Does Personal Injury Law Encompass Family Act Of Ontario?

24 Oct Does Personal Injury Law Encompass Family Act Of Ontario?

Unfortunately the majority of serious personal injury cases end with terrible consequences for the victims. Broken bones, mutilations and even death are very common consequences. Long-term disability is also something incredibly common especially with people that have managed to survive a car crash or any other kind of severe vehicular accident. However it is important to know that this is a special form of disability and unlike the short term or the permanent disability, it is regulated in a different way.

Can family members file a claim?

Interestingly enough, family members are also entitled to file personal injury claims on behalf of other family members as per the Family Act of Ontario. This is a law which was consolidated back in 1990 on the 31^st of December. However, it has undergone approximately 14 amendments, the most current one of which is in force as of the 3^rd of December in 2015. However, the law clearly states that family members are entitled to file claims on behalf of their relatives in the family.

Specific limitations

Now, there are certain limitations that have to be taken into serious consideration. For instance, in the case of long-term disability, the family members would be allowed to file for the direct expenses that they had to go through as a result of the injury. These are typically the expenses spent on medicaments, utilities, medical treatment and recovery, other rehabilitation processes and so forth. These are damages that could be proven with documentation unlike the emotional or the so called non-pecuniary damages. The latter can’t be proven in court with documentation because there isn’t a receipt that could be placed on the emotional pain and suffering that a person is going through. These damages are individually assessed by the judge discretionally for each case separately.

Loss of income

However, it is also important to note that family members can file for the loss of income that has resulted from the long-term disability. However, in order to do so they would have to make sure to get a medical statement from the doctor of the victim that stipulates that he is in fact disabled for a long-term. The loss of income is easily calculated by taking the salary that he used to receive prior to and after the accident.

It’s crucial to differentiate personal injury cases with the ones which derive from the labor legislation. The latter include cases of working accidents in which the employer is required to pay the injured certain amount of compensation. There has been an extensive debate which didn’t actually give a clear answer of whether or not these cases should be considered to be ones included in the personal injury law.