Statutory Accident Benefits: After the Accident

What Are Statutory Accident Benefits?

Statutory Accident Benefits (or SABS) provides “no fault” insurance coverage to accident victims after a motor vehicle accident.  You do not have to be a driver of a motor vehicle to receive it.  You can also be a passenger, a pedestrian or using public transit at the time.  The benefits are set out to pay for medical, financial and certain other costs related to your injuries.

SABS is part of a mixed no fault/tort liability system, whereby SABS is the ‘no fault’ benefit.  For those more seriously injured, there is the tort system.  Under tort, an accident victim sues the other driver to augment SABS and to receive other “damages” in tort.  In order to sue, you must meet what the courts call “threshold”, which is beyond the discussion here. Read more… “Statutory Accident Benefits: After the Accident”

Your Driving Privilege in Ontario

Rights Versus Privilege

As a practitioner, I often attend overcrowded Provincial Offences Courts, where individuals are often charged with driving offences.  If you can get past the line-ups to the front, you can often speak to Prosecutor to arrange a deal.  At the same time, Justices of the Peace explode into a tirade about how driving a motor vehicle is a privilege and not a right.  Reviewing the dockets these days is an amazing test of stoicism.  Dockets show one person after the other charged with “driving while under suspension”, among other related charges.

If you plead guilty to driving while under suspension, the Ministry of Transportation tacks on a further six months of suspension on your license. Defenses for this charge are limited, as this offence is considered a “strict liability” offence.  That means in essence ‘you should known better’.  In theory, all of this makes sense, but in reality this whole concept needs a rethink. Read more… “Your Driving Privilege in Ontario”