Car Accident Lawyers in Ontario
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. They have different rules and different deadlines.
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)
In most Ontario claims you have two years from the day you knew, or ought to have known, that you had a claim.
Limitations Act, 2002, S.O. 2002, c. 24, Sched. B, s. 4
How this actually works
Almost nobody knows there are two claims. That single fact explains most of what goes wrong in the weeks after a collision.
The first claim is accident benefits. It comes from your own insurance company, it does not depend on who caused the crash, and it pays for treatment and care while you recover. The second is the tort claim, brought against the driver who was at fault, and that is where compensation for pain and suffering and long-term losses comes from.
Missing a deadline on the first claim does not end the second. But it does cut off the treatment funding you need in the months when treatment matters most.
Report and get assessed
Tell your own insurer within the deadline below and get examined even if you feel able to walk away. Injuries that show up three days later are common, and a gap in the medical record is the first thing an adjuster points at.
The accident benefits file opens
Your insurer sends an application package. Returning it on time opens funding for treatment, and in some cases income replacement, depending on what coverage the policy carries after the July 2026 changes.
We build the evidence while you recover
Collision reconstruction, intersection footage, medical evidence and a proper accounting of income loss and future care costs. This is the part that decides what the file is worth.
The tort claim is issued
Against the at-fault driver, within the limitation period. We prepare it as though it will be tried, because a file that is visibly trial-ready is the only kind that reliably moves an offer.
Settlement, or court
Most files resolve. The ones that do resolve well are the ones the insurer believes we are willing to run.
Ontario changed accident benefits 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
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
Generally two years from the date you knew you had a claim, under the Limitations Act, 2002. The accident benefits deadlines are much shorter, which is why those are the ones people miss.
Usually yes. Ontario reduces compensation by your share of responsibility rather than removing it. Being partly at fault is a reason to get advice, not a reason to give up.
Ontario policies carry uninsured and unidentified motorist coverage, and there is a provincial fund of last resort. A hit and run is not automatically the end of a claim.
Not before you know what the injury will cost over time. Early offers are made before the medical picture is clear, which is exactly why they are made early.
Nothing up front. The consultation is free, we work on contingency, and we advance the costs of building the case so a claim is never held up by money.
Related areas
Accident Benefits
Accident benefits are paid by your own auto insurer regardless of who caused the collision.
Read moreCatastrophic Injury
In Ontario, a catastrophic impairment designation raises the combined medical, rehabilitation and attendant care limit from $65,000 to $1,000,000 and removes the time limit.
Read moreCyclist and Pedestrian
Pedestrians and cyclists hit by a vehicle in Ontario can claim accident benefits even though they were not driving.
Read moreFurther reading
Plain-language guides on the parts of an Ontario claim people ask about most.
Why the First Settlement Offer Always Arrives Early
An offer made before anyone knows how badly you are hurt is priced on that uncertainty, and the uncertainty is not working for you.
Read the guide MONEYThe Deductible Nobody Tells You About
A jury awards a number. Then the law quietly removes tens of thousands from it before you see anything.
Read the guide MONEYWhat Is My Claim Worth? Why No Honest Lawyer Answers That on Day One
The number depends on facts nobody has yet, and anyone who gives you one before those facts exist is selling a retainer.
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.