When Are You Liable For The Driving of Another Person?

Car accidents are undoubtedly challenging to deal with and they are also quite common. As unfortunate as it may sound, one of the key issues when it comes to dealing with them is determining the driver which was at fault. However, it is also true that this doesn’t have a significant impact on the compensation claim as there is one very particular and special rule in Canada and especially in Ontario.

How is fault assigned and why doesn’t this matter that much?

Unlike the legislation in a few states, in Canada, there is the “no fault” rule which is prevailing and it sets forth a completely different cause of action. In the states, or at least in some of them, it is very important to determine the fault as this is the main and key consideration which would determine the overall distribution of the burden to repay damages. However, this is totally not the case in Canada.

Rules of Fault Determination

The first thing that you need to understand is that the legislation which governs these types of cases is set forth in the Insurance Act of Ontario. There is a very special section in it which is called the Rules of Fault Determination. Amongst them, the no fault rule is one of the most important to consider. With this in mind, this particular rule states that regardless who is at fault, you need to ensure that you file your claim with your own insurance company. This is particularly important and it gets rid of the necessity to start an investigation and waste time. Insurance is mandatory in Canada so you can claim damages under it with your own insurance provider.

This is quite convenient and it is definitely something that you want to take into consideration when it comes to it. Of course, this doesn’t mean that fault isn’t assigned. As a matter of fact, in the majority of the situations, the insurance company is going to go ahead and conduct its own investigation and allocate the necessary amount of fault. This is important as it is going to impact the overall amount of the premiums to the faulty driver. However, as per the negotiations, the insurance company is going to try and lower the amount of compensation due.

All in all, this shouldn’t make you feel more comfortable. Even though the whole thing is intended to spare time and effort of the victim, the procedure is also quite challenging. This is the main reason for which you want to consider getting a personal injury lawyer to help you out if you have been injured or involved in a car accident. This is going to ensure that the lawyers will ensure that they handle it properly. You will get the compensation you are entitled to as expert lawyers with a successful closures in similar accidents can be of assistance.