What is the time for an action for damages from injuries suffered in a motor vehicle accident to be commenced within two years of the date of the accident?

The Highway Traffic Act requires that an action for damages from injuries suffered in a motor vehicle accident be commenced within two years of the date of the accident. To be entitled to damages, the Insurance Act requires that the injury result in “serious impairment of an important physical, mental or psychological function”. The time for commencement of the action does not begin to run until the injured person could reasonably discover that his injuries meet the threshold (Peixeiro v. Haberman, 1997 CanLII 325 (SCC), [1997] S.C.J. No. 31 (S.C.C.)). The issues are whether or not the plaintiff’s injuries meet the threshold and if they do, whether he could have reasonably discovered this within two years of the date that he commenced the action.