When Does Interest Begin to Accrue on Settlements?

November 10, 2016, Kitchener, Ontario

Posted by: Robert Deutschmann, Personal Injury Lawyer

An appeal was recently heard at the Superior Court of Justice concerning the question of when do catastrophic attendant care and housekeeping/home maintenance benefits become overdue,  and when does interest start to accrue under the SABS (Statutory Accident Benefits).

The insurer appealed the application judge’s order that they pay the accident victim two percent compounded monthly on benefits from 2005 forward. The victim was badly injured in a car accident in 2004, and the insurer paid benefits for 104 weeks but determined that as no documentation was submitted indicating the victim had sustained catastrophic injuries that the insurer had no obligation to pay benefits.

Between 2004-2012 the victim made four applications for CAT designation. In 2013 the insurer finally conceded CAT injury pursuant to the SABS.

The superior court determined that the application judge erred in determining that statutory accident benefits for attendant care and housekeeping/home maintenance were overdue and interest was payable, for the following reasons:

1. The accident victim had not made an application for a catastrophic impairment determination until December 2007 and no catastrophic impairment determination was made until July 2013; and
2. The accident victim’s injuries did not in fact deteriorate to the level of catastrophic impairment and therefore did not meet the statutory requirements for a catastrophic impairment until 2013, thus no monies were owing to her or overdue before that date.

The full text of the decision can be read here.

About Deutschmann Law

Deutschmann Law serves South-Western Ontario with offices in Kitchener-Waterloo, Cambridge, Woodstock, Brantford, Stratford and Ayr. The law practice of Robert Deutschmann focuses almost exclusively in personal injury and disability insurance matters. For more information, please visit www.deutschmannlaw.com or call us at 1-519-742-7774.

It is important that you review your accident benefit file with one of our experienced personal injury / car accident lawyers to ensure that you obtain access to all your benefits which include, but are limited to, things like physiotherapy, income replacement benefits, vocational retraining and home modifications.