Free Accident & Injury Law Information Articles

• E-Lawyer and travelling lawyer in Ontario Canada, serving small communities, rural and remote areas of Ontario Read more...

• 10 questions to ask before hiring an accident or injury lawyer (attorney) in Ontario, Canada . Read more...

• Slip and fall injuries - will your case be successful? Read more...

• Ontario Injury Lawyers - What Should Clients Expect To Pay? Read more..

• What Is The Difference - Pro Bono, Contingency, Legal Aid & Only Pay If You Win Lawyer? Read more...

• How Much Money Will You Get For A Car Accident Or Slip And Fall Or Other Injury Case In Ontario? Read more...

E-Lawyer and travelling lawyer in Ontario Canada, serving small communities, rural and remote areas of Ontario

Do you live in a small or remote community in Ontario, Canada with limited legal options to assist you with an injury, slip and fall or car accident claim? If so, one option is to use the services of a lawyer offering E-lawyer representation, who is willing to travel when necessary. Lawyers can provide advice, virtual meetings via computer and telephone and travel to small communities and remote locations. This allows you to access quality, experienced, legal representation, without being required to travel outside of your community to do so.

Lawyers offering this service can provide representation with these options at no additional cost to you. Many personal injury claims do not require considerable travel. The Courts now have rules allowing for telephone and video-conferencing where necessary. Many personal injury claims can be negotiated without many, or, in some cases, any, in person meetings.

By requesting a consultation through this service, we will send your request to lawyers who provide these services and do not charge any up front fees to you for their services.

This service is offered in response to demand that became apparent over the last several years, together with an increased ability to conduct virtual meetings. Demands for this type of service often came from northern residents in communities such as Sault St. Marie, Parry Sound, Chapleau, North Bay, Thunder Bay, Moosonee, Sioux Lookout, Timmins, Kapuskasing and others.

The service has also been useful for rural communities, where there are few legal options available and/or where there are very real restrictions on a person's ability to travel due to their injuries.

Ontario Injury Lawyers - What Should Clients Expect To Pay?

When someone sustains an injury the first thing on their mind is their medical treatment. Legal representation is often an after-thought that people stumble through without adequate knowledge of industry norms.

Some people will retain paralegals even when that option may not be in their best interests. Those within the industry speak about members of ethnic communities who hold themselves out as "agents", gathering cases within the community and referring the cases to lawyers and/or paralegals in exchange for fees.

There are stories of others who agree to pay retainers to lawyers/representatives and/or pay for expert reports when other lawyers might have agreed to fund those things for them.

It is exceedingly important to gather information about injury law in Ontario no matter where you live. Whether you are seeking a Toronto injury lawyer, a Milton injury lawyer, a Whitby injury lawyer, an Ajax injury lawyer, etc. the same principles generally apply and you should ensure that you obtain information about standards within the industry before retaining a lawyer. Most lawyers will be willing to meet with you for free to discuss your options and to provide you with general information.

More information can always be obtained online, including on this website. This may provide some fast, easily obtained guidance about the fundamentals, or a second opinion, that might assist you in making the best decision on an issue that will be very important for you in the future. Given that most lawyers offer free consultations, it is generally advisable to contact more than one lawyer to learn your options.  

What Is The Difference - Pro Bono, Contingency, Legal Aid & Only Pay If You Win Lawyer?

Lawyers who practice car accident, injury and disability law may offer a variety of different types of fee agreements to potential clients. One of the reasons that this is offered is because there is a realization that injury victims often simply cannot pay the hourly rates that lawyers charge. Not all lawyers offer flexible fee arrangements and it is very important that you have a clear understanding of your fee agreement with your lawyer.

In most cases, you will probably have a written agreement with your lawyer that will set out the terms of the agreement. Some people get confused by the term "retainer agreement" thinking that it means that they have to pay something up front. This may be true in some cases, but the term may also simply mean the agreement that you are signing to hire the lawyer.

Some injured victims indicate that they need a pro bono lawyer, since they canot pay for the services up front. A pro bono lawyer is normally a lawyer who does not charge you anything at all regardless of the outcome of your case - even if you win. This is normally not what injury victims mean when they say that they want a pro bono lawyer.

Many clients also indicate that they require legal aid. The reality is that they may not require that. Some lawyers will agree to take cases on with the agreement that they will simply be paid a percentage of the damages award at the end of the case, and they will receive nothing if they do not win. A "pay a percentage if you win" agreement can be referred to as a contingency fee agreement. There are a number of variations offered by lawyers.

Contact us today for a free consultation.

How Much Money Will You Get For A Car Accident Or Slip And Fall Or Other Injury Case In Ontario?

That is a difficult question to answer. Ontario's car accident system is a lot different than some others like Quebec's. In Ontario there is no fixed amount for a particular injury.

There are cases which lawyers and others can look to in order to determine a case's fair value. However, the exact amount that the case is worth is based on individual factors. For example, if Wayne Gretzky (former professional hockey player) sustained a serious wrist fracture during the height of his career, the case would probably be worth more than if most lawyers suffered the same injury. Other things that might have an influence on the amount would be the amount of pain and disability that the injury causes, the injured person's age and any other factors that tend to make the injury and its effects worse.

It should also be remembered that, in Canada, there is a cap on the pain and suffering components of awards. The cap was subject to inflation when it was introduced by the Supreme Court in a trilogy of cases in the 1970's. In 2008 it is between approximately $300,000 and $350,000. Remember that this means that a person that sustains the worst possible injuries is limited to claiming that amount for pain and suffering. One rationale for the cap could be that no amount of money can ever truly compensate someone for a severe injury.

Of course, that does not mean that is the maximum total amount that they can claim. An injured person can also claim, in many cases, for other types of damages, including loss of income/loss of competitive advantage, future care costs, etc. These are not subject to a cap in most cases.

Of course, in car accident cases, there are thresholds, deductibles and other limits. However, in car accident cases, there is also the possibility of obtaining compensation and settlement through the accident benefits system.

Contact us today for a free consultation.

Slip and Fall injuries - will your case be successful?

The winter of 2008/2009 in Ontario, Canada has seen some harsh storms, heavy snowfalls and extremely cold weather. This sort of weather can lead to dangerous walking conditions. People often sustain injuries at this time of year because of icy and slippery conditions.
Every year, people sustain ankle fractures, broken arms and wrists, head injuries, whiplash, and pain after slipping or tripping and falling. Each and every winter, people hire lawyers and launch lawsuits seeking damage awards (money) from a settlement or judgment after slipping or tripping and falling.
It is important to understand that a private property owner is not responsible just because someone slips or falls on their property. A private property owner does not have to keep their property in perfect condition, or completely safe, but they do have to take "reasonable" steps to make sure that persons are reasonably safe while they are on the property. When someone slips and falls, it is usually important to determine whether the private property owner had a reasonable system of maintenance and inspection in place.
For instance, if you slipped and fell on ice while walking to your car in a parking lot, then it would be important, in many cases, to determine whether the property owner had a reasonable system in place to inspect the parking lot and a reasonable maintenance schedule, which might include plowing/shoveling, salting or sanding the parking lot.

What does "reasonable" mean. That is up for debate and it is something that personal injury lawyers argue about again and again. There are many factors to look at when considering that issue and each case is usually somewhat unique. For example, if someone slips and falls on a small patch of ice, in an otherwise clear, parking lot in a deserted area of Whitby, that is very different from the case where someone slips and falls in a completely snow and ice covered entrance, that has been left uncleaned for days, at the busiest restaurant at Yonge and Bloor in downtown Toronto. Even if the owner of the deserted Whitby parking lot and the owner of the incredibly busy downtown Toronto restaurant had the exact same maintenance and inspection schedule, the busy downtown Toronto restaurant owner might be found not to have taken reasonable care, while the Whitby owner had. That is not because people are harder on Toronto restaurants, it's just that safety might require a higher level of maintenance and inspection in the circumstances.

Other things that can sometimes be important in slip and fall cases, are how fast the injured person was walking, whether they were taking care for their own safety (ie: whether they were looking where they were going), whether they were wearing appropriate footwear and clothing, whether they should have known about the danger, whether they were carrying something that interfered with their safety, etc.
If you are injured, you should immediately consult with a lawyer about how long you have to notify the other party about your intention to sue and to start a lawsuit. In some cases, you may only have a matter of days to notify the other party.

10 questions to ask before hiring an accident or injury lawyer (attorney) in Ontario, Canada.

If you are considering proceeding with a lawsuit in relation to an acident or injury (whether it is a car accident, a slip and fall or trip and fall), you will want to choose a lawyer and law firm that is competent to effectively handle the case. When speaking to a lawyer that you are considering hiring you may want to ask the following questions:

1. Will you provide me with a comprehensive agreement with all of the charges that I will have to pay.
2. Is the consultation completely free no matter what I decide to do?
3. When do I have to pay (ie: can I pay all fees and charges out of the final award or settlement?)
4. What experience and knowledge do you have in this area of the law?
5. Does your law firm have the financial and other resources to fund the litigation and to go to trial if necessary?
6. Do you focus your practice on litigation and lawsuits or do you practice in other areas too? (some lawyers carry on a general practice where they try to practice in a number of areas).
7. Ask the lawyer to explain the legal tests involved in the case and what the game plan would be for meeting them?
8. Ask whether the firm is well known and whether insurance companies will know the firm.
9. Ask the lawyer to send you one or more decisions in cases that he/she has argued.
10. Ask the lawyer what the challenges and problems are in your case and how they can be overcome.

For more information or a no obligation consultation contact us today.