Every year, several Canadians file personal injury lawsuits after suffering from injuries due to motor vehicle accidents, slip and fall events, assault, medical negligence and other miscellaneous reasons. A majority of cases that make it to court, however, are for injuries sustained in motor vehicle accidents.
You’ve probably always wondered how an injured person has the time or the energy to file a lawsuit. The truth is that these claims can be worth a lot and filing the lawsuit can be a fairly straightforward process if you’ve got a great car accident lawyer by your side.
On the other hand, sometimes you may find yourself on the other end, facing the lawsuit. In which case, it’s even more important to be well-informed.
Here’s everything you need to know about a personal injury lawsuit.
What Exactly Is A Personal Injury Claim?
A personal injury claim is basically when you file a lawsuit to be compensated for the damage caused to you or a loved one by another person. It’s essentially a legal dispute with another person who may or may not be legally responsible for your injury.
The personal injury claim seeks answers to two main questions. Firstly, who’s at fault for the injuries. And secondly, the value of the damages sustained by the person who’s filed the claim.
Whoever is found to be responsible based on the case and evidence presented, their insurance company will need to compensate the affected person by paying their medical bills and other expenses brought on by the injury.
It’s important to note though that a claim does not necessarily have to reach the court. It can be settled outside of court as well as long as both parties agree to a solution.
Damages That Are Considered Personal Injury
Calculating the total value of damages in a personal injury can be hard to assess. One may think that it’s as easy as summing up your hospital bills on a calculator, but an experienced personal injury lawyer will tell you otherwise.
Here are all the costs of a personal injury that you may not remember to add up:
- Loss of income as a result of not being able to work due to the injury
- The emotional cost of not being able to enjoy life as you used to
- The cost of future medical treatments—pain killers, physiotherapy etc.
- The legal costs of filing a claim
- The valuable time spent on filing the personal injury lawsuit
- The property damage (in case of a car accident)
The Process of Filing A Personal Injury Lawsuit
While suffering and recovering from an injury, filing a lawsuit can sound exhausting and probably the last thing you want to do. But the sooner you get started, the better it is. Here’s everything you need to do:
Find A Personal Injury Lawyer
This first step is probably the most challenging but doing it right is key to making the rest of the process simpler. You need to choose a great experienced lawyer that knows the ins and out of personal injury claims in your state.
Make sure to read online reviews, ask friends and family for their recommendations and have a detailed conversation with any lawyer you choose to hire.
If you’re looking for a personal injury lawyer in Toronto, or somewhere close by in Canada, get in touch with the lawyers at our firm.
Assess the Claim
For this, you need to sit with your lawyer and thoroughly examine your case to gain a deeper understanding of how it has affected you. Make sure to provide your lawyer with all your medical records, including your medical history and even your employment file.
Start A Former Claim
Sometimes, before you file a former claim, there may be a proposal for a fair settlement from the other party. Your lawyer will help you determine if it’s fair and whether you should accept it.
If there’s no such proposal, then you can move toward a formal claim. The lawyer will create a “Statement of Claim” which is basically a formal draft containing all the facts. It’s a very important document for your case to be successful.
Statement of Defense
Your “Statement of Claim” may be met by a “Statement of Defense” by the defendant. It’s basically a draft of their version of the event in which they may deny responsibility for your injuries.
Note: This is the part where you need an experienced lawyer to ensure that your side of the story is supported by sufficient evidence and paperwork.
Discoveries
In case your claim isn’t settled right away then you can initiate the process of discoveries. In this process, both sides will get the chance to question a witness from the opposing party. This is done to help both sides get a better look at liability.
Mediation
After or before discoveries, there may be mediation. This is basically when you’re still trying to solve matters outside of court. Sometimes people do reach an understanding at this point to avoid the stress and expenses of a legal trial.
Trial
When things are still going South despite the mediation efforts, the claim is set down for trial. The court, however, first tries to resolve the matter through a settlement conference. This is a thorough assessment of the case before the case goes through for an actual trial.
If the settlement conference is non-conclusive, your lawsuit ends up going to trial.
The court then reviews the case thoroughly until it decided your claim.
How Soon Should You File A Personal Injury Lawsuit
Technically, a personal injury lawsuit should be filed with all haste. The exact deadlines may vary between different provinces depending on the law. For instance, for personal injury cases in Ontario, the Limitations Act draws the line at 2 years. This means that a person needs to file a lawsuit within two years of finding out that they have a claim to file.
So, have you got a personal injury claim?
If you do, you need to get in touch with our personal injury lawyers in Toronto, Canada, right away. They’ll help you navigate through the technicalities and formalities of a lawsuit. We also have the best civil litigation lawyers and divorce lawyers waiting to help you out!
Call now for an appointment.
