IVAC Lawyer: Your Claim Carried From the Qualification Application to the TAQ
IVAC lawyer across Quebec, Accident Solution takes on your crime victim compensation claim (IVAC) from the first form to the Administrative Tribunal of Québec (TAQ). We build the qualification application, we answer a refusal in administrative review, then we plead. Free consultation, answer in under 24 hours, and we come to your home if that is easier.
Going over the facts one more time, in front of a public body, is never a small thing. Our job is to carry that part of the work for you, with the rigour of a properly built file.
What We Take On in Your IVAC Claim
We run the whole file, not just the hearing. These are the four pieces a compensation decision turns on.
The qualification application.
We draft it, we gather the exhibits and we supply the support document that became mandatory on 19 June 2026 for any application tied to a criminal offence.
The medical evidence.
We frame the medical report and the proof of your injuries so the link between the criminal offence and the harm you suffered is demonstrated, whether it is physical or psychological.
The administrative review.
If the decision is a refusal or only a partial award, you have 90 days to ask for a review. We draft the contestation and we answer IVAC’s reasons point by point.
The recourse before the TAQ.
If the review settles nothing, the decision is contested before the Administrative Tribunal of Québec within 60 days. We represent you there.
For IVAC files, the competent tribunal is the TAQ, never the Tribunal administratif du travail. The two are confused often, and the mix-up costs months.
A Member of the Barreau du Québec or an Administrative Recourse Expert: You Choose
This is our hybrid model, and it is rare in Quebec. Your IVAC file can be carried by a lawyer who is a member of the Barreau du Québec, or by an expert in administrative recourses, at a lower cost, when the nature of the file allows it.
We tell you plainly which of the two serves your interests, before you commit to anything. The decision stays yours.
The IVAC Cases We Take On
Since the Act to assist persons who are victims of criminal offences and to facilitate their recovery came into force on 13 October 2021, coverage no longer stops at the direct victim. We open a file in each of the situations below, as long as the act is recognized as an offence under the Criminal Code.
Harm to your physical or psychological integrity
Direct victims of a criminal offence that harmed their physical or psychological integrity: assault, sexual assault and domestic violence, among others. Our article on who is eligible for victim compensation in Quebec sets out the conditions.
Relatives and dependants, including after a death
Close relatives and dependants, including after a death: spouse, parents, children, siblings, grandparents, or the designated significant person. Start with our primer on what crime victim compensation covers.
Witnesses to an offence or to the scene
Witnesses to a criminal offence or to the untouched scene of the crime. Our guide on what to do after witnessing a crime explains the steps.
Anyone who stepped in to help
Rescuers, meaning anyone who stepped in to help a person or to prevent an offence, and was harmed doing it.
Not sure where your situation fits? That is exactly what a first call is for, and the consultation costs you nothing.
What We Claim on Your Behalf
Once eligibility is recognized, the financial assistance and the services do not simply arrive: each one has to be asked for. Here is what we go after.
Loss of income
Financial assistance to compensate for a loss of income, which replaced the income replacement indemnity paid under the former scheme.
Lump sums
The lump sum for permanent impairment, and the lump sum payable on a death, together with funeral expenses.
Medical costs
Reimbursement of medical costs, meaning medical assistance and medication, plus travel, meal and accommodation expenses.
Rehabilitation
Psychological support, paid as psychotherapeutic and psychosocial rehabilitation, and physical rehabilitation.
Reintegration
Social reintegration and return-to-work support, when going back to work or back home needs a hand.
One detail that moves the numbers: people talk about net salary, while the calculation is made on net income. That is the kind of gap we check line by line.
How Your File Moves Forward With Us
Free consultation
You tell us the facts once. We assess eligibility, we explain your rights and we tell you which route the file should take.
Building the file
Qualification application, support document, medical evidence, calculation of the lost income. We deal with IVAC in your name.
Answering the refusal
Unfavourable decision or incomplete award: we file the review request inside the 90-day window.
Hearing before the TAQ
We prepare your testimony, the expert evidence and the argument, then we plead before the Administrative Tribunal of Québec.
For a step-by-step look at how an administrative recourse unfolds, read our guide on the steps of a recourse to IVAC, SAAQ and CNESST.
Why Trust Your IVAC File to Accident Solution
A firm is worth what it does with the process, not what it says about it. Here is what sets our representation apart.
- Four lawyers under the supervision of Me Robert Astell, a member of the Barreau du Québec since 1995. Meet our lawyers.
- Thirty years of combined experience in administrative law, the only ground that counts before IVAC and the TAQ.
- A multidisciplinary team, legal and medical, under one roof: the medical evidence is prepared in-house, not subcontracted.
- Home visits when you need them, if you are recovering, if travel is difficult, or if you would rather not come to the office.
- Four schemes handled with the same command, so you never knock on the wrong door: CNESST, SAAQ, IVAC and disability insurance.
Fees, Free Consultation and an Answer in 24 Hours
The first consultation is free and carries no commitment, and we answer you in under 24 hours. Pricing is set to fit the file: flat fee, percentage or staged payments, all discussed up front and put in writing.
Choosing between a lawyer and an administrative recourse expert has a direct effect on the cost. We lay out both before you decide.
Have your IVAC file assessed free of charge
Tell us what happened once, and we tell you what the file is worth pursuing and how.
Our IVAC Lawyers Serve Clients Across Quebec
Our offices are at 408 rue McGill in Montréal, and at 5300 boulevard des Galeries, suite 120, in Québec City. We serve the rest of the province by phone, by video conference or at your home.
That covers Laval, Longueuil, Brossard and the South Shore, Terrebonne, Repentigny, Saint-Jérôme, Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Granby, Sherbrooke, Drummondville, Trois-Rivières, Gatineau, Saguenay and Rimouski. Wherever you are in Quebec, the file is handled the same way, and the first conversation is free.
Frequently Asked Questions About IVAC Lawyers and Compensation
What is the deadline to file an IVAC application?
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The deadline to file a qualification application is 3 years from the moment you become aware of the harm linked to the criminal offence. Where the offence involves sexual violence, domestic violence or violence suffered during childhood, the application can be filed at any time. Our article on how long crime victim compensation takes in Quebec covers the timelines that follow.
Do you have to file a police report?
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Since 19 June 2026, a support document must accompany any qualification application tied to a criminal offence: it serves to establish that the offence was disclosed. That document can come from a police force, from a victim assistance organization, from a health professional who is a member of a professional order, or from an attestation form. No support document is required for an act of civic duty.
How much does IVAC pay in income replacement?
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Financial assistance to compensate for a loss of income, the current equivalent of the income replacement indemnity, comes to 90% of the net income of the victim or the rescuer, on a maximum insurable earnings figure of $103,000 in 2026, for a maximum of two or three years depending on the case. Our article on what compensation IVAC offers sets out the other forms of assistance and services.
How do you contest an IVAC decision?
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You have 90 days from receiving the decision to ask for an administrative review, then 60 days from the review decision to bring the matter before the Administrative Tribunal of Québec. See our guide on how to contest a decision of the Direction générale de l’IVAC.
Does the offence have to have been committed in Quebec?
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Not any more. A person domiciled in Quebec who suffers, outside Quebec, an act recognized as a criminal offence in Canada can receive financial assistance, and for an offence committed outside Canada, that person chooses between the IVAC scheme and the scheme of the state where the act took place. Conditions of domicile and status apply, and this is exactly the kind of point we confirm during the consultation.
Is my file an IVAC matter or a CNESST matter?
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The Direction générale de l’IVAC reports to the CNESST, but the two schemes remain distinct: an employment injury or an occupational disease is handled as a CNESST file, while IVAC compensates the consequences of a criminal offence. A single event can open both routes, and the choice has consequences for the compensation.
Is IVAC compensation taxable?
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The question comes up often and the answer depends on the type of assistance received. We covered it in our article on whether IVAC monetary compensations are taxable.
Make the First Call, We Handle the Rest
Whether you are the victim, a close relative, a witness or a rescuer, we assess your IVAC file at no cost and we tell you what to do next. Answer in under 24 hours, home visit when needed.
Free consultation with an expert IVAC lawyer
No commitment, no charge, and a straight answer on where your file stands.