Personal injury claims can be expensive. You must prove your case. We enlist the help of your doctors, police, engineers and accountants to give evidence in your case. Of course, they need to be paid for their reports. In the vast majority of cases, we’ll carry the burden of these expenses until your case settles.

It helps that we only represent people who have been seriously injured as a result of negligence. We know the difficulties families experience when injury or disability steal some or all of the household income. While it would be great if everyone had 3 months living expenses tucked away in the bank, very few people actually do. It’s helpful if you can provide a retainer but we understand that you may not be able to do so.

Every case is different. Your case is ready to settle once you’ve healed well enough to know with some certainty what the future will hold. Insurance companies don’t like to give money away freely. They want to know that you have reached maximal medical improvement – that you won’t get any better – before they’re prepared to accept that your losses are permanent.

In some cases, all of the necessary facts are known very quickly after an accident. In very serious injury, like spinal cord injury or brain injury, the defendant’s available insurance limits are unlikely to be enough to pay for all your needs. Such cases often settle quickly. Soft tissue injuries may take years to resolve, if they heal at all. It can be difficult to know what functional impact such injuries will have on you until your doctors have done all they can to treat your condition. Such cases tend to take longer to settle.

Although the particular facts of your case will determine how long it takes to settle, it is not uncommon for a case to be settled in approximately 18 months.

The vast majority of cases settle. This is partly due to the Rules of Court here in Ontario. Our Discovery process encourages both sides to disclose information well before trial. This helps each party know and understand each other’s case. This, in turn, encourages settlement.

Even though most cases settle, it’s important to be prepared to go to court. Each case must be prepared as though it were going to court. That way, if the defendant or his insurance company behave unreasonably, we can take your case through trial with ease and confidence. A trial is not something to be feared. In a few rare cases, it’s the only road to justice. If it’s necessary to take you down that path, we’ll make the ride as comfortable and worry-free as possible. We’ll do that by preparing from the beginning.

No. Your own insurance company owes you a duty of utmost good faith. The other driver’s insurance company owes you nothing. In fact, the other driver’s insurance company owes him a duty to protect him by defending his case as best it can.

The Insurance Act requires you to tell the other driver that you may bring a claim as soon as possible. You should give notice that you might bring a claim within 120 days of the accident. Do that through your lawyer. We can help. Contact us now.

Compensation is broken down into two main categories – general damages and special damages.

General damages are paid for pain and suffering and loss of enjoyment of life. There’s a maximum amount that the court will award for this type of compensation. This cap is determined by reference to a 1978 case (three of them actually) from the Supreme Court of Canada. The Court decided that an injured Canadian could recover no more than $100,000 in compensation for general damages. This number grows each year with inflation and now stands at $326,244 according to Rich Rotstein LLP (as of January 2008).

The range of awards for general damages is as wide as the variety of injuries and impairments people sustain in accidents. An individual with a catastrophic injury is likely to be awarded the maximum amount. Someone with a small elbow fracture may be awarded $50,000. The award is determined more by the effect the injury has on the individual than by the type of injury. A badly broken baby finger on a non-dominant hand has a greater impact on a world-class pianist than on a teacher.

To find out more about how your injuries might be assessed by the court, click here.

When you speak with our intake clerk, you can indicate whether you’d like your case to be handled by Mr. Bergeron or Mr. Clifford. One of those two will be primarily responsible for your case.

You should know that we’ve taken a great deal of time and energy building the best possible team of law clerks and support staff. Our clerks are exceptional, current and responsive. Mr. Bergeron and Mr. Clifford rely on them to keep your case moving.

If your case goes to trial, you will be represented at trial by both Mr. Bergeron and Mr. Clifford. When your case comes to trial, virtually all of our office resources are devoted to ensuring a good outcome. That means both Mr. Bergeron, Mr. Clifford and all of our law clerks will work on your case full time through the duration of your trial. Everything that can be done, will be done to win your case.

You will find that most personal injury lawyers take cases on a contingency fee arrangement. This means that the lawyer will wait until the case is settled to get paid. The lawyer will charge a percentage of the amount recovered for damages and interest. The percentage can range and should range depending on several factors including the risk that the lawyer is taking on, the complexity of the case and the amount recovered.

In Ontario, a successful plaintiff (that’s you) is entitled to ask the defendant to pay a portion of your legal bill – not all of it but enough to take the sting out. That money, called partial or substantial indemnity costs, is your money. You get to use it to defray your legal bills. It should not be used in the calculation of your contingency fee. Ensure that your lawyer is not in the practice of doing so.

Let me give you an example. If the insurance company for the defendant offers to pay you $100,000 for damages and interest plus $15,000 to go toward your legal fees (partial indemnity costs), your legal bill should be no more than $30,000 assuming a contingency agreement that provides for a 30% contingency fee. It should not be 30% of $115,000 or $34,500. Ask your lawyer to confirm that his contingency agreement does not include money paid by the defendant toward legal fees.

We know that nothing hurts more than not knowing what’s happening. Unfortunately Mr. Bergeron and Mr. Clifford can’t be available all the time on a moment’s notice. That’s one of the reasons we’ve taken such great care to build the team we have. If your lawyer isn’t available, we’ll be sure to have someone who can help return your call as soon as possible.

We’ve found recently that email correspondence can be more efficient. If you’re able to put your question to your lawyer in writing, you’ll get a quick written response. That way, you’ll have a record of what you asked and the answer. The issues in personal injury cases can be complex. It’s sometimes best to have a written account of the answers to your questions.

Sometimes you just need to speak with your lawyer and we understand that. If Mr. Bergeron or Mr. Clifford are not available by phone, just ask our staff and we’ll find a time in their schedule when they can return your call or see you in person.