01.
Car accident claims
Accident benefits and the tort claim, the threshold for pain and suffering, and the deductible taken off it.
Personal injury lawyer in Ontario
A personal injury lawyer in Ontario is watching two clocks at once: the limitation period on the claim, and a much shorter notice period that can end it while the limitation is nowhere near.
About this practice area
How long do you actually have?
Two years, and not from the day you were hurt. Section 4 of the Limitations Act, 2002 bars a proceeding after the second anniversary of the day the claim was discovered, and section 5 defines discovery: the day you first knew there was an injury, that it was caused by somebody's act or omission, whose act it was, and that a proceeding was an appropriate way to deal with it.
That is usually the date of the accident, but not always, which is the whole point of the section. Section 15 sets an outer wall of fifteen years from the act or omission whatever the discovery date.
The notice periods are the trap. An injury caused by snow or ice needs written notice within 60 days under section 6.1 of the Occupiers' Liability Act, served on the occupier or on the contractor who was clearing it. A claim against a municipality runs on its own, far shorter notice, and municipal liability for snow and ice on a sidewalk is limited to gross negligence by section 44(9) of the Municipal Act, 2001. Two years is the outside figure. Sixty days is the one that catches people.
What we handle
Which personal injury matters does the firm handle?
4 areas of work
All of them run from the Brampton office.
Accidents and falls3
02.
Slip and fall claims
The 60 day notice on snow and ice, 10 days against a municipality, and the gross negligence standard on sidewalks.
Claims against an insurer1
04.
Long term disability
A contract claim against an insurer, and a policy limitation that can be shorter than two years.
Our approach
A clear path forward
The same four steps on every matter, whether it is a refusal at the Federal Court or a ticket at the Provincial Offences court.
Book a consultation01
Understand
We take the full history and read the documents before offering an opinion. Most bad advice comes from acting on half the facts.
02
Assess
You get a candid read on strength, timeline and cost, including when the honest answer is that you do not need to hire anyone.
03
Act
We prepare the application, the defence or the appeal properly the first time, because fixing a weak record later is harder and dearer.
04
Report
You hear from us at each stage, and you hear what a wait actually means rather than a date chosen to sound better.
Who we take
Are we the right firm for this?
3 reasons either way
Worth reading before you book. Turning away a matter we should not take costs us a file and saves you a retainer.
We are a fit if
- You were hurt and are still inside a limitation or a notice period
- An insurer has denied accident benefits or a long term disability claim
- You want a candid read on the claim before the medical record is complete
We are probably not if
- You want a figure quoted on the telephone before anybody has seen the records
- The injury is minor and proving it would cost more than the claim is worth
- You have already retained another firm on the same claim
Where to go next
A personal injury lawyer in Ontario cannot tell you what a claim is worth on the telephone, before any records are in.
What can be said on the telephone is which clock is running, and whether the short one has already started.
Also from Rathod Law Firm
Other practice areas
01.
Immigration law
Refusals, appeals and judicial review, plus sponsorship, work permits and study permits.
04.
Paralegal services
Small Claims Court, tribunal hearings and Provincial Offences, at paralegal rates.
05.
Notarization
Affidavits, statutory declarations, certified true copies and travel consent letters.
06.
Traffic tickets
Speeding, stunt driving, red light and careless driving charges under the Highway Traffic Act.
08.
Civil litigation
Contract and commercial disputes, debt claims, real estate litigation and Small Claims.
09.
Legal consultation
A first assessment of where you stand, what it costs, and whether you need us at all.
Common questions
What do people ask about personal injury?
4 answered here
The ones that come up before somebody decides to ring at all. Each answer is the whole answer, not a teaser for a telephone call.
What can you claim after a collision?
Two separate things from two different places. Statutory accident benefits come from your own insurer whoever was at fault, and cover treatment, income replacement and attendant care. A tort claim runs against the driver who caused it, and covers pain and suffering and the losses benefits do not reach.
The benefits application has its own forms and its own deadlines and it is filed first. It is also where most claims are quietly reduced, because the insurer decides which injury category you fall into and that category caps what a treatment plan can pay for.
Damages for pain and suffering in a tort claim are subject to a statutory deductible and a monetary threshold under the Insurance Act, both indexed every year. The figures move annually, so the honest answer to what a claim is worth comes after the medical record is in and not before.
What has to be proved in a slip and fall?
Not that you fell, and not that you were hurt. That an occupier failed to take reasonable care to see that people on the premises were reasonably safe, which is the duty the Occupiers' Liability Act imposes. Reasonable, not perfect: ice on a walkway during a storm is not automatically a breach.
The evidence that decides these cases is the maintenance record, the weather data for the hours before, and photographs taken on the day. All three degrade quickly, and photographs from the day of the fall are worth more than any expert report obtained a year later.
What happens when a disability claim is denied?
A long term disability denial is a contract dispute, not a negligence claim, and it runs on different rules from the rest of this page. The insurer is not arguing that somebody was careless. It is arguing that you do not meet the definition of disability written into the policy.
That definition usually changes partway through. Most policies pay for an initial period while you cannot do your own occupation, and then switch to a stricter test asking whether you can do any occupation you are reasonably suited to. A great many denials arrive exactly at that changeover, and they are not really new decisions about your health.
Two clocks matter and people miss the second. The Limitations Act gives two years from discovery, which on a denial is usually the day you were told. The policy itself frequently contains its own limitation clause as well, and it can be shorter. Read the denial letter and the policy together before assuming there is time.
Do not let an internal appeal run the clock out. Insurers offer them, they are worth using, and they do not stop a limitation period unless the insurer agrees in writing to stop it.
What does it cost to bring a claim?
This work is normally done on a contingency basis, so the fee comes out of the recovery and there is nothing to pay up front. The agreement has to be in writing and it has to state the percentage.
Disbursements are separate from the fee: medical records, expert reports, court filing. You are told what those are likely to run to before the retainer is signed, not after.
Speak to someone this week
Bring the accident report, the date, and any photographs from the day. A personal injury lawyer in Ontario can tell you which deadline is closest before anything else is decided.
Law Society of Ontario licensedFederal Court filingsEnglish, Hindi, Gujarati and PunjabiFee quoted before you commit