This voluntary protocol requires the lawyers for an accident victim to provide the TAC with comprehensive material that supports the argument that the person has a serious injury. Once TAC accepts that a person has a serious injury then under the protocol a voluntary settlement conference must take place within 90 days. No legal proceedings can be brought by the seriously injured person unless there has been a voluntary settlement conference and the claim could not be resolved by negotiation. Under the protocol, the TAC is required to make a contribution towards the seriously injured person’s legal costs. The amount of the contribution is dependent upon the manner in which the person’s status as seriously injured was achieved. It is also dependent upon the nature of the damages comprising any settlement that is achieved. If a case cannot be resolved by negotiated settlement under the protocol and the matter proceeds to a Court action, TAC’s contribution to the injured person’s costs will be determined by reference to the appropriate Court scale of costs.