Motor Vehicle Accidents
After a collision you are dealing with accident benefits and a possible tort claim at the same time, on separate timelines. We handle both and deal with the insurers.
A car accident can change your life in seconds. One moment you are driving to work or picking up your children; the next you are dealing with injuries, missed income, medical appointments, and a stack of insurance forms you have never seen before.
In Ontario, a motor vehicle accident usually produces two separate claims at the same time: a claim for accident benefits from your own insurer, and a lawsuit against the driver who caused the crash. Each has its own rules, deadlines, and forms, and mistakes in one can affect the other.
At Kabir & Alam, we represent drivers, passengers, cyclists, pedestrians, and motorcyclists injured on Ontario roads. We handle the insurers so you can focus on getting better.
Accident benefits from your own insurer
Ontario has a no-fault accident benefits system. Regardless of who caused the collision, you can claim benefits from your own auto insurer (or, if you have no policy of your own, from the insurer of the vehicle you were in, or through a special fund).
These benefits can include income replacement, medical and rehabilitation expenses, attendant care, and, in more serious cases, housekeeping and caregiver support. How much you can access depends on how your injuries are classified: minor, non-catastrophic, or catastrophic.
Insurers routinely place injured people in the lowest category. Challenging that classification, and making sure the treatment plans and assessments are properly submitted, is often where the real work of an accident benefits claim happens.
Suing the at-fault driver
If someone else caused the accident, you may also be able to sue them for damages that accident benefits do not cover, including pain and suffering, loss of future income, and future care costs.
Ontario law makes this harder than most people expect. To recover for pain and suffering, your injury generally has to meet a legal threshold of permanent and serious impairment, and a statutory deductible is taken off the award unless it is above a set amount. These rules are updated regularly and are one of the main reasons injured people are undercompensated when they settle without advice.
Deadlines you cannot miss
The clock starts the day of the accident. Your insurer must be notified within days, the accident benefits application follows shortly after, and written notice of an intention to sue must be sent to the at-fault driver within a few months. A lawsuit generally must be started within two years.
Missing a step does not always end a claim, but it gives the insurer an argument, and insurers use every argument they are given. We take on the deadlines from the first meeting.
Hit and run, uninsured, and underinsured drivers
If the other driver cannot be identified, has no insurance, or has too little insurance to cover your losses, you may still have a claim under your own policy or through Ontario’s Motor Vehicle Accident Claims Fund. These claims have their own notice requirements and are easy to overlook.
What your claim may be worth
Every case is different. The value of a claim depends on the severity and permanence of the injuries, their effect on your work and daily life, the cost of future care, and how liability is shared. We do not quote numbers before we understand your file. We do make sure the insurer’s first offer is not mistaken for the last.
How we can help
If you or a family member has been hurt in a collision, we can help you:
- Report the accident and open your accident benefits claim correctly
- Challenge an unfair injury classification or a denied treatment plan
- Send the required notices and start the lawsuit within the limitation period
- Gather medical, employment, and expert evidence to prove your losses
- Negotiate with the insurers, and go to trial if that is what it takes
You pay no legal fees unless we recover money for you. Our maximum contingency fee percentage is 33% of the amount recovered; the exact percentage and how it is calculated are set out in the Law Society of Ontario standard form contingency fee agreement, which we review with you before you sign anything. Our personal injury practice is led by Muniza Kabir, Managing Partner.
Hurt in an accident? Contact us for a free consultation.
The information on this page is general in nature and is not legal advice. Limitation periods and notice requirements apply to injury claims and can be short. For advice about your own situation, please contact us to arrange a consultation.