By Matt Lalande in Bus Accidents on August 17, 2024
It’s well known that in Ontario, all owners of motorized vehicles are legally required to carry a minimum level of liability insurance coverage – even public transit buses. This mandatory insurance provides protection for the vehicle owner in case of an accident. It includes a crucial component known as Statutory Accident Benefits, often referred to as No-Fault Benefits.
Statutory Accident Benefits are fundamental to Ontario’s motor vehicle insurance system. These benefits are designed to provide essential financial assistance to individuals who have suffered injuries in an accident, regardless of who was at fault. The primary purpose of these benefits is to ensure that accident victims have access to necessary medical care, rehabilitation services, income replacement, and attendant care without having to wait for the resolution of a potentially lengthy legal process to determine fault.
Under the Statutory Accident Benefits Schedule, you can receive a wide range of benefits, such as:
Yes, It is important to note that even individuals who do not own a vehicle or have their own motor vehicle insurance policy may still be eligible to apply for Statutory Accident Benefits if injured in an accident. For example, suppose you are a pedestrian hit by a car, and you do not own a car or car insurance. In that case, you are entitled to access accident benefits from the policy of the vehicle that hurt you. They are mandated by law to respond and provide you with the reasonable and necessary care and other benefits you need. This provision ensures that all accident victims have access to essential benefits, regardless of their personal insurance status.
By mandating Statutory Accident Benefits as part of every motor vehicle insurance policy in Ontario, the provincial government has created a safety net for accident victims, ensuring they have access to the care and support they need to recover from their injuries and manage the financial impact of an unexpected accident.
What is important to understand is that Ontario public transit passengers who sustain injuries are not entitled to Accident Benefits if the transit vehicle they occupied “did not collide with another automobile or any other object in the incident” (section 268(1.1) of the Insurance Act R.S.O. 1990, c. I.8). This restriction applies irrespective of whether the injured individual is claiming benefits through their own insurance or the public transit authority’s policy.
What exactly does this mean? Often called the “no crash, no cash rule,” the law effectively bars public transit passengers from receiving Accident Benefits if the public transit vehicle they were travelling in did not experience a collision with another automobile or object during the incident. Consequently, passengers who suffer injuries due to such abrupt braking or acceleration without an accompanying collision are not entitled to Accident Benefits.
Is this fair? It’s a toss-up. The problem is that before the law was passed in 2011, many public transit riders took advantage of the accident benefits system, particularly the “Income Replacement Benefits” part. Many riders fraudulently faked injuries while pretending to fall over with jerks, jolts, lurching, or movements that busses make and that are generally accepted as common incidents of travel. A passenger, by experience, knows and should expect this to happen. But what happens if a bus driver, for example, is cut off by another vehicle or object on the road, and the bus driver is forced to slam on the brakes? What happens if a child runs in front of a bus and the driver abruptly swerves to avoid him? What happens if, during these out-of-normal events, an unbelted passenger falls down or out of their seat, lands head-first on the ground, and suffers a serious head injury? Sadly, that person’s right to receive no-fault accident benefits is non-existent.
The impact of this restriction on benefit access can be severe for those who sustain injuries while using public transit. Without personal employment insurance or other supplementary coverage, these individuals may desperately need Accident Benefits to fund essential medical treatments.
If you are a pedestrian hit by a bus, then there is no issue. You will be entitled to access the City or Region’s insurance policy and apply for and receive accident benefits.
There is a decent trade-off to the “no crash, no-cash rule” – transit carriers effectively lost their status as protected defendants when the 2011 “No Crash, No Cash” amendment was made. This means that victims injured on public transit vehicles not involved in collisions are still able to pursue tort claims (a lawsuit) against the transit company and operator without facing the “statutory threshold” or “deductible” barriers. These obstacles can prove brutally challenging for plaintiffs seeking compensation in lawsuits against non-transit drivers. However, the injured party may face a lengthy wait for case resolution while continuing to accumulate medical and rehabilitation expenses.
No – it is important to note that the limitation on accessing Accident Benefits does not extend to all vehicles that might be considered public transit. Section 224 of the Insurance Act states that “public transit” is defined as:
The definition explicitly states that public transit “does not include special transportation facilities for persons with disabilities or transportation by special purpose facilities such as school buses or ambulance.” In addition to ambulances and school buses, this would seem to include paratransit buses such as DARTS, wheel-trans and possibly other types of public transit vehicles such as airport shuttle buses or rail replacement bus services.
If you’ve been hurt by a bus or by public transit, our Bus Accident Lawyers can help – particularly if you were a pedestrian, on a bicycle, scooter, or wheelchair and hit by a bus. For the last 21 years, our Hamilton Lawyers have helped recover compensation for countless accident victims across Ontario who were hit by public transit by negligent bus drivers, tired bus drivers, incompetent bus drivers and even impaired bus drivers.
Call our Hamilton Spinal Cord Injury Lawyers today, no matter where you are in Ontario, at 1-844-LALANDE or local throughout Southern Ontario at 905-333-8888 for your FREE consultation today. We are here to answer any questions you may have.
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I was a dental hygienist that suffers from really bad scoliosis. My insurance company ignored my doc & cut my benefits off & told me I could do “something”. Matt got me CPP Disability and and LTD settlement – I don’t know what I would have done without him.
My daughter was killed by a drunk driver and it forever changed all of our lives. It seemed that for two years time stopped. This was no an easy journey. Matt let me sit in on the discovery of the driver and boy, he never let up. In the end, our grand-daughter was taken care of and we were compensated for our loss – which we then donated to a cause we believed in.
I call Matt my knight in shining armour. After I was struck by a car while cycling and permanently crippled, he fielded all communications with my especially difficult and downright nasty insurance adjuster. Every step of my care was a battle and I did not have the strength to fight alone.
I lost my leg in a terrible motorcycle accident and Matt help me recover compensation I need because I could not work and the cost of prosthetics and rehab are out of this world. I don’t know what I would have done without him.
My brother ended up paralyzed after a car accident and Lalande did SO MUCH to help get things straight from him getting out of the hospital to all his care for life. We are so grateful for Matt & Heather. I don’t know how my family could have done this without them.
