Understanding Permanent Impairment Benefits

If you’re a Saskatchewan resident injured in a motor vehicle accident, you may qualify for a Permanent Impairment Benefit.

These benefits are based on a schedule in Saskatchewan’s Personal Injury Benefits Regulations and are intended to compensate people for injuries that have a lasting effect.

What Kinds of Injuries Qualify?

Generally, things like sprains, strains, and whiplash will not qualify for a permanent impairment benefit because they are expected to fully heal. However, other types of injuries like fractures, nerve damage, joint injuries, or scarring may qualify for compensation.

The Regulations include a detailed chart that assigns a percentage rating to different types of permanent impairments. For example, a minor joint restriction might be rated at 1–2%, while more serious or combined injuries could total 10%, 20%, or more.

The dollar amount you receive is based on the percentage assigned to your injury and the maximum benefit in effect the year of your accident. This amount is adjusted annually for inflation; in recent years, 100% impairment has been valued at around $239,000, or more for catastrophic injuries.

Don’t Assume You Can’t Appeal

Adjusters may tell you that because the benefit amounts come from Legislation, there’s no point in appealing. That’s not true.

Whether it’s intentional or not, SGI consultants who are asked to provide an opinion on someone’s permanent impairment rating will sometimes omit or ignore certain applicable sections of the Regulations. They will also assume that things have healed unless the file tells them otherwise, and not ask any questions if the file doesn’t provide the information they would need.

This can result in an incorrect or incomplete Permanent Impairment rating.

What You Can Do

Especially if you sustained a fracture or an injury that was not a sprain, strain, or whiplash, here’s what you can try:

1. Review the Personal Injury Benefits Regulations, even if you are not a medical professional. Here is a link to a free PDF. Find anything that could relate to the part of the body that you’ve injured. For example, a fracture to your ankle might involve sections relating to the healing (or not) of your fracture, the range of motion of your ankle, an injury to a nearby ligament, scarring from surgery, a difficulty in walking, or a change in symmetry between your ankles.

2. Talk to your doctor or healthcare provider. The Regulations are written in medical language and easily understandable by health care professionals, but care providers may not be familiar with them. Ask your care provider if more information needs to be provided to SGI, in consideration of the Regulations. Would your reduced range of motion entitle you to a permanent impairment benefit? Is there any evidence or concern that a fracture has healed abnormally? Is your residual nerve pain expected to be permanent? Your doctor may not document these things unless prompted, especially if it’s not necessary for treatment, but SGI may require that specific evidence in order to issue a benefit.

3. Provide information to SGI, and follow up. Before assessing your Permanent Impairment Benefits, SGI will want to make sure that your injuries have recovered to the point of Maximum Medical Improvement (MMI). By two years after your MVA, if your representative is unable to provide a decision about your permanent impairment benefits, ask for their response in writing.

4. Understand the limits of the law. Even with pain from a soft tissue injury that has become chronic in nature, there is almost no chance that you will receive a Permanent Impairment Benefit for an injury that is not specifically listed in the Regulations. If you think your injury was missed or omitted from the list, ask you doctor if they believe that your injury would qualify as a Permanent Impairment, and if so, ask that they provide their opinion to SGI in writing.

Oh, and make sure they add interest. It needs to be included back to the date of your accident.

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Have you applied for a Permanent Impairment Benefit from SGI?
I’d love to hear your experience: what went well, what didn’t, or what you wish you’d known earlier.

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