Determined employment and return to work after a road accident

Specified employment

When the SAAQ determines that you are unable to resume your pre-employment because of the physical sequelae, psychological and/or neurological resulting from your road accident, it is up to it to determine another suitable employment, otherwise you are entitled to compensation for the duration of your incapacity.

To determine this job, the SAAQ takes into account the many factors listed in the
Automobile Insurance Act
, including:

• The victim’s training and work experience;
• The physical and intellectual capacities of the victim;
• The victim’s ability to work full-time or part-time;
• The requirements of the job determined;
• And the availability of employment determined in the region of the victim.

In addition, the victim’s capacity must also be assessed by comparing the requirements of the particular job with the functional restrictions known to the victim, with a view to ensuring that the specific job is, in the end, truly accessible to the victim.

It was determined, for example, that the employment of a parking attendant was not suitable for a person with limitations on the upper right limb. Indeed, by analyzing the Benchmarks sheet for this type of job, we see that a parking attendant could occasionally be required to park a manual car. That act would necessarily bind the injured limb of the victim. Therefore, this employment is incompatible with the limitations known to the victim, and the victim would be justified in challenging this employment.

It is therefore understandable that the SAAQ must refer to the overall portrait of the victim when determining employment for the victim, taking into account both the physical and psychiatric limitations of the victim resulting from his accident, and other known health problems that affect the victim, even if the latter have no connection with the accident in question.

Nevertheless, it is not necessary to reach the conclusion that the victim would be the best candidate for the position in question or that the job in question would be the one that the victim himself would have chosen according to his preferences. Indeed, the analysis of the factors provided for in the Act must simply lead to the conclusion that the injured person’s situation is compatible with the requirements of the job specified in his Benchmarks sheet.

Here are some examples of jobs with their requirements as listed in their Benchmarks sheet:

• Electronic Hardware Assembler
• Labelling Clerk
• Data Entry Clerk
• Collection Clerk
• House keeper
• Mechanical excavator operator
• Parking Lot Patroller
• Beneficiary Attendant
• Tow truck dispatcher

Ability to return to your job

It is important to understand that each decision made in your case will be used to make the next decision, and therefore each decision has an influence on the rest of the decision-making process. Here is a diagram that illustrates the decision-making process in a SAAQ file:

By analyzing this pattern, we understand that you benefit, as soon as your road accident occurs, from a presumption of inability to hold a job, and this, as long as you are not consolidated, that is to say as long as your state of health has not stabilized. However, you are entitled, for the duration of this incapacity, to an income replacement indemnity (IRR), until your actual return to work, in order to compensate for your loss of income related to the accident.

However, at the end of your medical treatments, whether in physiotherapy, occupational therapy, etc., you will be considered consolidated and will no longer be able to benefit from the presumption.

It will therefore be necessary to determine the permanent sequelae resulting from your accident, in order to officially assess whether you are able to resume your employment or to carry on a job determined by the SAAQ, or whether you are still incapacitated because of your accident.

Thus, it is important to diligently challenge any decision of the SAAQ with which you do not agree, including one declaring you able to resume a job that is not really accessible to you, since your income may depend on it.

In addition, it should also be noted that a victim considered unfit to work for 14 hours or more per week will normally be considered unfit for any job according to the SAAQ’s directives.

In the event that you were not employed at the time of your accident, two scenarios can occur.

Thus, in the first scenario, you will be immediately notified that you are not entitled to an income replacement indemnity, since you were not receiving any salary at the date of your accident, while in the second, the SAAQ will determine for you, at the Day¹⁸¹ following your accident, a job that she deems compatible with your limitations, otherwise you will be entitled to compensation.

In the second scenario, the SAAQ will normally take note of your professional activities for the last three (3) years in order to determine suitable employment in your case, and will make its decision based on them.

However, it is not uncommon, in the case of a victim who has been on social assistance for many years, to see the SAAQ determine that she would still be able to work as a child or home care worker, even though she has no recent professional experience.

In addition, it is important to note that the first scenario is much more frequent than the second, which only occurs when the SAAQ is certain that you will retain permanent sequelae related to your road accident. Thus, it is very likely that your application will be refused without further evaluation.

However, be aware that you could still be entitled to an IRR in each of these scenarios by challenging your decision, even if you had no work income at the time of your accident.

Indeed, you could then receive compensation calculated according to the minimum wage for the duration of your disability, or even for the rest of your life, depending on your after-effects.

However, it will be necessary to demonstrate that you have become unfit for employment in the future, and therefore that your accident deprives you of a potential source of income.

To this end, it will be particularly important to consult a lawyer to help you challenge this decision and to avoid being deprived of compensation to which you may be entitled. Indeed, it is important to understand that these are decisions that will have a capital importance on your future.

Contestation of employment determined by the SAAQ

From the moment the SAAQ determines suitable employment for you, you are entitled, unless you contest this decision, only to the equivalent of a final year of IRR, the time to find you a job of the nature determined by the SAAQ or any other job that you would be able to exercise.

It is therefore important to challenge this particular job if it is incompatible with your psychological and physical sequelae , or with your socio-professional characteristics, including your level of education and professional experiences.

Indeed, this decision of the SAAQ can have a major impact on your quality of life in the years to come.

Contact Me Lambert now to obtain fair compensation for the damage you have suffered. We offer you a free initial consultation if you have a decision to challenge.

The SAAQ file

• SAAQ lawyer in Montreal
• Consolidation and road accidents (SAAQ)
• Request for reimbursement from the SAAQ
• Income Replacement Indemnity
• Your compensation file at the SAAQ