How do Accident Benefits Specialists and Lawyers work together in a personal injury case?
When you retain Oatley Vigmond to represent you following a car accident, you’re hiring a whole team. This team includes lawyers, law clerks, and legal assistants who are all used to move your case against the at-fault party.
While the roles of the above professionals are self-explanatory, you will also be assigned someone called Accident Benefits Specialists (“ABS” for short). This is a position that was pioneered by the team at Oatley Vigmond almost 20 years ago.
The entire mandate of the ABS is to help you obtain all of the benefits you are entitled to from your statutory accident benefits insurer. These can include:
- Helping to identify and connect you with the best treatment providers in your community;
- Completing all forms and taking over all communications with your insurance company;
- Proactively communicating with your insurance adjuster to ensure that benefits are paid on a timely basis;
- Communicating with your employer to ensure that all relevant income information is produced in support of a claim for Income Replacement Benefits; and
- Communicating with your treatment team to ensure that treatment plans are being submitted in a timely manner to ensure that there are no gaps in treatment.
Within the firm, the ABS is ensuring that all team members are kept up to date with respect to what treatment you are receiving, and the progress you are making in your recovery.
When it comes to any denials of treatment plans, the lawyers and ABS on your case work together to come up with a strategy to persuade the insurer to pay the benefits owed. If necessary, the lawyer will then dispute any denials at the Licence Appeal Tribunal.
When it comes to your lawsuit, which is separate from your claim for accident benefits, the work that the ABS does to support your insurance claim pays off. The treatment you have received and the progress you’ve made shows the insurer for the at-fault party that you are making a serious attempt to recover to the extent possible from your injuries. Consistent treatment adds to your credibility which can help improve the prospects of settlement and how your injuries are viewed at trial.
If you or someone you know have been involved in a motor vehicle collision, don’t let them suffer alone. Contact our office for a free consultation. Our team can help you get your life back on track.
Written By
The son of a grocery store clerk, Kevin grew up outside of Perth, Ontario. He credits his humble beginnings with the development of his underdog mentality, an approach he has carried into his legal career.
He attended McMaster University for two years before being granted early admission to Osgoode Hall Law School. After being called to the bar in 2008, Kevin began practising law in Hamilton before joining a leading Toronto litigation firm, representing Canada’s largest insurance companies on personal injury actions. “I didn’t find it fulfilling,” Kevin recalls. “I was helping companies save money, when what I wanted to do was help the people going up against these major corporations.” Since joining Oatley Vigmond, Kevin has used his insurance-industry experience to protect his clients and recover the compensation they deserved. He’d been at Oatley Vigmond for two months when he settled a matter for a client at a mediation. “You felt the burden of the litigation, and her injuries, lifting off her. I wanted to help even more people experience the relief of having their uncertainty lifted.’”