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Articles Posted in Car Accident

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When I first started the Toronto Injury Lawyer Blog, I often ended each entry with a short blurb about my favourite sports team; the Toronto Raptors.

I’ve been a Toronto Raptors fan since Day 1. I was an NBA basketball fan long before the Raptors came to Toronto, so convincing me to root for the Raptors was an easy sell.

I remember the nay sayers when we drafted Damon Stoudamire as the franchise’s first ever draft pick. The rise, and fall of Vince Carter (along with his graduation ceremony on the same day as a Game #7 playoff game vs. Allen Iverson). I remember the promise of so many failed draft picks and free agent signings: Michael Bradley, Yogi Stewart, Rafael Aruajo, Aleksandar Radojević, Rasul Butler, Hedo Turkoglu, and my all time favourite: Uros Slokar.

I was there for what I believe was the most poorly attended game in Raptor history: vs. the Charlotte Bobcats back when the Bobcats wore those ugly orange uniforms on a Tuesday night of a heavy snowstorm. I think Gerald Henderson went off that night.

I was there when Joey Graham was promised to be the “next great guy” because he had a remarkable NBA physique. Those “next great guys” came and went. From Jamario Moon to Sonny Weems, to the Slovenian Gangster Primoz Brezec, just to name a few. Continue reading →

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Finding a personal injury lawyer who is knowledgeable, kind, sympathetic, and who will fight hard for you is important.

A good personal injury lawyer will listen, and give you advice to hopefully put you in a better position to move forward.

But, a personal injury lawyer doesn’t live with you.

A personal injury lawyer isn’t there when you go and see the doctor, to tell him/her what’s wrong with you. Nor can a personal injury lawyer force you to see your doctor. Nor can a personal injury lawyer call in a prescription medication on your behalf, attend at the pharmacy to pick it up, and force you to take said medication.

Everyday everyone makes decisions. Some decisions are complicated legal decisions. But other decisions are daily care and everyday decisions which cannot be delegated to another person unless you are a minor or a person who the Court has deemed to be under a disability.

Some decisions are helpful for a personal injury case like making the decision to take your prescription medication, as directed by your doctor; attending at medical appointments and therapy appointments.

Other decisions are hurtful to a personal injury case like not taking your prescription medication, as directed; and skipping out of medical or treatment appointments. Other bad decisions for a personal injury case may include doing things that your doctor said you should not be doing (like bungee jumping after a serious accident, taking a long flight or going on a long vacation without asking your doctor if that’s a wise thing to do).

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Distracted driving kills, just like drunk driving kills.

Driving requires concentration and focus. Today’s cars and our mobile technology try to shift our driving focus away from the road, and on to some type of screen. Lots of beeps, lights and vibrations to get us looking anywhere but on the road.

What would it be like to go back in time, and drive in an era before cell phones, touch screens in cars and Android Auto or Apple Car Play? Let’s take a look!

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The law, above all else, ought to be transparent.

It should NOT be a secret society whereby only industry insiders have knowledge, power and insight that the general public does not have.

When a personal injury case goes to trial, the jury should be informed of how things work, so that they can make a fair and just decision. The jury should never be kept in the dark about how the law works, so that they can make an informed decision which will invariably impact the lives of the parties to the litigation.

Yet, the practice of personal injury law in Ontario has many secrets. You would think that it’s neither nice, nor fair to have secrets which are withheld from a jury during the course of a personal injury trial.

Yet there are secrets which personal injury lawyers and judges cannot share with the Jury until only after the Jury has made up their mind.

What are these secrets you ask? Let me share them with you.

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Our law firm gets a lot of calls from injured workers.

They have very serious injuries and wish to sue their employer. They allege that their employer was negligent; allowed for unsafe work conditions to exist which they knew, or ought to have known of; or permitted the worker to use unsafe equipment which needed to be replaced or better maintained.

All of these scenarios, in a non-workplace environment; are grounds for a winning lawsuit by an injured party.

Unfortunately for injured workers; the workplace is NOT a normal environment when it comes to litigating personal injury matters.

Most workers have heard of the Workplace Insurance & Insurance Board (WSIB). 

When a worker is injured on the job, s/he has to file a claim through the WSIB to receive benefits. Even if the employer is not registered with the WSIB, the worker needs to file a claim. Some employers are exempt from the WSIB (banks and law firms), but most employers MUST pay premiums into the program.

For many injured workers, WSIB benefits aren’t enough. They want more. They want to be vindicated with a win in Court, or some form of monetary settlement for their injuries.

There is nothing wrong with having these feelings; particularly when the employer could have prevented the injury had they done a better job at protecting their workers and providing for a safe work environment.

Unfortunately the “suing route” via personal injury lawsuit is NOT in the cards for most injured workers.

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Car accidents happen. They are unpredictable and don’t discriminate based on age, gender, religion and socio-economic status. They happen to poor people, rich people, middle class people, retired people, disabled people and gainfully employed people. There isn’t any method to the selection of an accident victim. It’s completely random. Serious car accidents happen to good people who are simply in the wrong place, at the wrong time. They fall victim to fate, time and circumstance. Some accidents are avoidable. While others are not.

This Toronto Injury Lawyer Blog Post will tell the tale of Brian Goldfinger and the Catastrophic Car Accident.

The term “catastrophic” is a very important legal term when it comes to car accident law in the Province of Ontario. In plain English,catastrophic” is a word used to describe sudden and very serious damage; as having a very significant impact.

But at law, the term “catastrophic” means something different altogether. Under the SABS and in the Insurance Act, the term “catastrophic” is used as a definer to establish an accident victim’s injuries are very serious. Being deemed “catastrophic” by your car insurer means that your injuries have met a medico-legal definition. Once that definition is met, the catastrophic car accident victim is entitled to a wider variety, and an greater amount of benefits then another accident victim whose injuries have not been deemed catastrophic. For example, a catastrophic accident victim is entitled to case management services. A non-catastrophic accident victim is not. A catastrophic accident victim is entitled to a combined attendant care and med/rehab limit of $1,000,000 for treatment and services deemed to be both reasonable and necessary. The limits for a non-catastrophic car accident victim are either $3,500 under the Minor Injury Guideline; or $65,000 under the regular guidelines.

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Let’s break things down in really easy to understand terms.

If you have been involved in a car accident, you are entitled to accident benefits from your own car insurance company.

If you didn’t have car insurance at the time of the accident because you were a passenger, cyclist or pedestrian; then don’t worry. The law has thought of that. Under the priority rules of the Insurance Act, the other motorist’s car insurance needs to cover your accident benefits.

If the other driver didn’t have any car insurance; and you didn’t have any car insurance; and nobody can find a car insurer to claim from in relation to the subject car accident: don’t worry! The law has thought of that as well. Under the priority rules of the Insurance Act, the Motor Vehicle Accident Claims Fund (MVACF) steps in to the shoes of where the auto insurer should be and pays out of the claim. Basically, the government steps in to the shoes of the hole left by the lack of private insurance for the case.

Once we have established insurance, it’s time for the injured accident victim to make a claim for benefits.

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My articling principal was called to the Bar in 1978. For the first decade or so of his practice, he was in Court nearly every day. He was in Court for motions, pre-trials and trials. Because he was in Court so often, it was absolutely necessary that his office be downtown so that he could be close to the Courthouse. The Courthouse was an extension of his office.

I want to be clear that my articling principal managed a very successful civil litigation law firm; and did not have a criminal law practice.  Criminal lawyers are in Court far more often than their civil litigation counterparts. In 2022, civil litigation lawyers are not in Court everyday. But, they used to be.

Trials back then could be as short as a half day, or as long as 2-3 days. Running a week long trial (5 days) was seen as a ultra marathon! Accessibility to the Courts existed! You would not have to wait years and years for a Pre-Trial or for a Trial date. You could call the Court and get a motion date and have your motion heard by a Judge in a very reasonable period of time.

The Court was there to serve the important public function of the administration of justice. Court staff could afford to take the time to get on the phone (or even speak to you person!) with lawyers  about what to do if documents weren’t accepted by the Court and what needed to be done so that the materials would get accepted.

The lawyers knew the name of the Court staff and vice versa. It was an amicable and symbiotic relationship. Both sides needed each other to make the system work so that justice would flow efficiently.

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I’ve been involved in a car accident.

How do I start my personal injury case?

This should be an easy question. And it was a much easier question to answer in the 70’s or in the 80’s. But in 2022, car accident law along with car accident cases have become very complex. Car accident law should NOT be rocket science. Unfortunately, it has become rather close needing skilled and expert personal injury lawyers to handle these sort of cases.

Let’s get the stuff out of the way which does NOT require the expertise of a skilled personal injury lawyer.

You don’t need a personal injury lawyer to dial 9-1-1 to contact the police or an ambulance about your car accident

You don’t need a personal injury lawyer to go to the hospital to get medical treatment for your injuries

You don’t need a personal injury lawyer to get the name, contact and insurance information of the other driver (but your lawyer car certainly do that if you forgot or could not do so)

You don’t need a personal injury lawyer to report the accident to your own insurance company (although your personal injury lawyer can do that as well if you’re not able to do so on account of your injuries)

You do not need a personal injury lawyer to take photographs of your injuries or of the damage to the vehicle(s) involved in the car accident

All of these things sound and ought to be simple. It’s common sense. But the thing about common sense is that it ain’t so common.

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Many clients and prospective clients want to know where they should go for treatment after a serious car accident in Ontario.

It’s a common question because there are so many options and there is no “right way” of doing it. But there is certainly a wrong way of getting treatment.

For starters, there is no substitute for seeing your family doctor, or any other doctor for that matter who is covered by OHIP. These doctors are free and have no vested interest in your personal injury case. All they want to do is see that you get better and get the treatment you need. There’s nothing wrong with that.

Where people go wrong is that they leave their family doctor (or nurse practitioner) out of the picture when it comes to their post accident wellness and rehabilitation. Your family doctor is probably THE MOST IMPORTANT person when it comes to getting the treatment you need.

Lawyers and Judges rely heavily on the clinical notes and records of your family doctor.

Your family doctor can prescribe you with medication to get better. Your family doctor can make referrals to other specialists to help you recover. Your family doctor can request an x-ray, CT Scan, MRI or refer you to a pain clinic or brain injury program (all covered by OHIP). These are indicators to lawyers and to insurers that a Plaintiff is in pain and that something has gone wrong. If those diagnostic tests come back with objective evidence of a serious injury then it’s very hard for an insurer to refute that nothing is wrong with that Plaintiff. The doctor will know what’s wrong with his/her patient so that the patient can get the treatment which s/he needs. Don’t leave your family doctor or nurse practitioner out of the loop. A physiotherapist, occupational therapist, naturopath, chiropractor or social worker is NO SUBSTITUTE for your family doctor or nurse practitioner.

If you don’t have a family doctor or nurse practitioner, don’t fret. Get on a waitlist. These waitlists clear up faster than you would think. While you’re waiting, go to a Walk In Clinic or to your local Urgent Care or Emergency Department for check ups or for pain management. If you go to the same Walk In Clinic with frequency, they will get a sense of what you’re going through. It will be reflected in the records. Walk In Clinic doctors can make the same referrals and prescribe the same medication as a treating family doctor. If you have a health card, then you have access to a walk in clinic or urgent care clinic.

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