Car accidents have become a common phenomenon all across the world. Numerous victims are dying or falling victim to severe injuries from car accidents. So, accident settlement claims are important aspects of any car owner’s life today.
In this regard, knowing about car accident settlements can help you acquire the compensation amount you deserve. This money can help you repair damages to your personal assets, income, and health. So, what is the average settlement for car accidents in Canada?
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What Does Car Accident Settlement Mean?
As a Canadian, the most important thing to know about car accident settlements is that there are 2 ways you can obtain financial compensation. The settlement amount will compensate for any injuries caused in a motor vehicle collision.
So, the two types of claims are accident benefits and tort claims.
Accident benefit claims
This is a no-fault claim. It basically means that if people harmed in the accident make a claim with their insurance company, they are eligible for reimbursement. In most cases, the compensation value is paid by the insurance company.
Tort claim
Tort law governs people’s ability to sue each other for injuries they have suffered. This law applies to personal injury cases, such as car accidents. You may be able to sue someone who has hurt you in an automobile accident and is judged to be at fault. If you are successful, you will be entitled to compensation for damages not covered by the statutory benefits.
Know about Statutory Benefit Claims
Let’s start with claims for accident benefits. The Statutory Accident Benefits Schedule (SABS) is a legislation piece in Ontario. This key piece of legislation combines several benefits where you are at no-fault that must be included in all motor-vehicle insurance contracts in the province.
Thus parties wounded in automobile accidents can take advantage of various advantages under this regulation.
Benefits for income loss
This benefit compensates for a maximum of 70% of your annual income, or you can receive a maximum of $400 weekly compensation. This benefit is there to replace any loss of income.
Benefits for jobless victims
This compensates weekly $185 to individuals who were jobless during the accident and cannot function normally.
Benefits for care
This benefit provides a calculated amount for people harmed and who cannot care for others anymore.
Benefits for medical treatment and rehabilitation
Depending on the severity of the injury, this compensates wounded people for fair and required expenses.
Benefits for attendant care
Due to the injuries incurred from the accident, you can receive personal support services or long-term care.
Claim for Long-Term Disability Settlement
You may also be eligible for long-term disability (LTD) benefits if you’ve been wounded in a car accident. Even though you purchased a personal policy to improve your benefits, your insurance company may attempt to reduce the amount you receive. They also might refuse to admit your LTD payments outright if the nature of your injury is not immediately apparent.
What Is the Average Settlement for Car Accidents in Canada?
The statutes of car accident compensation are explicit about the amount you may be entitled to. However, there isn’t any sure way to know how much each individual’s total compensation could be. We can, however, review the obvious figures.
There are significant limitations to accident benefits. The overall medical and rehabilitation treatment amounts available to victims who have been harmed are also limited.
The minimum injury compensation is the first in the category. You can claim as much as $3,500 for the simplest injuries you may have sustained. Then, there are the non-catastrophic injuries that you can claim the highest amount of $65,000.
Finally, a catastrophic injury will allow you to claim compensation of as much as a million dollars.
Car Accident Settlement for Pain and Suffering
Non-pecuniary damages, or those that aren’t measurable in the same method as medical bills, have a ceiling of roughly $350,000. This is updated for inflation periodically. That means that no matter how serious the injuries and damages, you would not be able to receive any higher amount than $350,000 for pain and suffering.
A statutory deductible paid to the insurance company of the at-fault party applies to many pain and suffering claims in Ontario. You should expect a deduction of $19,877.16 or $39,754.31 from the overall amount, depending on the facts of your claim.
Conclusion
So, the average settlement for a car accident in Canada can be as low as a few thousand dollars. And this amount can even reach up to millions of dollars depending on the severity of the injury.
Thus, you can imagine how complex situations can become. Our advice is to quickly seek professional support through accident claim attorneys who are experienced and skilled in the matter.