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What Are My Rights |
1. | Where do I start? | ||||||||||||||||
2. | Are there any time limitations? | ||||||||||||||||
3. | What can I sue for? | ||||||||||||||||
4. | When can an injured person sue for general (pain and suffering) damages? | ||||||||||||||||
5. | What happens if the injured person’s injury "meets the threshold"? | ||||||||||||||||
6. | Do the principles of "meeting the threshold" apply to non- automobile defendants? (ie., mechanics, municipalities, taverns) | ||||||||||||||||
7. | Does the injured person have to meet the threshold in order to claim for loss of income? | ||||||||||||||||
8. | How soon can the injured person begin receiving compensation for loss of income? | ||||||||||||||||
9. | How much can the injured person receive before and after the trial? | ||||||||||||||||
10. | Can the injured person claim health care expenses in a law suit? | ||||||||||||||||
11. | What are other pecuniary losses? | ||||||||||||||||
12. | Can family members sue? | ||||||||||||||||
13. | What is my claim worth? | ||||||||||||||||
14. | How long will it take to settle my claim and will I have to go to court? | ||||||||||||||||
15. | What are your fees? | ||||||||||||||||
16. | What is your office's approach? | ||||||||||||||||
17. | What are the steps in a court action? | ||||||||||||||||
18. | What should I bring to our first meeting? | ||||||||||||||||
Answers | |||||||||||||||||
1. | Where do I start? | ||||||||||||||||
A. | If your car accident has just happened: | ||||||||||||||||
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If you are already receiving medical assistance and have set up your accident benefits with your car insurance company then: | |||||||||||||||||
Review our online assessment form, complete it and send it in to us. One of our Personal Injury / Car Accident lawyers will be pleased to provide you with a legal assessment of your claim. Our Personal Injury / Car Accident lawyers are able to provide you with some idea as to the nature of your claim and what the next legal steps would be in your case in order to preserve your right to bring a claim at a future date. We will be in contact with you by the next business day with our assessment and to arrange an appointment. If you are unable to attend at our office one of our Personal Injury / Car Accident lawyers will come to you. | |||||||||||||||||
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Contact our office immediately for a legal assessment of your claim. It is important to review with a Personal Injury / Car Accident lawyer what steps have been taken to date and to ensure that you have not missed any important steps and that you have not lost your right to bring a claim to recover damages. | |||||||||||||||||
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2. | Are there any time limitations? | ||||||||||||||||
A. | A general rule is that you have 2 years from the date of the accident to bring a claim against the party that injured you. It is important to review the matter with one of our Personal Injury / Vehicle Accident lawyers as soon as possible to make sure that you have not missed your opportunity to sue for compensation. | ||||||||||||||||
If you are past the 2 year anniversary date of the accident you should contact our Personal Injury / Vehicle Accident lawyers immediately to review whether you may still bring a claim for damages and losses that you have suffered. It is possible that your right to sue may survive the initial 2 year limitation date but this should be reviewed right away. There are also a number of additional limitations for suing the other driver and to deal with your own insurance company for medical coverage. | |||||||||||||||||
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3. | What can I sue for? | ||||||||||||||||
A. | Your claim can include damages for a number of different areas. Some of the damages include: | ||||||||||||||||
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4. | When can an injured person sue for general (pain and suffering) damages? | ||||||||||||||||
A. |
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5. | What happens if the injured person’s injury "meets the threshold"? | ||||||||||||||||
A. | A. There is a statutory deductible that reduces the amount that the insurer for the at-fault car driver has to pay for general (pain and suffering) damages. Prior to August 1, 2015, there is a $30,000.00 deductible from the amount of damages that the injured person would otherwise receive unless damages awarded to the injured person would exceed $100,000.00. In that case then there is no deductible. | ||||||||||||||||
Effective August 1, 2015, the Ontario government amended the Insurance Act to increase the amount of the deductible to account for inflation. This amount will increase at the start of each new year based on the rate of inflation. As of August 1, 2015, the statutory deductible is $36,540.00. The threshold at which the deductible applies (also referred to as the vanishing deductible) has been increased to $121,799.00. For damage awards that exceed this amount, then the deductible would not apply. This amount will increase at the start of each new year based on the rate of inflation. | |||||||||||||||||
At this time it is uncertain whether the new deductible will apply to cases that have been started prior to August 1, 2015. The Ontario government did not provide clarification in their legislation. | |||||||||||||||||
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6. | Do the principles of "meeting the threshold" apply to non- automobile defendants? (ie., mechanics, municipalities, taverns) | ||||||||||||||||
A. | No. They only apply to the extent that the injured person’s injuries were caused by the negligence of other drivers and/or owners of the vehicles. | ||||||||||||||||
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7. | Does the injured person have to meet the threshold in order to claim for loss of income? | ||||||||||||||||
A. | No. The threshold only applies when the injured person is suing for general damages. | ||||||||||||||||
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8. | How soon can the injured person begin receiving compensation for loss of income? | ||||||||||||||||
A. | The injured person cannot receive compensation for loss of income for the period covering the first 7 days after the collision. | ||||||||||||||||
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9. | How much can the injured person receive before and after the trial? | ||||||||||||||||
A. | Before trial, the injured person can receive only 80% of their net loss of income, less any accident benefits paid by their own insurance company. After trial, the injured person can receive 100% of their gross loss of income (less any accident benefits which are received). | ||||||||||||||||
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10. | Can the injured person claim health care expenses in a law suit? | ||||||||||||||||
A. | If the injured person has sustained an injury that meets the threshold definition outlined above, then the injured person is able to claim the cost of all future medical and rehabilitation expenses to be incurred as a result of the car accident. This would be medical and rehabilitation expenses in excess of amounts paid or available from your own accident benefit insurer (the injured person’s auto insurer). Our personal injury lawyers will arrange to have a medical report prepared to assist in determining future medical needs. This may require hiring the services of an Occupational Therapist or Certified Future Life Care planner to provide a report on future medical and rehabilitation needs and attendant care needs. An actuary or accountant will be retained to provide the present cost of the future value of these medical and rehabilitation needs. | ||||||||||||||||
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11. | What are other pecuniary losses? | ||||||||||||||||
A. | Pecuniary losses relate to items that may require the injured person to put out their own money to hire someone or company to perform services that they would have performed on their own but for the car accident. A common example of these types of losses include the cost of hiring somebody to perform the injured person’s daily activities (ie., housekeeping or home maintenance, like snowblowing or lawn mowing). In order to properly assess these damages our personal injury lawyers will obtain the services of a Future Life Care planner and an actuary/accountant to value the future services. | ||||||||||||||||
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12. | Can family members sue? | ||||||||||||||||
A. | A. Yes. In the event of death or injury to a car/motor vehicle accident victim, as provided for in Ontario’s Family Law Act (FLA), family members including spouses, siblings, children and grandchildren can bring a claim for the losses including the loss of care, guidance and companionship of the injured party. Prior to August 1, 2015, non-pecuniary FLA claims were subject to a $15,000.00 statutory deductible where the non-pecuniary damages do not exceed $50,000.00. After August 1, 2015 the Ontario government changed the legislation to allow the deductible amount to be adjusted for the rate of inflation. The deductible amount has been changed to $18,270.00 and will apply for non-pecuniary damages up to $60,899.00. It is uncertain at this time whether the new deductible amounts will apply to cases that have been started prior to August 1, 2015. The amount of the deductible and the vanishing threshold will be adjusted by the rate of inflation (upward) at the start of each year. | ||||||||||||||||
In the case of a fatality, there is no deductible that applies to non-pecuniary damages for FLA claimants. | |||||||||||||||||
Back to the question list | |||||||||||||||||
13. | What is my claim worth? | ||||||||||||||||
A. | It is difficult to assess the value of your claim without considering a large number of factors. Some of these factors include the nature of your injury, the cause of the injury and the impact that the injury has on your ability to work and/or on your activities of daily living including homecare and recreational activities. | ||||||||||||||||
Once we have received sufficient medical information from your health care providers, and any medical specialist, then our Personal Injury / Car Accident lawyers will be in a better position to provide you with a more accurate assessment of your claim. We can do this by reviewing the extensive case law available to us, identifying similar cases where previous decisions have been provided by the courts and considering previous personal injury cases that our Personal Injury / Car Accident lawyers have handled. | |||||||||||||||||
The first place to start is to contact our office directly, or through the online assessment form, to speak with one of our Personal Injury / Automobile Accident lawyers. | |||||||||||||||||
Back to the question list | |||||||||||||||||
14. | How long will it take to settle my claim and will I have to go to court? | ||||||||||||||||
A. | A case can settle at any time. However, in order to ensure that you receive proper advice and representation from us, there are many factors that have to be considered before settling your claim. Usually, the more serious the injuries then the longer it takes to settle your claim. The reason for this is we need to obtain the proper medical documentation to support the injuries that we say are due to the car accident and the effect that the injuries have on your life presently and in the future. | ||||||||||||||||
It will usually take at least 12 to 18 months before our Personal Injury / Car Accident lawyers are in possession of the information we need to provide you with a proper assessment. Once the proper information has been received, your matter can then settle at any time. It is important to note that no settlement will be arranged until you have provided us with your clear instructions. Our Personal Injury / Car Accident lawyers will obtain your instructions before we make any offer to settle. We will also obtain your clear instructions before any settlement proposal is accepted. | |||||||||||||||||
Most personal injury matters settle before court and do not proceed to trial. It has been said that as many as 98% of claims settle before court. Your matter can settle at any time prior to a final verdict at trial. If a settlement cannot be negotiated before trial, then it could take 3 to 4 years before your matter will be heard in court. | |||||||||||||||||
In most instances the matter settles through negotiations directly with the lawyer for the defence. Another approach is through a private mediation. A private mediation involves the lawyer for the insurance company and a representative of the insurance company along with a private mediator. At settlement mediation both sides present their theory of the case and then there are negotiations between the parties to try and settle the file. | |||||||||||||||||
One of the keys to our Personal Injury / Car Accident lawyers successes at negotiation, or mediation, is to ensure that there is a thorough understanding of your medical condition, your medical prognosis and the future impact of those injuries on your ability to work and to carry out your usual activities of daily living. This will often require the assistance of medical experts. In most instances it is estimated that to properly prepare your claim, and understand the future impact of your injuries, it will take 2 to 3 years before any settlement. However, each claim is different and our Personal Injury / Car Accident lawyers will be able to give you a better and more accurate assessment once we have more details about your case. | |||||||||||||||||
Back to the question list | |||||||||||||||||
15. | What are your fees? | ||||||||||||||||
A. | We understand that when you have been injured in a car accident this has a devastating affect on your health and also on your ability to continue to earn income as you had before the car accident. You will have the benefit of the experience of our Personal Injury / Car Accident lawyers, and our Personal Injury team, actively working on your case and you will not have to pay any fees until we have obtained a settlement for you. Our fee is based on a contingency arrangement, which means that we charge a percentage of any settlement you obtain. If there is no settlement then you will not owe us anything. | ||||||||||||||||
Our Personal Injury / Car Accident lawyer will review our complete fee arrangement with you at your first meeting. We provide you with a written fee agreement so that you know exactly how much we will be paid for our services on your behalf. | |||||||||||||||||
Our maximum percentage contingency fee charged is 25%. | |||||||||||||||||
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16. | What is your office's approach? | ||||||||||||||||
A. | Our office operates on a team approach. A Personal Injury / Car Accident lawyer will be assigned primary responsibility for your matter. Assisting the Personal Injury / Car Accident lawyer will be a number of clerks. Through our network of contacts, we will recommend, depending on your condition and medical needs, health professionals to assist. Injuries arising from car accidents can be very complicated as we are dealing with several insurance companies. | ||||||||||||||||
Our Personal Injury / Car Accident lawyers and our Personal Injury team are working to ensure that you obtain proper compensation for your injuries and we also assist your medical team to help you obtain proper diagnosis and treatment for your injuries. Our team approach allows us to make sure that your file stays active and that you obtain prompt and effective service from our office. | |||||||||||||||||
Back to the question list | |||||||||||||||||
17. | What are the steps in a court action? | ||||||||||||||||
A. | This is a general outline of some of the steps in a court action: | ||||||||||||||||
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18. | What should I bring to our first meeting? | ||||||||||||||||
A. | At the first meeting, which will take approximately 1 hour, you will meet with one of our Personal Injury / Car Accident lawyers where we will obtain information about the following: | ||||||||||||||||
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We would like you to bring in all documents that you have accumulated so far in connection with the accident including documents dealing with your medical treatment, any medical assessments, all correspondence with your insurance company and the police report. It would assist if this information was put in chronological order. This information will assist us in providing you with a preliminary assessment at our initial meeting. If these documents are not available we will be able to obtain this information once you have hired our firm. | |||||||||||||||||
The first step towards success in your personal injury matter starts with contacting one of our Personal Injury / Car Accident lawyers. You can call our office directly or send us your information through our simple online assessment form. Our Personal Injury / Car Accident lawyers look forward to assisting you with your serious matter. | |||||||||||||||||
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Deutschmann Law concentrates its practice in matters concerning car accidents, motorcycle accidents, pedestrian accidents,bicycle accidents, catastrophic injury, serious injury, brain injury, spinal cord injury and disability insurance claims. Serving Kitchener, Waterloo, Cambridge, Brantford, Ayr, Woodstock, Guelph, Milton, Elmira, Tavistock, Tillsonburg, Ingersoll, Norwich, Elora, Fergus, New Hamburg, Ontario and surrounding areas. “Deutschmann Law Professional Corporation” is practicing under the name Deutschmann Law. © 1998 - 2023 Deutschmann Law Accident, Injury Lawyers and Disability Lawyer Site Map Disclaimer Website by We Think Solutions |