A Complete Guide to Motor Vehicle Accident Claims in Ontario
If you or a loved one has been injured in a motor vehicle accident in Ontario, you may be overwhelmed, confused, and uncertain about your next steps. Ontario’s accident claims system is complex and includes both no-fault benefits (statutory accident benefits) and the right to sue an at-fault driver through a tort claim. Understanding how these systems work, what benefits are available, and how to protect your rights is essential.
This guide provides clear, plain-language answers to help you navigate your motor vehicle accident claim. If you’re unsure about any part of the process, speaking with an experienced personal injury lawyer can make all the difference.
Statistics on Motor Vehicle Accidents in Ontario
Wondering if Ontario has a lot of injuries from accidents? According to the Ontario Ministry of Transportation’s Preliminary 2023 Ontario Road Safety Annual Report:
- Total fatal and personal injury collisions: 26,993
- Total drivers involved in fatal and personal injury collisions: 49,106
(Source: Preliminary 2023 Ontario Road Safety Annual Report)
At the national level, Transport Canada’s 2022 report provides further context:
- Fatalities: 1,931 (a 6.0% increase from 2021)
- Serious injuries: 8,851 (an 8.1% increase from 2021)
- Total injuries: 118,853 (a 9.5% increase from 2021)
- Fatalities per 100,000 population: 5.0
- Fatalities per billion vehicle kilometres travelled: 4.7
(Source: Canadian Motor Vehicle Traffic Collision Statistics: 2022)
These statistics emphasize the prevalence and severity of motor vehicle collisions across Ontario and Canada, underscoring the importance of understanding your rights and legal options if you or a loved one is an injured party.
Common Car Accident Injuries
Injuries suffered by Ontarians from auto accidents range in severity but these injuries can all have lasting effects on the injured person. Common categories of personal injuries suffered in car accidents include:
- Orthopedic injuries: Broken bones, fractures, and dislocations
- Spinal cord injuries: Including paralysis or partial mobility loss
- Traumatic brain injuries: Concussions or more severe brain damage
- Soft tissue injuries: Such as whiplash, sprains, and strains
- Psychological trauma: Including anxiety, PTSD, and depression
These types of injuries can impact your ability to work, care for family, or enjoy life. Proper medical documentation is crucial to support any injury claim. As a result, it is very important that you seek medical attention for your injuries. Pro tip: while physiotherapy is important rehab, it is usually not good enough to see a physiotherapist alone. The insurance company, not to mention a judge or jury, typically want to see records from an actual physician.
What to Do Immediately After a Collision
Here’s what to do right after a car accident to protect yourself and a possible claim for compensation:
- Ensure your safety and call emergency services.
- Exchange information with other drivers, including those in a company vehicle.
- Take photos of the scene, property damage, and any visible injuries.
- Get medical attention — even if symptoms seem minor.
- Report the accident to your insurance company.
Early documentation of the scene and personal injuries strengthens both your no-fault benefits claim (Statutory Accident Benefits) and tort claim.
Ontario’s No-Fault Insurance System
Ontario operates on a no-fault system, meaning you can access accident benefits from your auto insurance provider regardless of who caused the accident. There are accident benefits available to people who don’t have their own car insurance, like some pedestrians and cyclists or someone who borrowed a car. Getting legal advice can help you know where to apply for your benefits.
Statutory Accident Benefits (SABS)
Statutory accident benefits are also called no-fault benefits, ABs or SABS. These are the benefits available to everyone involved in a collision, regardless of who caused the accident. Your SABS may include:
- Medical benefits
- Income replacement benefits
- Caregiver benefits
- Attendant care
- Funeral expenses
- Ambulance expenses
These are part of the accident benefit package in a standard auto policy. Which benefits are mandatory, and which benefits you purchased can change over time. It is important to get accurate information from your car insurance provider. A personal injury lawyer can assist with that task.
It is important to note that timelines are strict: you must notify your insurer within 7 days of the accident and submit your application within 30 days. (If you have a good excuse the insurance company will often accept late notice. Ask your lawyer for help to communicate the reason for any lateness.)
Tort Claims Against At-Fault Parties (a lawsuit against the person who hit you)
Non-pecuniary damages refer to compensation for losses that do not have a specific monetary value. These damages are awarded for the pain, suffering, and loss of enjoyment of life caused by an injury. Sometimes they are just called “pain and suffering”. They are distinct from pecuniary damages, which compensate for quantifiable losses like income and medical bills. In Canada, there is a cap on non-pecuniary (pain and suffering) damages set by legal precedent.
There is also a statutory deductible set by the Insurance Act and adjusted every year to inflation that applies unless the injury is exceptionally severe. To qualify for non-pecuniary compensation, your injuries must meet the threshold of being permanent and serious. Claims after a motor vehicle collision often require detailed medical evidence and sophisticated legal advocacy to succeed.
What if the person who hit me does not have insurance?
The Motor Vehicle Accident Claims Act (MVACA) is a special piece of Ontario legislation that provides compensation for individuals injured in motor vehicle accidents where the at-fault driver is either uninsured or cannot be identified (such as in hit-and-run incidents). The Act establishes the Motor Vehicle Accident Claims Fund, which serves as a payer of last resort when no other insurance coverage is available.
To qualify under the MVACA, the injured party must demonstrate that no other source of recovery exists and that reasonable efforts were made to identify the other driver or locate insurance. Claims made under the Fund are subject to strict conditions and monetary limits, currently capped at $200,000 per claim regardless of the number of claimants or the extent of injuries.
This legislation plays a crucial role in ensuring that innocent victims are not left without a remedy simply because the responsible driver cannot be found or does not carry valid auto insurance.
You may sue an at-fault or fault driver under Ontario’s Motor Vehicle Accident Claims Act for:
- Pain and suffering
- Loss of wages and income
- Medical expenses and out-of-pocket costs
- Loss of household or caregiving services
- Types of damages including both pecuniary and non-pecuniary
You must meet the threshold of a serious and permanent bodily injury and exceed the statutory deductible to pursue personal injury compensation.
Mandatory and Optional Insurance Coverages
A standard auto insurance policy in Ontario includes a number of features that are mandated by the Insurance Act:
- Third-party liability (a motor vehicle liability policy)
- Direct compensation-property damage (DC-PD)
- Accident benefits
- Uninsured vehicle or uninsured drivers coverage
Optional types of auto insurance coverage can include:
- Enhanced income replacement benefits
- Increased third-party liability
- Loss of use and depreciation waivers
- Family Protection Endorsement
Choosing the right type of auto insurance coverage and understanding your access to coverage are essential to protect yourself from unexpected costs. Insurance products are always changing. Make sure that when you renew your policy you understand whether there has been a decrease in coverage.
Upcoming Changes to Ontario’s No-Fault Insurance System (Effective July 1, 2026)
Major changes are coming to Ontario’s auto insurance system relating to Statutory Accident Benefits (SABS). As of July 1, 2026, only medical, rehabilitation, and attendant care benefits will be mandatory. Other benefits — such as income replacement, caregiver, and death benefits — will become optional, requiring consumers to actively opt-in.
These changes may particularly affect pedestrians, cyclists, passengers, and injured persons who are covered under another person’s policy. Without opting in, they may be left without essential support.
Consumers will need to evaluate their needs closely, as the new system places more responsibility on individuals to choose the right level of protection.
ALSO READ: How SABS Changes Have Made Ontario Insurers Less Accountable
Legal Documentation and Support
One of the most difficult aspects of Ontario’s insurance regime is making sure you have filed the correct paperwork and gathered the documents and evidence needed to make your claims. Often injured people are delayed or denied needed compensation and benefits because they are missing key papers. This is where an experienced personal injury lawyer can help.
Filing and Serving Legal Documents in Ontario
To protect your right to sue for damages following a motor vehicle accident, it is essential to file a Statement of Claim with the Ontario Superior Court of Justice within the applicable limitation period—generally two years from the date of the accident. Filing a claim is the legal step that stops the limitation clock. If you fail to file within this time frame, you may lose your right to pursue compensation entirely.
Once a claim is filed, it must be served on all defendants in accordance with Ontario’s Rules of Civil Procedure. Service means formally delivering the claim, often by personal service, process server, or another method allowed by law. The defendants must then respond within specific timelines.
Proper filing and service are foundational to preserving your claim and ensuring that legal proceedings can move forward effectively.
Legal documentation is critical. Some of the most important legal documents in an injured person’s case includes:
- Police reports. Often injured people will get the officer’s badge number and report number but not the actual report. It can be very tricky for people to get their police reports from the police who often have long wait times. Your lawyer can assist with this.
- Insurance claim documents. To access the statutory accident benefits, there are many forms that need to be completed. (They are called OCF forms.) Some injured people find these quite difficult and require legal assistance to fill them in.
- Statement of Claim for a lawsuit You should definitely get a lawyer’s help to prepare your statement of claim which is the legal document that starts your law suit against the at-fault driver. This document has a prescribed form and must be completed to meet certain legal standards.
If you have suffered a bodily injury, deadlines include:
- 10 days to notify a municipality (for road-related claims)
- 2 years to file a tort lawsuit
The Role of Legal Counsel in MVA Claims
A personal injury law firm supports you after a motor vehicle accident that caused you injury by:
- Explaining minimum coverage under a motor vehicle insurance policy
- Advising on types of damages and insurance coverage available to you after a claim
- Handling communications with the insurance company
- Ensuring deadlines are met and claims are documented correctly
- Assisting you to build your case to demonstrate all of your losses, including by hiring expert witnesses on damages and liability (responsibility for the accident)
- Advocating for you to the insurance company, defence lawyer and ultimately a judge and jury if required
An experienced car accident lawyer is essential when dealing with uninsured drivers, unidentified driver cases, or disputed fault. It is also essential to ensure that the insurance company sees how your damages and losses exceed the threshold.
Rights and Benefits for Family Members
The person who is injured in the accident is not the only person who suffers consequences after a motor vehicle collision. Family members who lose the pleasure of their loved one’s company, not to mention all of the services and financial contributions they make, also suffer serious losses.
Claiming on Behalf of Injured or Deceased Relatives
Under Ontario’s Family Law Act, relatives of people who are injured in a motor vehicle collision can pursue claims for:
- Loss of care, guidance, and companionship
- Funeral expenses
- Fund expenses related to estate costs
Compensation for Loss of Income
Family members can seek compensation for loss of income claims or lost support. These are called dependency claims.
Addressing Other Pecuniary Losses
These may include:
- Childcare and housekeeping services
- Loss of shared family benefits
Your personal injury law firm will build your damages in these cases using a dependency loss report and a loss of services report. This involves hiring expert witnesses to evaluate your financial losses caused by the injury or death of your family member and to calculate the value of those losses.
Practical Steps to Manage Your Claim
Life can be pretty hectic after you or a loved one suffers an accident. Trying to keep yourself together can be overwhelming. If you are planning to access accident benefits and make a claim for damages, it is also important to stay on top of the documents you will need to make those claims.
Collecting and Organizing Evidence
When you plan to get the compensation you deserve after an accident, ensure you collect the following types of documents to support your claim:
- Medical and rehabilitation records
- Insurance policy details (yours and the other driver’s)
- Photos of the accident scene and all vehicles’ damage
- Communications with the insurance company
If you hire a personal injury law firm to handle your case, the law firm will collect all this information for you and assemble it to best reflect your damages and losses. You won’t need to do all this work.
Communicating with Insurance Companies
- Be honest and accurate
- Do not speculate on fault or extent of injury
- Keep written records of every communication
If you hire a personal injury law firm to handle your case, the law firm will handle all of the communications with the various insurance companies involved in your case.
Pursuing Legal Action
If the insurer denies your claim or offers inadequate personal injury settlements, you may pursue a lawsuit. The litigation process includes a number of steps before compensation will typically be provided:
- Pleadings: This stage involves the formal filing of documents with the court, including the Statement of Claim and Statement of Defence. These documents set out the legal and factual positions of each party and define the issues in dispute.
- Discovery: During discovery, each party has the opportunity to obtain relevant documents and question the other party under oath. This phase allows both sides to better understand the facts and strengths or weaknesses of the case.
- Mediation: A mediator facilitates confidential negotiations between the parties in an attempt to reach a settlement without going to trial. Mediation is often mandatory in personal injury cases in Ontario and can lead to faster, less adversarial resolutions.
- Trial: If a settlement cannot be reached, the case proceeds to trial. A judge or jury hears the evidence and makes a binding decision. Although trials are sometimes necessary, most motor vehicle accident claims settle before reaching this stage.
FAQs About MVA Claims
If you have had an injury in a motor vehicle accident caused by a another driver, you may have questions about the process and what to expect. If you have questions about the law relating to motor vehicle accidents, we have answers.
What is the maximum compensation for a motor vehicle accident?
There is no fixed amount for a motor vehicle claim. Sometimes in a small case an injured person may receive a small 5-figure settlement. In other catastrophic cases, there may be a judgment or settlement for 10s of millions of dollars. The biggest factor influencing the amount of a personal injury settlement is economic damage like loss of income and future care costs. Personal injury settlements are affected by policy limits, severity of injuries, and legal caps on non-pecuniary damages.
How does insurance work when it’s not your fault?
Even if you’re not at fault, your no-fault benefits claim must go through your own auto insurer if you have one. If you don’t have auto insurance of your own, there is still a system in place to ensure that someone covers your benefits. When in doubt, a personal injury law firm can help you apply to the correct insurance company.
If you are not at fault and your injuries are serious enough or you have an economic loss, you can also sue the at-fault driver for compensation. The at fault-driver’s liability insurer will respond to your claim and ultimately pay out any settlement or judgment.
How long after an accident can you make a claim?
Here are some of the major timelines to keep in mind after an injury-causing accident in Ontario:
- 7 days to notify your insurer after the accident
- 30 days to submit an accident benefits application after the accident
- 2 years to file a tort action (law suit)
- 2 years after your 18th birthday to file a law suit if you are a minor when the accident happened.
- 10 days to notify a municipality if road conditions were involved in the cause of the motor vehicle accident.
Note: Timelines can change and your circumstances are unique. This is for information only. You should always check the applicable legislation when making decisions about what timeline applies to your situation.
Whether you’ve suffered minor injuries or severe injuries, navigating a motor vehicle accident claim in Ontario requires prompt action and legal guidance. From selecting the right type of insurance coverage to understanding statutory accident benefits and tort rights, the process is complex.
A trusted personal injury lawyer can help you understand your auto insurance policy, file your accident benefit claim, start a lawsuit for compensation and fight for the personal injury compensation you deserve.
Contact us today — we’re ready to fight for you.
