per week for those people. They need to be diagnosed with a complete inability to move forward with their regular life in order to qualify for these benefits.
There are also quite a lot of optional benefits such as caregiver benefits, for instance. This can get to as much as $250 per week if you were the primary caregiver as per your own insurance. Now, you should also be aware that there is an institute of election of benefits. With this in mind, it is possible that you qualify for more than one particular benefit and if that’s the case, you should go ahead and choose the one that you prefer.
However, keep in mind that these are all related to complicated filling and filing of complex files with the insurance companies, undergoing careful procedural rulings and whatnot. It is definitely far better if you relied on someone with the necessary experience to handle this for you. Using the services of a professional personal injury lawyer in Ontario is also going to ensure that you are awarded the maximum and optimal amount of the compensation. This is going to ensure that your interests are properly represented and that there is nothing that the insurance company is cutting off. Having a good lawyer by your side ensures that they represent your rights properly and can ensure that you get justice. Trying to claim the compensation on your own will only lead to either denial of the claim or a low payout.