Toronto Personal Injury Lawer Blog - Findlay Law

If you have been injured you may have your own insurance to turn to, or you may have insurance through your job. Either way, your disability claim may well be denied or disputed. That adds insult to injury if you are in pain, being cared for, and unable to work.

Because disability claims are so complex, and because insurance companies are so reluctant sometimes to pay what they owe to their policy holders, the best course of action is often to hire a disability attorney.

Not many people enjoy reading fine print or filling out unfamiliar paperwork. Not many enjoy arguing with their own insurance company. We can help with these things. We have experience of how disability claims work, and we know how to get things done efficiently and timely.

Most disability insurance policies impose a strict time limit for filing a claim. So don't delay and struggle with the complexities. Give us a call today, or send us an email, and we will schedule a free consultation for you. Once we begin to understand your particular situation, we will be able to quickly move things forward. We can represent you to your insurance company. Remember that insurance companies employ fleets of lawyers to help them delay, deny, make lowball offers, and discourage policy holders from insisting on their rights. Why not let us take care of that for you, so you can focus on getting well again? We look forward to meeting with you.

A Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) is one of the most devastating ways to be injured, since the brain controls the entire body. Depending on which part of the brain is injured, symptoms will be different, and in some cases, no symptoms appear for some time. In some instances, the skull may be injured, even fractured, without the brain being hurt.
Many people will brush early symptoms away, taking a few aspirin and saying, Oh, it's just a headache. But the headache could be caused by bleeding inside the brain, or swelling of the brain tissue, and these situations can quickly become emergencies.

Each TBI is unique to that person. The pattern of resulting impairments and disabilities will be closely studied by health professionals and treatments devised to match. Recovery and rehabilitation can be very long, a year or more, and for some there is no recovery. Some degree of paralysis is often a result of a brain injury, and lifelong living assistance may be necessary.

If you have a teenager, be aware that auto accidents are the most frequent cause of brain injuries in that age range - as they are for young adults too. If you have an elderly relative in a nursing home, be sure and visit often. Time your visits to be unpredictable, so that the nursing home staff will not know when you might appear. That can help keep them more vigilant in caring for your family member. Falls are the most frequent cause of TBI in elderly people.

If you are dealing with a brain injury in a loved one, please contact our office to learn more about your legal rights and choices. Depending on how the injury occurred, your family member may be entitled to fair compensation for another person's negligence. We will be happy to give you a free case evaluation.

To live a long and full life as a motorcycle rider, one needs to take more precautions while traveling than the average occupant of any closed vehicle. The downside of that increased freedom is increased vulnerability.

A driver's carelessness is often the cause of a motorcycle accident. With distractions like radios, CDs, DVDs, and cell phones, not to mention passengers and animals in the car, a driver may turn or change lanes without ever seeing you. So to take care of yourself, you need to be attentive enough for two.

Most bike riders take good care of their machine and keep it roadworthy. But road conditions can often pose a hazard and sometimes a greater hazard considering a bike's increased ability to accelerate and brake more quickly than a vehicle. Debris on the road, pot holes and puddles of unknown depth can be more dangerous if you are gathering speed quickly, or braking hard.

Most motorbike accidents cause severe injury or death to the rider. If you have been injured in a bike accident, you may have some difficulty dealing with insurance agents who may have a dislike of motorcycle riders. Please call or email our office if you would like an attorney to support and advise you, and represent you to police officers and insurance adjusters. We will be glad to give you a free consultation and it can be on the phone if you are too injured to come to our office.

Ontario has a no-fault system of accident benefits. So if you are partly responsible for the accident, you may still receive compensation. You would receive it from your own insurance company after filling out the form Application for Accident Benefits. It is best to do that as soon as possible after the accident.

Typical Accident Benefits

• Medical costs
• Rehabilitation expenses
• Cost of a caregiver if you need one
• Income replacement
• Housekeeping expenses

The Statute which governs benefit amounts is the Statutory Accident Benefits Schedule, which became effective on November 1, 1996. It lays out eligibility criteria, timeframes, procedures, penalties, and paperwork requirements. It is complex and most people seek legal assistance after being severely injured in an auto accident.

Lawsuits
If you were injured and were not responsible for the accident, you may sue the party who was responsible. The time limit for filing that tort action is two years. The two principal damages you can claim in a lawsuit are:

• Pain and suffering - which refers to both physical and psychological injuries. The law requires that these injuries be serious and permanent. There is a $30,000 deductible for claims less than $100,000. So that would mean that compensation granted to you of, for example, $50,000 would actually only be $20,000. The defendant's insurance would pay that amount to you.
• Loss of income - if you are too injured to work, you would be entitled to receive 80% of your net pay during the period up to the date of trial. After the trial you could receive 100% of the gross income you have lost.

Be prepared for the long process of a lawsuit. It typically takes about three years before any settlement is reached. An accurate prognosis must be obtained from a physician as to your possible recovery from your injuries. If it were determined that you're likely to recover and return to work, you'd be entitled to no compensation. However, the up side is that if you are permanently injured and cannot return to work, you will be paid interest on the amount owing to you.

If you have been severely injured in a car accident and would like to know more about your legal rights and options, please call or email our office. We will be glad to schedule a free consultation for you.