Passenger cars are involved in almost three-quarters of all accidents that cause injuries or fatalities. Moreover, drivers or passengers of cars, vans, trucks, or other passenger vehicles sustain about 80% of all injuries.
Suffering from a debilitating injury, permanent disability, or losing a loved one to a fatal car accident can shatter the life you’ve worked so hard to build. But you don’t have to pick up the pieces alone.
The experienced and reputable car accident lawyers at Howie, Sacks & Henry LLP are ready to help you as you begin your healing journey. Our skilled team can assist with accident benefits and build a case to make a tort claim for damages if you were not at fault, or only partially at fault in the accident.
As you learn to live with new limitations and focus on your recovery, trust an HSH car accident lawyer to become your tireless advocate and trusted legal representative. At HSH, we’ll show you that Hope Starts Here. Let us help you access the compensation you need and deserve so that you can move forward with confidence.
At A Glance
- Accident Benefits: Anyone in Ontario injured in a car accident can apply for accident benefits to cover medical and rehabilitation expenses, compensate for lost income, or otherwise assist with recovery.
- Tort Claims: Filing a tort claim for damages is often a critical step to ensuring you have the necessary funds for your recovery and proper compensation for your pain, suffering, and losses.
- Expertise: HSH is renowned for handling even the most complex and challenging car accident cases. Insurers know that we mean business.
How Do Car Accidents Happen?
Nine out of ten car accidents are preventable, meaning a significant portion of accidents involve driver error. Common factors that lead to car accidents include:
- Dangerous Driving: Speeding, distracted driving, driving while too tired, driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, aggressive driving, stunt driving.
- Driver Error: Right-of-way error, improper braking or stopping, signaling issues, being unfamiliar with the road.
- Environmental Factors: Poor road conditions from snow, ice, hail, and rain, poor visibility.
- Road Hazards: Construction sites, potholes, objects, or animals on the road.
- Driver Inexperience or Declining Ability: Due to advanced age.
- Mechanical Issues: Problems with the vehicle.
About one in every three car accidents are single-vehicle accidents. Multi-vehicle collisions involving turning movements, being rear-ended, sideswiped, and angled points of impact are also very common.
Common Car Accident Injuries
Car accident victims frequently sustain injuries when their body strikes a part of the vehicle, a foreign object lacerates or penetrates their skin and organs, or from dramatic changes in body position due to a sudden, unexpected movement from a collision or loss of control of the vehicle. Other injuries may result from fires, submersed vehicles, or the traumatic stress of the incident. Common injuries include:
- Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBIs), including concussions
- Spinal cord injuries/paralysis
- Facial and soft tissue injuries
- Nerve damage
- Lost limbs
- Dislocated joints
- Internal organ damage
- Broken bones
- Muscle tears, sprains, and strains
- Burns
- Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
- Heart Attack or Stroke from stress
Your Rights If Injured In A Car Accident
If you are injured in a car accident in Ontario, you have two options for accessing the funds needed to help you in your recovery: accident benefits and tort claims.
Statutory Accident Benefits Schedule (SABS)
All people injured in a car accident in Ontario are eligible to make a claim for funds outlined in the Statutory Accident Benefits Schedule (SABS). An accident victim (or their family) is qualified for a specific monetary range of benefits based on the severity of their injuries. They can claim these funds even if they are partially or wholly at fault for the accident. SABS benefits can supplement an accident victim’s other private insurance coverage.
Potential benefits include funds for:
- Medical, rehabilitation, and attendant care
- Income replacement (or a non-earner benefit)
- Housekeeping and home maintenance
- Caregiver
- Cost of examinations
The car accident victim would apply to the first available source of motor vehicle insurance (MVA) in the following order:
- Your own motor vehicle accident insurance provider
- The MVA insurance provider of a family member who lists you on their policy
- The MVA insurance provider of the vehicle in which they were a passenger
- The MVA insurance provider of the vehicle that caused their injury (if the victim is a pedestrian, cyclist, or other non-insured road user)
- The MVA insurance provider of any vehicle involved in the accident
- The Motor Vehicle Accident Claims Fund when there is no other MVA insurance provider to contact
An accident victim must apply for accident benefits before statutory deadlines unless their injuries make this timeline clearly unreasonable or impossible. Generally, you have seven days to inform the appropriate SABS insurer of your intention to apply for accident benefits. You must submit a completed Accident Benefits Application Package within 30 days.
An experienced and reputable personal injury lawyer can answer questions and advise you on how to protect your rights and maximize these benefits, especially if your injuries are near the threshold for a catastrophic injury designation.
Tort Claims – Car Accident Lawsuits
Although any person injured in a car accident in Ontario is eligible to receive accident benefits to assist in their recovery, accident victims who were not at fault for the accident, or found to be only partially at fault, have another option to get compensation for their losses.
A third-party claim (tort claim) against an at-fault driver can include both pecuniary (calculable) damages, such as lost wages, future income loss, and past and future medical and other expenses, and also non-pecuniary (incalculable) damages, such as pain and suffering and loss of enjoyment of life.
Preparing a successful tort claim takes skill and resources. At Howie, Sacks & Henry, our car accident lawyers have both. As one of the country’s top personal injury firms, our team has handled thousands of car accident cases and is capable of taking on even the most complex and challenging matters. Our firm has also built a strong network of experts we can call on to provide assessments of injuries, evaluations of medical and rehabilitation needs, and specialized accounting professionals to calculate current and future costs of care and expenses.
How Can Our Car Accident Lawyers Help?
Car accidents are a destabilizing moment in the life of a driver, passenger, pedestrian, and/or cyclist. The path forward can be confusing as it requires navigating both the medical system and the legal system. With an HSH LLP car accident lawyer as your trusted legal representative and advocate, you’ll be able to focus on your rehabilitation and recovery while we use our knowledge, skill, and experience to access accident benefits, deal with insurers, and ensure you receive the compensation you need and deserve.
As one of Canada’s top-rated personal injury firms, HSH LLP is a name you can trust. Our reputation for getting results for our clients is known within the medical and rehabilitation community, and by our peers in the legal sector.
When an insurer sees that you are represented by HSH, they know they’ll be dealing with a firm that is renowned for building strong cases and negotiating with car accident lawyers who are always prepared to take the case to trial if they fail to offer a fair settlement to our clients.
Our team understands that during this difficult time in your life, you need to know you are supported by individuals who show compassion and who will care about you even when our legal work for you is complete. Being a part of our clients’ healing journey inspires us to work diligently for you and to support you in any way we can.
If you or a loved one has been injured in a car accident, trust the personal injury lawyers at HSH LLP to be on your side and by your side as you recover and rebuild your life.
To learn how we can help you on your road to recovery, contact us today.
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When you need a car accident lawyer, trust Howie, Sacks & Henry LLP.
