How To Proceed After The Accident Has Settled Through?

You or your loved one has been hit by a negligent driver. The latter was texting and failed to take the necessary steps in order to prevent the accident. As a result he was charged and later on convicted of his distracted driving conduct as well as for his carelessness as it is regulated by the Highway Traffic Act.

Liability and punishment

Liability here is most definitely not the issue. The driver was found to be at fault and there are unlikely to be any arguments coming from the defendant insurer’s lawyer. However, as a result of the collision, the plaintiff has sustained major brain injuries as well as multiple orthopedic ones to the neck, knees, and wrists as well as to his back. The injured has had to undergone six different surgeries each with variable orthopedic specialists because of the nature of the damages. It is obviously clear that no amount of surgery, medication, therapy as well as treatment is going to help to fully recover the patient.

As brutal and dramatic as this may sound – that’s something rather common when it comes to car accidents. Unfortunately, car accidents are particularly challenging and incredibly catastrophic in certain occasions. That’s why you need to have a few different things into account. The truth, however, is that the things can only get a bit worse from there, given that our legal system isn’t exactly brilliant. Take a look at these issues.

1. In order to get the recovery compensation for pain and suffering in Ontario, regardless of the fault, the injuries need to be found both permanent and serious. This is what the court refers to as a threshold and if the judge fails to recognize it as such, you won’t be able to claim for pain and suffering.

2. There is a $36,920 deductible if you qualify. That’s right – if you are qualified for compensation for pain and suffering, you will get a $36,920 deducted from the final ruling. This means that if the judge seats on $30,000 of compensation, after the deductible, you won’t get a dime.

3. The deductible which we mentioned in the previous point is increased every single year. That’s going to start from January 2017 and the above amount will be greater.

4. This deductible is not the only one. There are quite a few different deductibles that you need to take into account when it comes to it and that’s definitely capable of limiting your overall compensation.

All of the aforementioned is definitely no reason to give up but it makes you question how reasonable this is. Unfortunately, the answer isn’t as simple as we may want it to be. That is why you need to get further clarity by talking with an injury lawyer and ensure that your rights are well-represented. However, it is important that the lawyer is experienced with similar cases.