Benefits Promised To Resident of Ontario With Automobile Insurance

The Canadian province of Ontario promises accident benefits to those victims of a motor vehicle accident that qualify. A document called SABS contains the guidelines used, in order to determine who qualifies for the available benefits.

What is SABS?

Those 4 letters stand for the Statutory Accident Benefits Schedule. It provides details on the amount of money given to accident victims, in order to cover the cost of treating their injuries.

SABS makes clear the fact that Ontario is a no-fault province; no driver can be denied benefits, even one that might have caused a given accident. Still, there is a limit to the amount of money paid out in the form of accident benefits. No victim should expect to receive those regular payments for a period of time that exceeds 5 years.

Benefits that supplement the ones linked to SABS:

Income replacement: This equals 70% of the former earnings for the injured victim. The maximum amount of money that any resident of Ontario can receive as income replacement amounts to $400 per week.

Non-earner benefits: No accident victim can receive this benefit for more than 2 years. Note, though, that payments to the non-earner do not start until 4 weeks after the injury-causing collision.

Death benefits: These become available to a family that has lost a loved one as the result of a motor vehicle collision. A spouse can receive a maximum of $25,000; a dependent can receive as much as $10,000, and the deceased’s family can get $6,000 for funeral expenses.

Payments for those with a catastrophic impairment

Victims that must go through the rest of their lives, while struggling with a catastrophic impairment can receive up to $250 per week. If any of those same victims need to care for a dependent child or parent, then the victim/provider can receive an additional $50 per week.

What is a catastrophic impairment?

That is a handicap of sorts, one that has been caused by a physical injury. It impacts the life of the injured victim for the remainder of that same victim’s lifetime. The impact takes the form of an impairment.

The impaired victim cannot perform the tasks that are part of a healthy person’s daily care. That inability arises from the fact that the same victim has been harmed physically. As a result, the victim’s injured body suffers the effects of an impact– effects that threaten to last a lifetime. Those same effects make it impossible for the victim to handle any of the tasks that allow adults to administer a decided amount of self-care. In addition, the impact-related effects prolong considerably the length of the victim’s recovery. That is why it is important that you consult with a personal injury lawyer in Huntsville.