Toronto personal injury specialists Lofranco Barristers bring together five of Canada's most experienced and respected lawyers to fight for your rights for care and compensation following motor vehicle accident injuries and negligence.

For a FREE Consultation Call : (416) 223-8333

Our firm believes strongly that everyone should have the opportunity to have their claim evaluated by a specialist. Our lawyers will meet and evaluate your claim FREE OF CHARGE! Should we decide to take your case and you decide to appoint us as your counsel, then appropriate fee arrangements will be discussed.

Three types of claims

You have three potential types of claims:

1. "Tort Claim": When you have been injured, you have the right to sue the individual at-fault, be they the driver in a motor vehicle accident, or any other party whose actions lead to your injury.
2. "Long Term Disability": Should your injury prevent you from being able to return to your job, you may be eligible to receive long term disability benefits provided by your insurance company.
3. "No-Fault Claim": Every motorist, whether at fault or not, when in an accident, can access the no-fault benefits under their own insurance policy. This includes such benefits as income replacement should the disability prevent one from doing their own job for one week after the accident, or after two years, should their disability prevent them from entering into any occupation for which they have been properly trained by way of education and experience.

On top of Income Replacement, you are also eligible to receive compensation for other items which are not covered by OHIP.
And lastly, you are also eligible to receive compensation for attendant care services, transportation expenses, housekeeping expenses up to a limited amount of $100.00 per week, and a number of other potential areas which will be explored by your lawyers.

The lawsuit process

The process of a lawsuit against an insurance company usually begins with the filing of applications for accident benefits and a letter with respect to the tort claim, putting the insurer and the defendant on notice that an action will be commenced. From that point, the law firm gathers medical and occupational evidence in support of the loss sustained by the client and at the appropriate time, presents it to the insurer in a settlement conference.

If settlement cannot be reached at an early stage, which often it can't, then the process begins through a stage known as examinations for discovery where each party has the right to examine the other under oath, and then, in most cases, mediation, which is a formal proceeding attended by the client and their lawyer, with the opposing party and their lawyer to attempt to reach a settlement with the assistance of a mediator. Finally, should mediation fail, a pre-trial is available where a Judge of the relevant court will offer his or her opinion on the value of the claim, and should the case still not settle, then ultimately the case must go to trial. As stated earlier, trial is very infrequently necessary.

Duration of a lawsuit

The duration of a lawsuit varies; in some cases that are clear-cut, such as a broken leg or a far more catastrophic type of injury, the claim has the potential of being settled within 12 months, because there is no need to convince the insurance company of the disability. However, in cases where that becomes a little more complicated, such as chronic pain cases or psychological problems, a case can take anywhere up to four years - usually having reached trial by this point - but may settle at any time beforehand through settlement discussions, mediation, or pre-trial.

©2007 Lofranco Chagpar Barristers