The New Dispute System for Accident Benefits Claims: You Lose Before You Even Begin

It is a common legal principle in civil law that the party that loses a case must pay at least some of the winner's costs, which can include legal fees and disbursements. This is based on the tenant of access to justice, which allows anyone regardless of economic resources to advance a claim against a party that has wronged him or her. In the context of the accident benefits system, it means that an injured person can advance a dispute against an insurance company and, if they are successful, their legal costs will be paid. They are not hindered in advancing a claim because they cannot afford to do so. On April 1, 2016, all disputes for accident benefits from motor vehicle accidents in Ontario were moved into a new system through the License and Appeals Tribunal (LAT) through the Ministry of the Attorney General. With a new system came new rules. One of the most concerning is Rule 19, which deals with costs.  A recent LAT decision with respect to this rule deemed that costs can only be claimed if a party has acted unreasonably, frivolously, vexatiously or in bad faith within the dispute resolution process.  In other words, as long as both parties have acted well within the dispute resolution process, costs will not be awarded, no matter how egregious an insurer might have been in denying benefits. In our view, this is totally unjust and unfair. At Smitiuch Injury Law we fully intend on appealing any adverse decisions on costs and will raise the access to justice principle in order to declare the current Rule 19 void.