Frequently Asked Questions About Personal Injury Law and Claims

Contingency Fee - How do your firm's fees work in personal injury claims?

Limitations - knowing critical timelines on filing a personal injury claim.

How does my car insurance work after you have been involved in a car accident?

For more information or if you have any questions regarding personal injury claims please contact us today.

Contingency Fee - what is it?

A contingency fee is any fee for services provided where the fee is only payable if there is a favourable result. From a legal perspective, this means that you don’t pay your lawyer’s fees until the case settles. This arrangement is particularly good for the client and their family because they don’t have to worry about paying their lawyer or funding the costs of the case until the case is resolved.

A client is not charged attorney fees if he loses the case. If the client recovers damages from settlement or a favourable verdict, the attorney receives a fee from the recovery. A contingency fee arrangement provides access to the courts for those who cannot afford to pay the attorneys fees and costs of personal injury litigation. Contingency fees provide powerful motivation to the lawyer to work hard on the client's case. In other types of litigation where clients pay the attorney by the hour for their time, it makes little economic difference to the attorney whether the client has a successful outcome to the litigation. But in a contingency fee arrangement, winning is the lawyer’s motivation. Finally, because lawyers assume the financial risk of litigation, the number of speculative or unmeritorious cases may be reduced.

Contingency fees are particularly important to people after an accident when they aren’t working and aren’t earning any income as a result of their accident. Otherwise, these people would not have access to the court system because they would not be able to afford a lawyer; let alone the out-of-pocket expense of going to court.

Contrary to popular belief, contingency fees are legal in Ontario. On December 9, 2002, Bill 213, the Justice Statute Law Amendment Act, 2002, received Royal Assent. Meaning, contingency fee arrangements were officially recognized in Ontario. Schedule A of this legislation amends the Solicitors Act to regulate contingency fee agreements. It contains broad regulation-making power relating to contingency fees, and includes the following regulatory controls:

• Requires all contingency fee agreements to be made in writing;
• Prohibits contingency fees in criminal, quasi-criminal and family law matters;
• Allows the courts to review contingency fee contracts and to endorse negotiated fees above the prescribed standards where it is fair to do so.

Personal injury lawyers understand that it can be very difficult for accident victims to fund their cases; which is why many personal injury lawyers have embraced contingency fee agreements for their clients. This is very important, because it gives people who wouldn’t otherwise be able to afford the cost of a lawyer, access to the courts and access to justice.

Goldfinger Personal Injury Law takes many of its cases on a contingency fee basis; which means you don’t have to pay until your case settles.
To find out more contact us today.

How long do I have to sue? What's the limitation period for personal injury actions in Ontario?

There are laws in Ontario which require that people provide notice of their intention to commence a legal action; or start that legal action in a particular period of time. These are called limitation periods. Failure to meet these limitation periods will result in your claim being dismissed by the Courts; before the claim even has a chance of getting started.

One of the top mistakes that people who have been involved in accidents make is failing to provide legal notice, or start their legal action within these limitation periods. Limitation periods differ depending on the case. The limitation period in a slip and fall case involving a city sidewalk is different than a limitation period in a car accident case. A limitation period in a motor cycle accident case is different than a limitation period in a long term disability case. The limitation period depends on what the law says for each type of case.

The date which the accident happened, or which the disability arose are important dates to knowing when your limitation period may have started. Sometimes, there are floating limitation periods. Only an experienced personal injury lawyer will be able to tell you when your limitation period in your case begins to run; and help you protect that limitation period in order to preserve your case.

Not knowing the law of limitation periods is not an excuse; even if you are new to Canada or if English is not your first language.

If you try to start a case after a limitation period has lapsed, the insurance company will apply to the Court and seek to have your case dismissed. If they are successful, your case will be struck, and you will be required to pay for the insurance company’s legal costs associated up to that point in time in defending your claim.

The safest thing to do is not wait after your accident and to call a personal injury lawyer right away. We often tell our clients NOT TO WAIT in contacting a lawyer after their accident. The longer that you wait, the greater the risk that your case will be at risk and that precious evidence will get lost. Retrieving pictures from the accident scene, gathering the contact information of witnesses, collecting notes and records in relation to your accident, and having experts take a look at the accident scene is always easier shortly after the accident instead of long after. We have seen many cases where important records have been lost or destroyed or the accident scene has changed because the injured accident victim contacts their lawyer too late. We are better equipped and able to do our own detective work shortly after the accident when all of the evidence is fresh and readily available.

To find out more contact us today.

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How does my car insurance work after I’ve been involved in a car accident? 

The law in Ontario requires that all car drivers have automobile insurance. After an accident has happened, the law of Ontario also requires that you report the accident to your car insurance company; or that of the car insurance company of the other driver that hit you. If you do not report the car accident, you will not be entitled to recover “accident benefits” and you will NOT be able to sue for any of your pain and suffering.
After you’ve reported the car accident, the insurance company is required at law to send you a package of forms. This is called a package for Accident Benefits. These forms are long, complicated and difficult to understand. The forms are not consumer friendly, they do not come with an easy guide to help you filing them in and there isn’t a phone number your can call to assist you in filing out these forms. If these forms are not submitted to the insurance company in time, you are at risk of having your claim and your case dismissed. Just filing out these forms is a task in itself, and is a job that cannot be taken lightly. One mistake in filing out these forms can be a barrier to your case. There are many questions on these forms that you may not understand, but that you are required to answer. If the insurance company does not send you the forms, you can get them online at www.fsco.gov.on.ca.

The first form and the form that starts the whole process is called an “OCF-1 Application for Accident Benefits”. This is exactly what it says it is. It’s an application form for accident benefits. You are required to fill out basic information about your name, age, address, how the accident happened, your injuries, details about your employment, and/or childcare requirements. But there is also much more information on this form you are required to complete aside from your basic information. You have to advise how much money you made in the past year, whether or not you reported a disability benefit, who your dependants are, a description of the accident and your injuries, your insurance information and the insurance information of the other driver that hit you. There is a lot of information which is required on these forms in order that the application is deemed accepted by the insurance company. On top of that, you need to ensure that you submit the application for accident benefits to the right insurance company at the right address. By filling out this form, you are telling your insurance company that you are claiming accident benefits from them.

Ontario has a scheme of no-fault insurance. This means, that regardless whose fault the accident is, you’re entitled to a wide array of benefits provided that the insurer approves. These no-fault benefits cover such things as med/rehab benefits (physiotherapy, massage, chiropractor), income replacement benefits to cover a portion of your lost income, caregiver benefits for childcare, housekeeping benefits, your clothes that were damaged in the accident and attendant care benefits.

The insurance company will require you to fill out other forms.

 The insurance companies are well versed with these forms and well versed with the nuances and changes to the laws. This is why it’s important that you hire an experienced lawyer to help you along the way, to make sure your claim is protected from start to finish.

To find out more contact us today.

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