Sometimes, we all experience some unexpected moments in our lives. And when one such moment involves an injury, the challenges that come with it. If you suffer an injury resulting from a car accident, it is important to understand your rights and the advantages that the statutory accident benefits offer.
Now you might be thinking, what exactly are these benefits, right? Well, the SABs play an important role in ensuring the availability of financial assistance during such difficult times. Car accident lawyers work closely with insurance companies to help victims secure fair compensation and essential benefits after an accident.
In this article, you’ll learn about the SABs, the role of insurance firms, and how these SABs safeguard you after an injury.
Statutory Accident Benefits: What Do They Consist Of?
Statutory Accident Benefits are a wide range of benefits offered to those who have suffered injuries due to a car accident. These benefits are intended to cover different things while you recover, ensuring the proper medical care, financial assistance, and support you require.
For any victim of a car crash, SAB offers some hope in the midst of challenges. As mentioned above, they offer a comprehensive range of benefits that address the physical, mental, and financial restraints that come up after an accident.
These benefits are designed to help accident victims throughout their recovery journey, allowing them to rebuild their lives.
Coverage That You Get Under SABs
The coverage that an accident victim gets under SABs has gone through major changes. These changes have standardized the levels of coverage to ensure that every victim gets the assistance and care they need.
Here are some of the essential coverages that an accident victim gets through SABs:
- Medical and Rehabilitation Benefits:
If your injury isn’t that severe, SABs will provide combined coverage of almost $65000 for both medical rehab and attendant care benefits. In cases with severe injuries, the coverage will increase.
This coverage involves a comprehensive range of expenses, such as medical treatments, rehab therapies, and care services offered by nurses or attendants.
- Replacement of Income:
SABs are also known to offer income replacement benefits, offering up to 70% of your gross income. This benefit is limited to $400 per week. You can even opt for
Increase coverage.
The amount you’re eligible for will depend on the range of your income. A deductible period of one week is also applicable to this benefit.
- Non-Earner Benefit:
If you’re a student or incapable of continuing daily life as prior to the accident, the Non-Earner benefit will come to your rescue. Through this benefit, you’ll get $185 per week.
As a matter of fact, it is beneficial for those who don’t meet the criteria for Income Replacement Benefits. However, you need to keep in mind that there is a waiting period of four weeks applicable to this benefit.
- Caregiver Benefit:
There will be situations where you’ll be unable to care for a dependant residing with you due to a severe injury. This is where the caregiver benefit can be beneficial to you. It covers expenses related to hiring caregivers while you’re incapable of providing care.
This benefit offers financial coverage of up to $250 per week for the first dependant and an additional $500 per week for every subsequent dependant.
- Death and Funeral Benefits:
Accidents can even result in unimaginable tragedy at any time. During such times, the SABs can also offer coverage for death and funeral expenses. In case someone passes away due to an accident, this benefit offers a lump sum payout to the spouse and dependents of the deceased person.
In the standard payout, the spouse is provided $25000, followed by $10000 to every dependant, and a maximum amount of $6000 to cover the funeral expenses. Furthermore, there are some other enhanced options that allow you to increase the payout levels.
Additional Expenses Covered by the SABs
Apart from the abovementioned benefits, SABs also offer a comprehensive range of additional expenses:
- Lost Education Cover:
If you have injuries that don’t allow you to continue your studies, this benefit will cover lost tuition, books, and other expenses related to your education up to $15000.
- Visitor Expenses:
Specific close relatives, like spouse, children, parents, and guardians, are allowed to claim reasonable and important expenses incurred during every visit for up to 104 weeks after the accident, unless the injuries aren’t severe.
- Housekeeping and Maintenance:
Severe injuries can make it necessary for you to seek external support for maintenance of your home and housekeeping. This is where the SAB kicks in, allowing you to get external assistance to keep your home well-maintained and clean during your recovery period.
With these coverage enhancements, accident victims get various benefits that ensure proper financial coverage. These benefits even address the care-related challenges that enable the victim to recover thoroughly.
Steps for Applying SABs
Here’s how you can apply for SABs to get financial assistance for your road to recovery:
- Report the Accident to Initiate the Claims Process:
Notifying the accident to your car insurance firm promptly and applying for SABs is the first thing you need to do to get access to the benefits. This will start the claims process with the evaluation of your condition and the assessment of benefits.
- Get Medical Attention ASAP and Collect Required Documents:
No matter how severe your injuries are, you should get medical attention as soon as possible and get the necessary documents alongside. Your medical files will describe the severity of your injuries and other necessary details. Furthermore, having your insurance documents will help you start the claims procedure soon.
- Evaluate Your Eligibility and Entitled Benefits:
You need to keep in mind that the eligibility for SABs depends on your status prior to the accident and the severity of your injuries. In case there’s any dispute to be resolved, you can consult a personal injury lawyer Markham who’ll help you find a better solution to move forward with the compensation claims.
These are some of the notable steps involved in applying for SABs. They will help you ensure a timely financial coverage that ensures zero disruption for your recovery process.
To Summarize
Getting involved in an accident and its aftermath can be a terrible experience. It further impacts your physical and emotional well-being. Furthermore, it can also have a certain impact on your finances.
To help you tackle that, the Statutory Accident Benefits are there at your service. Not only does it offer financial assistance, but it also ensures peace of mind while you recover. Plus, it will also cover additional expenses apart from the ones involved in your recovery, allowing you to heal without any worries.
