Car Accident - What does "No-Fault" - "Accident Benefits" mean?

What Does "No-Fault" - "Accident Benefits" mean?

If you have been injured in a motor vehicle accident in Ontario, the Insurance Act of Ontario provides details as to what compensation you are entitled to receive. They are called "No-Fault" benefits, often also referred to "accident benefits". A person injured as a result of a car accident in Ontario is entitled, regardless of who’s fault the accident is, to claim these benefits, usually from their own motor vehicle insurer. The "No-Fault" benefits are set out in regulations passed under the Ontario Insurance Act. If you did not have motor vehicle / car insurance at the time of the accident, the Ontario Insurance Act provides a series of priority rules to follow in assessing who is responsible for paying your benefits. You are, however, entitled to receive benefits.

The rules governing the benefits are extremely complicated. Benefits include income replacement benefits, medical expenses, travel expenses, physiotherapy costs, other treatment expenses, rehabilitation costs, caregiver expenses, housekeeping expenses, etc...

In order to claim benefits, you must report the accident to your insurer and complete and submit certain forms within a specific time-period. If you fail to report the accident to your insurer, you may lose your right to receive benefits.

What is important to know is that "No-Fault" benefits do not cover damages for pain & suffering. In order to receive pain and suffering damages, you should consult with a personal injury lawyer who can discuss with you how to advance a "tort" claim, which is a claim seeking compensation for pain and suffering, which claim is advanced against the persons who are at fault for the accident.

There are strict limits on who can advance a claim successfully. Specifically, an injured person must meet a certain "threshold" of injury. The injury must be "serious and permanent" in order to meet the threshold. The threshold is subject to judicial interpretation, changes and is defined by the Courts. In order to determine if your injuries meet the "threshold", you should consult with a personal injury lawyer.

Call us at 613-563-1131 for a free consultation. Marc-Nicholas Quinn, Ottawa Car Accident Lawyer. Www.PQTlaw.com.

Judgment Obtained - Defendant Declares Bankruptcy - What Do You Do? Ottawa Accident Lawyers - www.PQTLaw.com

It sometimes happens that you obtain judgment against someone in a personal injury court action and that person is not insured and the judgment is unpaid. The defendant is unable to pay and makes an assignment into bankruptcy. What are your rights? If the person has insurance, you may be able to apply for payment from the insurer directly through certain provisions of the Insurance Act of Ontario, in addition to opposing the bankruptcy. If the person was uninsured, you have the right to oppose the defendant's bankruptcy and seek conditions on any discharge ordered. If the person - bankrupt is unable to pay 50 cents on the dollar of his debts owing, there will automatically be a conditional discharge, providing an opposition is filed. If the defendant was particularly vexatious and unnecessarily prolonged the court proceeding, you have grounds to oppose the bankruptcy and seek that there be conditions attached to any discharge such as the payment of money to the Trustee for the benefit of the creditors, who share pro rata to their proven claims, subject to the Trustee's fees being paid as a first charge. There are many grounds that may be used to oppose a bankruptcy. If the judgment obtained is based on a judicial finding of fraud, the debt owed to you will likely be exempt from discharge. Debts occasioned by fraud cannot be discharged on bankruptcy. To learn more about your rights in circumstances where a bankrupt seeks to deny you recovery of compensation, contact us at 613-563-1131 - Plant Quinn Thiele - Marc-Nicholas Quinn.

Failure to Defend Action Can Result in Default Judgment Against You - Ottawa Accident Lawyer - www.pqtlaw.com

Once a court action has been commenced, the Rules of Civil Procedure apply. Those Rules provide strict time-lines by which certain steps in the court action must be completed. For example, once served with a statement of claim (originating document that commences a court action), you have 20 days to file and serve a statement of defence. If you fail to do so, the Plaintiff can obtain a noting in default by filing a simple form in Court and then proceed to obtain Default Judgment. That Default Judgment can be set aside but there is a legal test to meet and in most and not all cases, a Justice will set aside the Default Judgment. The cost of bringing a motion seeking to set aside the Default Judgment can range from $2,500 to $15,000, depending on the complexity of the matter. The lesson learned is - once served, retain a lawyer right away to ensure that the necessary time-lines are met. Marc-Nicholas Quinn - Ottawa Injury Lawyer - 613-563-1131.