A catastrophic claim is the most serious type of claim that a person injured in a car accident in Ontario can make. It is reserved only for the most traumatic injuries that cause serious and permanent impairments. The criteria for meeting this threshold are:
- paraplegia or quadriplegia
- amputation or some other type of impairment causing the total and permanent loss of use of both arms
- amputation or another type of impairment causing the total and permanent loss of use of both an arm and a leg
- total blindness in both eyes
- brain impairment resulting from the accident that results in a score of 9 or less on the Glasgow Coma Scale administered within a reasonable period of time after the accident or a score of 2 (vegetative) or 3 (severe disability) Glasgow Outcome Scale according to a test administered more than six months after the accident
- any impairment resulting in 55 per cent or more impairment of the whole person
- any impairment that, in accordance with the American Medical Association’s Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment, 4th edition, 1993, results in a class 4 impairment (marked impairment) or class 5 impairment (extreme impairment) due to mental or behavioural disorder
How Damages are Assessed in a Catastrophic Claim
Once this threshold has been reached, an injured person will be entitled to a higher level of accident benefits from their own insurance company.
- $1 million in medical and rehabilitative benefits
- Up to $1 million in attendant care benefits
- Up to $100/week in housekeeping and home maintenance
- Up to $250/2eek for a caregiver
- $50 per week for each dependent
In the case of a serious accident causing catastrophic injuries, the injured person may also be able to sue the at-fault driver for pain and suffering, as well as past lost income, future lost income, extra housekeeping and home maintenance expenses, as well as any out of pocket expenses that have not been reimbursed by the insurance company.
Protect your right to collect all the compensation you deserve after a Vaughan motor vehicle accident. Speak to one of the experienced personal injury lawyers at Conte Associates by calling 1-877-614-0008. Based in Vaughan and Whitby/Oshawa, Conte & Associates works with clients in Vaughn and Whitby and in the following cities in Ontario: Oshawa, Ajax, Pickering, Clarington, Newcastle, Courtice, Bowmanville, Newcastle, Port Perry, Belleville, and Peterborough.
