Accident benefits are paid by the insurance company of the vehicle that you were driving, while personal injury damages are the result of a lawsuit against the responsible driver or vehicle owner. Some differences between the two types of compensation, as well as the ways Cuming & Gillespie LLP can assist with each, are set out below. Cuming & Gillespie LLP handles all aspects of both accident benefits and a personal injury lawsuit. You focus on getting better – we handle the rest.
Accident Benefits
- Paid by the insurance company that covers the vehicle the injured party was driving
- Payable immediately for two (2) years up to $50,000 plus income benefit – Cuming & Gillespie LLP can assist with the claims process with no fee charged
- Comprehensive treatment plan can be provided through medical assessments – Cuming & Gillespie LLP can help set up private occupational therapy and medical assessments
- May provide income replacement benefits (i.e. for loss of income or inability to work caused by injuries)
- May cover necessary costs, including occupational therapy, physiotherapy, massage, chiropractic treatment, dental, counselling, etc.
- May include household benefits
- Goal is complete recovery or best recovery possible
Personal Injury Damages
- Claimed for through a lawsuit against the responsible driver/vehicle owner
- May be able to get an emergency advance to cover immediate needs, if applicable (otherwise, need to wait until lawsuit is settled or adjudicated in court)
- Damages claimed for impact of injures on life, family, and work
- Analysis of damages owed is based on injured party’s abilities once they’ve achieved maximum improvement on recovery (i.e. back to 100%)
- Several potential heads of damages:
- Pain and suffering
- Out-of-pocket expenses
- Past and future income loss
- Lost opportunities
- Household impact and housekeeping
- Future care/life care plan
- Tax implications
- Impact on injured person’s spouse/partner
- Interest
- Cuming & Gillespie LLP retains the top experts to provide opinions/assessments to help value claim
- Legal fees charged on total compensation collected at end of claim