Accident Benefits Lawyers in Ontario
Accident benefits are paid by your own auto insurer regardless of who caused the collision. Ontario changed which benefits are mandatory on July 1, 2026, so what you can claim now depends on the optional coverage on the policy.
Deadlines that apply to you
These are the dates that end claims. Check them first.
Tell your own auto insurer about the collision as soon as you reasonably can, and no later than seven days.
Statutory Accident Benefits Schedule, O. Reg. 34/10, s. 32(1)
Once the insurer sends you the application package, the completed application for accident benefits (the OCF-1) is due back within 30 days.
Statutory Accident Benefits Schedule, O. Reg. 34/10, s. 32(5)
What changed for you on July 1, 2026
- Medical, rehabilitation and attendant care remain mandatory on every policy.
- Income replacement, non-earner and caregiver benefits are now optional coverage you have to buy.
- Auto insurance now pays first for medical and rehabilitation costs, ahead of an extended health plan. Medication is the exception.
- Someone without their own auto policy, including pedestrians and cyclists, may now only be able to claim the mandatory medical, rehabilitation and attendant care benefits.
- Medical benefits
- Rehabilitation benefits
- Attendant care benefits
- Income replacement benefits
- Non-earner benefits
- Caregiver benefits
If you were hurt on or after July 1, 2026, what you can claim depends on what optional coverage was bought. Check the policy before assuming a benefit is there.
Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario, changes to Statutory Accident Benefits coverage effective July 1, 2026
How this actually works
This is the part of Ontario auto law that changed most recently, and it is the part where out of date advice does the most damage.
Before July 2026, a standard policy carried income replacement, non-earner and caregiver benefits automatically. It no longer does. Those are optional now. Medical, rehabilitation and attendant care stayed mandatory, and auto insurance now pays for medical and rehabilitation ahead of an extended health plan.
If you are reading an article about Ontario accident benefits that does not mention July 2026, it is describing a system that no longer exists.
Check what the policy actually bought
The first question in every file opened since July 2026 is which optional benefits were purchased. That answer sets the ceiling on the claim before anything else is discussed.
File on time
Notice to the insurer and the completed application both run on short clocks. These are the deadlines people miss while they are still in hospital.
Resist the wrong category
Insurers classify injuries into a minor injury category that caps treatment sharply. Being put there wrongly is common, expensive, and worth challenging with proper medical evidence.
Dispute a denial
Denied treatment plans and terminated benefits go to the Licence Appeal Tribunal. Most denials are not the end of the matter, they are the start of a process.
What this costs you
We fight for the maximum compensation your claim will carry, and you do not pay a dollar unless we win.
Nothing up front. The consultation is free, we act on contingency, and we advance the costs of building the case so a claim is never held up by money. If we do not recover anything, you do not owe a fee.
- Free consultation, no obligation
- Not a dollar unless we win
- We advance disbursements
- Home and hospital visits across the GTA
Questions we get every week
Medical, rehabilitation and attendant care stayed mandatory. Income replacement, non-earner and caregiver benefits became optional coverage you have to buy. Auto insurance also now pays first for medical and rehabilitation costs, ahead of an extended health plan, with medication the exception.
This is one of the most important consequences of the 2026 change. Someone without access to their own auto policy may now only reach the mandatory medical, rehabilitation and attendant care benefits. It is worth checking whether a household policy covers you.
Yes. Accident benefits do not depend on fault. That is the whole point of them.
Yes, with medical evidence. The minor injury classification is an insurer determination, not a medical fact, and it is regularly overturned.
Not always at the start. But if a benefit is denied, cut off, or the file is placed in the minor injury category, that is the point to get advice rather than after the appeal window closes.
Related areas
Car Accidents
After a car accident in Ontario you usually have two separate claims running at the same time: accident benefits from your own insurer regardless of who caused the crash, and a claim against the driver at fault.
Read moreInsurance Disputes
Ontario insurers owe policyholders a duty of good faith in how they handle a claim.
Read moreLong-Term Disability
Most long-term disability denials in Ontario are not about whether you are ill.
Read moreFurther reading
Plain-language guides on the parts of an Ontario claim people ask about most.
Ontario Changed Accident Benefits on July 1, 2026. Here Is What You Lost.
Three benefits most drivers assumed were automatic are now things you have to buy. If they were not purchased, they are not there.
Read the guide THE 2026 CHANGESWere You Hurt Before July 1, 2026? Your Claim Follows the Old Rules.
A rule change does not reach backwards. If your collision predates July 2026, most of what you have read about the new system does not describe your claim.
Read the guide THE 2026 CHANGESHow to Find Out What Your Policy Actually Bought
Ten minutes with your declaration page now is worth more than any advice you will get after a collision.
Read the guideWhere we act in Ontario
The limitation period, the statutory deductible and the tort threshold are provincial, so they are identical in every city here. What changes is who must be served inside the 10-day notice window, and that is decided by the city.
The lawyer on your file
A lawyer reads every enquiry. Not a form.
Send us what happened and Shawn Sidhu reads it himself, then replies the same business day. The first conversation is free and there is no obligation.
If we do not think you have a claim, we will tell you that too. You will know where you stand before you decide anything.
Shawn Sidhu, Lawyer
Called to the bar in British Columbia, 2013
University of British Columbia · University of Birmingham
- Free consultation, no obligation
- Not a dollar unless we win
- We come to you at home or in hospital
Your fight becomes ours the day you call us.
Consultations are free and there is no obligation. If we take the case you pay nothing unless we win, and if we think you do not have a claim we will tell you that too.
Start your free case review
Tell us what happened. A lawyer reviews every enquiry, and we reply the same business day.
Thank you. We have your request.
A lawyer is reviewing what you sent and will call you the same business day. There is nothing else you need to do right now.
If you would rather not wait, call us now.
(416) 678-8765Free consultation, and no fee unless we win.