COVID-19 Update: How We Are Serving and Protecting Our Clients

Articles Posted in Damages

Published on:

This week I had the pleasure chatting with a kind Detective from the Toronto Police Service in the lobby of the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board. The CICB is where victims of crime can go to get compensation for their injuries resulting from a crime. So, if you’ve been shot or stabbed, you may claim compensation from the CICB. Our office can assist you with the hearing. Hearings take place in a majority of these case. That means you need to go to Court.

If you were to sue the wrong doer, chances are you wouldn’t be able to recover very much money because most wrong doers are judgment proof (unless the wrong doer is a known multimillionaire). That means that they have no quantifiable assets. A stack of money under a pillow doesn’t count. The CICB awards victims of crimes with real money for their injuries, making these cases worth pursuing from a financial perspective.

Back to the story of the Detective and I. Has a nice ring to it, don’t you think?

We were sharing war stories, chatting about the hit TV Show “The Wire“, along with some of the crazy situations we’ve both encountered.

It was an absolute pleasure hearing the perspective from a Detective. Did you know that it’s the police officers who prepare the warrants and all of the legal paperwork which is later relied on by the Crown to prosecute a case? Unlike in the United States where the Attorney General and their lawyers and law clerks prepare this sort of paper work; here it’s the officers themselves who do it.

These officers have no substantive legal training. They’re trained to be cops, not lawyers/paper pushers. Yet, their paper work is legal, and it’s scrutinized by Defence Lawyers and Judges alike. Their paperwork is so important to advancing the Crown’s position. Seems like an unfair fight having paper work prepared by a police officer torn to shreds by an experienced Defence Lawyer along with their legal team. But I’m no expert when it comes to criminal law. Personal Injury Law is what we do best.
Continue reading →

Published on:

Pre-Trial is one of the last steps in a personal injury case before it actually goes to trial.

The Pre-Trial, aside from the actual trial itself, is the most important step of your case which requires judicial intervention. That means that the Court is actively involved in this part of your case, unlike other parts of your case.

An examination for discovery does NOT require Judge. A mediation does NOT require a Judge. An independent medical-legal examination does NOT require a Judge.

But a Pre-Trial requires a Judge. Without a Judge, a Pre-Trial can’t happen. (save in Toronto/Ottawa and Windsor where Masters can conduct Pre-Trials in Simplified Procedure cases).

So, you might be wondering. What exactly is a Pre-Trial?
Continue reading →

Published on:

When one of our clients is asked how much they think their case for pain and suffering is worth, they will often tell you that it’s worth $1,000,000 or more. It’s understandable why anyone would put such a high price on their own individual pain and suffering. Can you really put a price on these damages?

Canadian Courts have.

Unfortunately, the system for quantifying damages for pain and suffering is unfair to accident victims in Canada. Why? Because it’s impossible, at law, anywhere in Canada, to recover $1,000,000 or more for you pain and suffering.

It’s this way because back in 1978, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled on three decisions, commonly referred to as “the trilogy“.

In those cases, the Supreme Court established a cap (or limit) for damages for pain and suffering. Back in 1978, that cap was placed at $100,000. Today, with inflation, that cap is around $350,000. This is the absolute MAXIMUM which you can recover for your pain and suffering in Canada. The Supreme Court of Canada established this cap because they did not want our civil justice system, turning in to a free for all legal system like you see in many parts of the United States.

So, even at trial, if a jury awards you $1,000,000 for damages for your pain and suffering, the Judge will then limit that award to $350,000 or below. The Judge would probably instruct the Jury to return to the deliberation room and come back with another figure for damages for pain and suffering.
Continue reading →

Published on:

Lots of people think that all lawyers do all day is talk. It’s a a common misconception. Perhaps, there are some lawyers who spend their entire days talking; but not me.

The majority of my day is spent listening. I listen to Judges. I listen to Masters. I listen to other lawyers. I listen to insurance adjusters. But, most importantly, I listen to my clients and to prospective clients telling me their stories.

Every day I’m told from my clients how they’re struggling managing their pain; how they’re struggling making ends meet; how they’re feeling down and sad since their accident; and how their accident has turned their life upsidown.

Accident victims have lots to say about their case, how it happened, and what their injuries are. Their testimony is important, and can be very persuasive to insurers, judges and juries. But, sometimes, the MOST PERSUASIVE evidence isn’t verbal; it’s written and hidden in the scribbles. What do I mean by that? Read on and find out.
Continue reading →

Published on:

I just wanted to begin this Toronto Injury Lawyer Blog Post by first making quick reference to one of my previous entries. It’s the one dealing with how the OPP’s privacy legislation can impact your case, which was published on July 30, 2013. You can check it out in the Archives of the Blog here.

Our office received 2 OPP Motor Vehicle Accident reports last week; along with the police officer’s notes, driver statements, witness statements etc. from 2 different accidents. We paid around $150 for each set of records. That’s $300 for all you math majors out there.

The purpose really for requesting these records is to find out who’s the bad guy, where they live, their license plate # and other information so that we can track these wrongdoers down, and conduct any criminal or offense investigations in relation to this particular accident, or previous accidents. You also want this information in order to get the address for service of the Statement of Claim. You can’t serve a claim on a person without an address with an Order for the Court for Substituted Service.

What did we get from the OPP?
Continue reading →

Published on:

Full disclosure. I’ve seen first how working long hours can impair your judgment.

Doctors, Residents and Medical Students have ludicrous call demands/schedules at teaching hospitals. You should see them post call! Lawyers, Clerks and Articling Students have ridiculous deadlines to meet and pull all nights all too often. You should see them the morning after the all-niter. Taxi Drivers work LONG shifts day after day (and their job is to drive others). Police officers, paramedics and firemen also have some pretty crazy hours.

But the story about the unpaid intern, Andy Ferguson in Alberta is no joke and speaks to the dangers of working LONG LONG hours then driving home.

First, our thoughts of everyone here at our law office are with Andy Ferguson’s family right now. In case you haven’t heard, Andy was a 22 year old UNPAID intern with the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology. He was completing an internship in order to graduate. He needed to complete a certain amount of hours in order to get his degree. Andy’s internship was at a radio station owned by Astral Media called “The Bear“, a pop rock radio station in Edmonton.

Andy was asked to intern the overnight shift. He didn’t want to. He had just completed 3 previous overnight nights, and was now asked to work a 4th. He was told that if he wanted to complete his practicum, he would just shut and do what he was told.

Andy was NOT happy, as evinced in a text messages to his girlfriend. He wrote to her “F*ck this place“. In a draft email to his professor at the University, which never got sent, he wrote “it would be nice if the people I worked under showed a little more appreciation and respect for myself“.
Continue reading →

Published on:

And now a letter from the Toronto Injury Lawyer Blog Newsbag. It’s from James in London, Ontario. James asks:

Hey Goldfinger. Love the Blog. Long time reader, first time inquirer. I gotta know your take on the Zimmerman case. Not guilty? Also, do you think the Toronto Blue Jays are gonna make the World Series? Let me know.”

Thanks for your email James.

The George Zimmerman trial had legs. It was followed by all major news outlets. Even though the trial took place miles and miles away, it was headline news here in Ontario. The case had all sorts of undertones: race, human rights, the right to bear arms, the right to self defence, age, profiling, community safety, intent to harm vs. intent to protect.
Continue reading →

Published on:

What does it take to be an expert injury lawyer? Many lawyers claim to be experts, but very few are. Many lawyers claim to have the experience, know how, savoir fair and the resources to maximize the recovery for your case, but how can you trust these claims?

The reason for this topic in my Toronto Injury Law Blog Post this week, is because I was recently retained by 6 new clients whose files were all in the hands of self professed “expert lawyers“, and they were completely unsatisfied by the level of service and results attained to that point in the case. Upon reviewing the file, it was clear to me that limitation periods had been missed, benefits which should have been claimed were ignored, and clients were not getting the medical benefits or medical treatment they so desperately needed. It was clear to me, and to the lawyers at my law firm that these “self-claimed experts” did not know what they were doing. It was as if it was the first time they had handled a personal injury case in Ontario. I couldn’t believe my eyes. I felt shock, anger, and sympathy for my clients all at the same time. You try that. It’s a whirlwind of emotion.
Continue reading →

Published on:

If you’ve been hurt or injured in a car accident, wouldn’t it be nice to recover $5,000,000 or $10,000,000 or even $50,000,000 for your injuries? The answer to that is a resounding “YES” from accident victims and injury lawyers alike. This would be amazing!

Unfortunately, the laws for damages in Canada, and in Ontario don’t make it very easy for you to recover damages in the tens of millions of dollars.

But Brian, how can you put a limit on my pain and suffering after a car accident? I’m really hurt, and my life has been a nightmare.

The Supreme Court of Canada, in a trilogy of 3 cases has but a cap on the limits for pain and suffering at around $310,000-$322,000 (depending on inflation rates). So, the most money a Court could award you following your car accident case for your pain and suffering is limited to around $322,000. This max only goes to the most seriously injured of persons who are taking the most serious of pain medications, anti inflammatory medication and who are receiving the very best in treatment.
Continue reading →

Published on:

Note: The opinions expressed in this Toronto Injury Lawyer Blog post exclude the Blue Jays, Rock, and Argonauts. It’s mainly limited to the Maple Leafs, TFC and the Raptors.

Ever notice how utterly crappy Toronto pro sports franchises are? When’s the last time Toronto had a major sports title? The Jays won a World Series Championship back in 1993. We hope they’re grab another one very soon with a fresh looking team.

I use words like brain injured; train wreck and car crash (which are synonymous with personal injury law) to describe the professional Toronto sports scene because it’s exactly that.

The Leafs haven’t won a championship since 1967. The year the Leafs last won the Cup, the NHL only had 6 teams!!! That means they had a 1 in 6 chance of winning it from the very beginning. I like those odds. The following season, the NHL expanded to 12 teams, and so began the catastrophic car accident that was, and now is the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Continue reading →

Contact Information