The application for review consists of the reassessment by the administrative body (in this case, the Société de l’assurance automobile du Québec) of the initial decision it rendered. This is an internal re-evaluation process.
There is a legal period of sixty (60) days from the date of notification of the decision to challenge the SAAQ’s initial decision.
The period may be extended in exceptional cases if you demonstrate that you were unable to contest before the expiry of the sixty-day period. Several reasons have been recognized by case law to justify inaction within the time limits, such as:
- a decision that has never been validated;
- a decision that was not written in the victim’s language.
In order to avoid unnecessary legal steps to demonstrate the impossibility of acting, it is in your best interest to contact a lawyer upon receipt of the initial notice of decision.
The request for review: a procedure to be taken seriously
Be aware that the officer who will make the review decision will not be the same as the one who made the initial decision, and that your file must be well assembled to support all your arguments. Similarly, you must establish your entitlement to the benefit to have a chance of winning. It will not be enough just to challenge; you will have to make your point of view legally.
Medical expertise
Often, a reassessment of your file will require a convincing medical demonstration of the physical harm or psychological disorders suffered as we will have to demonstrate before the Administrative Tribunal. For example, there is no point in raising in review or in the Tribunal how much pain you are in, since this is a subjective opinion of your pain. It will be necessary to document your file and establish the link between your pain and all the medical reports which constitute objective evidence.
Contact form
Please send us a message using the contact form below.
We will get back to you as soon as possible.
Demonstrate the cause of your SAAQ file
It is important that the review is done well, since it will demonstrate the starting point of the theory and the cause of your file. In exceptional cases of benefit claims, you may damage your file by attempting to apply for review yourself without first contacting a lawyer.
Mr. Lambert’s experience shows that it often happens that people make counterproductive confessions to their agent at the revision level, without even realizing it.
We remind you that, like a criminal investigation, everything you say may be retained to the advantage or disadvantage of your file in request for review against the SAAQ.
Contact Me Lambert, who will accompany you in your administrative review procedures. We offer you a free first consultation.
Your SAAQ file
- Previous step: Challenging a decision of the SAAQ
- Next step: SAAQ review decision
- The entire compensation file at the SAAQ