If a personal injury lawyer in Ontario has a client that has been involved in a bad accident, that same attorney cannot claim that such a tragic occurrence might be used as an example of a catastrophic collision of motor vehicles. By the same token, if any of the drivers or passengers has suffered a serious injury, the victims’ attorney cannot necessarily say that their injuries had been sustained during a catastrophic motor vehicle accident.
Suppose, though, that the injured victim consulted with a doctor or specialist, and had that same professional fill out the OCF-19 Application for Determination of Catastrophic Benefits Form. If that were the case, then the collision would almost certainly qualify as one that had managed to meet Ontario’s standards, for classification as a catastrophic motor vehicle accident.
Injury suffered by victim must fall into one of the categories on this list
• Paraplegia or tetraplegia
• Severe impairment of ambulatory mobility or use of arm (in the eyes of the law, amputation of a limb is the same as an impairment)
• Traumatic brain injury, as sustained by a victim 18 years of age, or older
• Traumatic brain injury, as sustained by a victim less than 18 years of age: evidence for this would probably need to come from a specialist in pediatric neurology, or from both a pediatrician and a neurologist.
• Physical impairment(s) in 55% or more of all the affected areas on the victim’s body
• Mental or behavioral impairment, combined with physical impairment
• Marked impairment in 3 or more areas of function, leading to an absence of useful functioning; in addition, the victim’s condition is unlikely to improve.
Moves that the law necessitates, following a catastrophic motor vehicle accident
The size of the benefits package for the victim increases and it goes from a maximum of $65,000 to a maximum of $1,000,000. You can always have a personal injury lawyer in Vaughan can be included in the team of service providers. The same team of service providers must meet on a regular basis, in order to co-ordinate their efforts. The insurance adjuster can be made part of the team, but only if he or she asks to join that same group.
Moves denied by Ontario law, following a catastrophic motor vehicle accident
A lawyer cannot seek to win a reward of more than $1,000,000 for his or her client. An insurance adjuster could not use participation in a team to reverse the finding that a victim’s injury had been sustained in a catastrophic motor vehicle accident. Indeed, there have been no reports of adjusters seeking to make such a move. In the past, a typical adjuster has sought to move things along, so that a settlement can be reached in a shorter length of time.