Category: Claim Process

Four Questions To Ask Your Personal Injury Lawyer

Being the victim of an accident or suffering a personal injury through no fault of your own may entitle you to legal compensation and the financial assistance needed to cover the cost of medical care, reimburse you for lost wages or deal with other matters pertaining to your injury. Retaining the services of an experienced accident lawyer can be of critical importance for clients who elect to move forward with a case, claim or other proceedings. Clients who have a better understanding of what to ask during an initial consultation may be far more likely to choose the most suitable law representation to their case. Continue reading

Do’s and Don’ts For Your Defence Medical Examination

If you are in a car accident that resulted in injuries and have decided to retain a lawyer, they will begin an action on your behalf to recover damages intended to compensate you for your injuries. Your lawyer will ask for medical reports from your doctor, and possibly from specialist doctors. To establish the extent of your injuries, the defendants (the opposing side) also have the right to have a doctor of their choice examine you. This examination is known as a “defence medical examination” or DME for short. These doctors will prepare an expert report in which they will give their opinion on the extent and severity of your injuries, as well as testify in court for the opposition if your case comes to a trial. Continue reading

Things You Can Do to Assist Your Personal Injury Lawyer

Your lawyer’s job is to take care of the details surrounding your personal injury claim so you can focus your time and effort on recovering from your injuries. That being said, there are some things that you can do to ensure that your personal injury claim proceeds as smoothly as possible. Here are some suggestions:

Follow Your Doctor’s Advice

It is our job to prepare your personal injury claim and present it in the best possible light so as to achieve a fair settlement from the at-fault party or to obtain a judgment at trial. It is your responsibility to follow up with your health care professionals to ensure that you recover from your injuries as quickly and as fully as possible. Continue reading

The Importance of Your Family Doctor in Your Personal Injury Claim

Anyone who has been injured knows that it can be an awful experience. In addition to coping with pain and suffering, you may be worried that your symptoms might not improve. Furthermore, your injuries impact those around you. It’s never easy for those close to you to see you suffer, and they may experience feelings of helplessness. It’s important to everyone involved that you do whatever you can to heal and feel better.

If you are injured, the best way to help yourself and, those you love, is to follow the advice of your doctors and other medical professionals. In fact, from a legal standpoint, taking reasonable positive steps to ease your own pain and suffering is an extremely important part of obtaining full compensation for your injury claim. Continue reading

Damages for Homemakers and Stay-At-Home Parents: What Can You Claim For?

When you are injured in an accident, you can claim for different categories of losses. These categories are called heads of damage. One of these heads of damage is called general damages (also known as non-pecuniary damages). General damages compensate you for intangible losses like pain and suffering. You may also be able to claim special damages (sometimes called pecuniary damages), which are intended to compensate you for actual monetary losses that you incurred due to your injuries. Examples of special damages include economic losses (like loss of earnings or wages) and medical expenses (e.g., physiotherapy bills from the time of the accident until the time of the trial). Continue reading

Structured Settlements: Are They Right for You?

Most of the time, when a plaintiff is injured and awarded damages by the courts, a lump sum payment will be ordered. Essentially, what this means is that the court will total all of the damage amounts from the various heads of damage that were awarded, such as general damages or cost of future care, and the total amount of money is ordered to be paid to the plaintiff all at once. However, on occasion the courts will order a structured settlement. A structured settlement is a settlement agreed to between the parties where the plaintiff receives the amount of their damages on a periodic, scheduled basis. Continue reading