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There have been some recent changes to the regulations which govern the claiming of car accident benefits. Once again, the government of Canada alongside the province of Ontario has decided that it’s reasonable to increase the amount of the deductible in car accident compensations. Let’s dig a bit deeper into this.
It goes without saying that legislation in Canada, regardless of the municipality, has its own debatable regulations. Well, it’s safe to say that the deductible clause is one rather questionable provision, to say the very least. Even though the opinion of a lawyer in the matter might be a bit subjective because it affects directly the amount of money that he’s going to get out of his contingency fee, it’s worth taking into consideration out of strict professional point of view.
With this in mind, there is a growing discussion amongst many practicing lawyers in Ontario that the deductible provision is particularly unfair and fails to deliver the justice that the law is supposed to. This particular provision stipulates that the at-fault party is entitled to a deduction that can go to as much as $30,000 in car accident cases. So, let’s say you’ve been involved in an accident of the kind and you claim $60,000 worth of compensation. You get the verdict in your favor and you get the compensation that you filed for. Right there, on the spot, you are going to receive $30,000 less because of this provision. And why is that? Well, that is because it’s considered justified and protective of the opposing party.
So, let’s sum up – you get to incur the damages, you get to pay your medical and rehab bills and legal fees and you get to receive $30,000 less than what you are actually entitled to. While there might be merit behind this clause, it’s particularly challenging to dig it out.
The deductible shows that there isn’t enough trust behind the verdict. The verdict is the court act which regulates particular social relation. This is the essence of the law itself. If there is a post imposed clause which alters the verdict itself, this puts the entire nature of the law in question. The same is the case with the deductible. The fact that such clauses exist, it means that the legislative arm is putting in question the ability of the court to properly assess the claim and that it might issue an excessive verdict.
In any case, this particular clause has given birth to fierce debates. However, it seems that the legislative responsibility doesn’t give it many credits because just recently, this deductible was once again increased, contrary to what a lot of people may have expected. If you have a claim to file which might get into complexities due to the recent changes, it is best to connect with an injury lawyer who is conversant with these legal requirements.