What Is Catastrophic Impairment?

Car crashes cause serious, life-changing injuries.

It takes a lot of care and support for people to recover. Sometimes, people never recover all the way, and they need care and support for many years or the rest of their lives.

In the following video, I’d like to speak with you about something called “catastrophic impairment.”

If you are involved in a car crash in Ontario you have access to no-fault accident benefits insurance which provides benefits to pay for your care and support after the crash. You’re already covered by this insurance, even if you don’t own or drive a car, even if you’re injured as a passenger, cyclist or pedestrian. Everyone can access it.

AMOUNT OF BENEFITS

But the amount of benefits available varies a lot. Mostly it depends on how severely you are injured. And this is where “catastrophic impairment” comes in.

Serious injuries are classified as either catastrophic or non-catastrophic.

The non-catastrophic injuries have access to $65,000 worth of benefits for treatment and care. The catastrophic benefits have access to a million.

That’s a huge difference, and that’s not the only difference.

Catastrophically injured people have access to a case manager, to coordinate all their treatment. They also have housekeeping benefits to help around the house, and caregiver benefits if they care for a child or other family member.

So what makes an injury catastrophic?

Sometimes, these are easy to spot, like with paraplegia, lost limbs, or major brain injuries. Other times it is less clear.

Some head injuries are more severe than they initially appear, and these can be catastrophic impairments. Sometimes the combination of a number of smaller injuries can add up to a catastrophic impairment.

MENTAL HEALTH AND PSYCHOLOGICAL EFFECTS

And sometimes the mental health or psychological effects of an accident can make it catastrophic.

The important thing to realize, and if I say one thing you’ll remember, it should be this – if there is any doubt at all about whether your injuries are catastrophic, the insurance company very likely won’t classify you that way.

They unfortunately have an interest in seeing your benefits limited to $65,000 instead of a million. So you can’t count on them to get this right.

Getting an injured person classified as catastrophic is a big part of what lawyers like me do for clients in serious injury cases.

It often takes a lot of work and considerable resources to get this outcome, but it can be truly life-changing for our clients so we do what it takes.

Now that you know how important this is, you’re ready to make sure you’re working with a legal team that is protecting your rights.

Our video series is designed to shed new light on personal injury law and provide the insights you need to make an informed decision about what is best for you and your loved ones.

Be sure to watch the other videos in our Personal Injury Explained series.