Today, Juzkiw Law will provide you some legal insights on how you can proceed in matters of the personal injury claim. Before proceeding to the steps in personal injury matters, you should know what personal injury law is. 

Personal Injury law is a law dealing with cases where someone’s negligence hurts an individual’s body, mind, or emotions. For example, a person may suffer a slip and fall in a restaurant because the restaurant failed to remove snow from the entrance of their premises. This content will help you to know about the personal injury process.  

Get legal representation for Personal injury claim

The first and most essential step is to choose a representative. You may have someone in the family providing legal services, or know someone who can help you in this regard. Numerous law firms are providing legal services in personal injury matters. However, you should know which firm is best suited to you and deal with the issue professionally. It would help if you asked for public reviews about a firm’s experience before finalizing the retainer agreement. Law Society of Ontario provides a directory that lists lawyers and paralegals licensed by the Law Society. If you are looking for a lawyer referral service, the Law Society Referral Service can help. In personal injury cases, look for a familiar lawyer with the Judges and the medical practitioners in your area or where the accident occurred. 

Juzkiw Law Firm is an experienced law firm that can help you with a personal injury claim. We have vast legal knowledge that can help you to get your rights.

When to Hire a legal representative

It would help in your case if you considered hiring a Lawyer or a Paralegal to personal injury claim in the following situations:

• No knowledge about personal injury laws and procedural rules
• You incurred hefty expenses on medical bills
• You have experienced severe injuries or a long-term injury
• You suffered a loss of income due to the injuries
• You were denied the payment benefits you deserve

Things to prepare

When you finalize to choose your legal representative, you should provide information such as details of the incident, information of any witness, proof of injuries, medical treatment records, evidence of loss of income, and insurance policy.

What will a legal representative do?

When you visit a lawyer, you want to know if you will win this personal injury claim case? These questions cannot be answered straightforward. Many factors affect the chances of winning a case and the value of your claim. A legal representative will assess your case and determine the number of damages you are entitled to receive.

Bringing an action

In Canada, you can claim pecuniary compensation if you are injured due to someone else’s negligence. The compensation in these matters is known as damages. These damages are intended to protect the injured person against the heaving medical expenses, loss of income, mental pain, and sufferings. In order to claim these damages, a person is required to bring an action in the Court of law within two years from the date of the injury. These two years are known as the limitation period after the expiry of which the right to bring an action is forfeited. Your representative will make a Statement of Claim to start a fight. This statement of claim is served to the opposite party, after which the claim is initiated. If you are injured at your workplace, you can go for a WSIB claim, and if you are injured in a Motor Vehicle Accident, you can ask the insurance company for no-fault accident benefits claim in addition to the lawsuit.

Notice of Motion

A notice of motion can be filed in the Court to request a Judge make an order. For instance, a motion can be brought in the Court to obtain certain documents which have the other party or a public institution.

Affidavit of documents

Each party must submit an affidavit of documents listing all the documents in the parties’ possession, control, or power. The representative and the client must determine the nature of the documents in the client’s possession, control, or authority related to the proceedings. Documents should be identified if they are protected from production by solicitor-client privilege or litigation privilege, or any other privilege type. A legal representative (lawyer or paralegal) should advise the client which document is favorable to personal injury claim the party’s case. The affidavit must disclose their intent of producing or not producing such a document. 

Examination for Discovery

Under this step, parties to the matter will examine each other orally and before Trial. This process helps the parties get the proper disclosure of the relevant facts and evaluate the evidence in their hands. This process opens the gate for an out-of-court settlement. This process gives each party a better view of their case and will guide them to proceed further in the matter.

Mediation

This is one of the essential parts of the whole process. This can put an end to the entire dispute. In most cases, parties prefer to opt for an out-of-court settlement. In Toronto, it is a mandatory step before the court trial. A representative will prepare a mediation brief on your behalf, submitted to the mediator and the opposite party. The representatives are making submissions of both the parties on the day of mediation. 

Setting down for Personal Injury claim Trial

A legal representative will serve and file a trial record with the Court, which will make the action to be placed on the trial list. After that, a pre-trial conference and trial date will be assigned. 

Pre-trial Conference

This conference is a meeting of the parties before the Trial. This meeting is conducted before a trial judge. Pre-trials represent an essential step in the litigation process. They encourage settlement and may assist in identifying or narrowing the actual issues for Trial. Through the pre-trial process, trial management orders and directions may be obtained so that the Trial will proceed more efficiently. This step is encouraged to resolve disputes or set the issues in advance of the Trial.

Trial

As mentioned above, many of the personal injury claims are resolved by the out-of-court settlement. However, a legal representative (lawyer or paralegal) should prepare for the proper course of action, i.e. Trial. In case the matter is resolved by out-of-court settlement, the matter goes to Trial. The issue is heard before a bench of Jury and/or a Trial Judge. This step is the most complex and time-consuming process. 

Therefore, choosing the right representative dealing with personal injury matters is a crucial decision to take. Juzkiw Law Professional Corporation can help you through this process and provide you with the best legal solution. 

About Juzkiw Law Professional Corporation

The Juzkiw Law firm has extensive legal knowledge of Canadian law. We help our clients to get your rights.

If you have a personal injury claim, please contact us immediately at 647-699-7984 to ensure your rights are fully protected. We understand the pain you are going through and will work hard to obtain for you the best possible settlement, considering your losses and future medical treatment needs.

1) The Insurance may push you to make a statement

The insurance may try to record your statement about the accident, especially when you are vulnerable. You may not be fully aware of the implications of the statements you’re providing. The information given in the recorded statement can be used against you when you settle with the insurance. 

2) Be aware of the surveillance

The insurance has abundant resources to gather surveillance evidence. They can go through your social media posts or actually put you under surveillance (for example, photos of your daily living outside of your home) to find any evidence that may be used against you. For instance, you tell the insurance company that you cannot go to social gatherings because of your injuries, and they may dig up a social media post with photos of you at a party. 

3) You are not automatically entitled to your purchased policy when it comes to your Statutory Accident Benefits 

In Ontario, the Accident Benefits policy you purchase can cover you for medical rehabilitation, and attendant care benefits up to $65,000.00 for non-catastrophic injuries. However, when you get into an accident, and you report your accident with your insurance, you are not immediately entitled to the purchased policy of $65,000.00. When you first apply for the accident benefits, you are automatically put under the minor injury guideline category. You are only covered up to the limit of $ 3500.00 for your medical expenses. You must provide sufficient medical evidence to be removed from the minor injury category and be entitled to the $65,000.00 policy you purchased. Depending on your injuries’ severity, you can also qualify for the Catastrophic injury category, which entitles you to the medical benefit of up to $1,000,000.00. Consult a lawyer to learn more about different policy limits and obtain the benefits you are entitled to because of the car accident.

4) Don’t be so quick to settle

The insurance may want to settle your accident benefits at a lesser amount. In most cases, you need to build your medical evidence to be in a better position to settle for the amount you deserve. It may be a good idea to take the necessary time to gather all the medical evidence before considering to settle your benefits. Consult a lawyer for more details.

Juzkiw Law Professional Corporation

If you have recently had a car accident and are having to deal with your insurance company. At Juzkiw Law, our Lawyer can help you to get your rights. We have extensive legal knowledge about Canadian law. Contact us today – +1 (416) 286-2645