Category: Personal Injury FAQ’s

Personal injury law is versatile and broad. That’s a fact. The reason for this is because it encompasses a large variety of possible causes that could lead to a case of that particular category. At the same time the cases themselves pose a great interest because there are different ways that they could develop into. Right of the bad, it’s important to understand that every province in the country of Canada is capable of coming up with its own particular legislative provisions which are going to be applied on its territory. This is particularly interesting but it’s also important to note that these provisions can’t contradict to the governmental statutes. However, this suggests that the city of Kitchener is going to be governed by the rules set forth by the province of Ontario.

Filing a compensatory claim for damages suffered in an accident is definitely not something that should be taken lightly. You can claim both physical and emotional damages as the law doesn’t make a difference between them when it comes to having merit for a case. However, the amount of compensation which is to be expected is greatly different. While there are currently no limits to your claim when you are seeking compensation for your pecuniary damages, a ruling of the Supreme Court of Canada issued back in 2004 makes it pretty clear that non pecuniary damages can be as much as $300,000. This means that you should fir your claim somewhere in the range between $1 and $300,000. However, if your claim is for more money than this, the court must reduce it accordingly.

Types of damages

Pecuniary damages can be based on documents. In fact, that’s the only way to prove that they have actually incurred. You should keep your medical bills, apothecary receipts and basically every single piece of document which states that you have made expenses in relation with your damages and their recovery. These are the only pieces of documents which you could use to prove that you have actually made those expenses.

Non-pecuniary damages on the other hand can’t be based on particular documentation. These are the so called pain and suffering and it should be based on things which are quite different from documents. For instance, the most common way to prove non-pecuniary damages is to call up a specialist to the stand who is then going to testify that the patients’ condition is indeed worse. The judge has to take these testimonials into consideration and come up with a discretional ruling every single case individually. Non pecuniary damages are incredibly important and they should be taken with the greatest care. Proving them is definitely not easy and a lot of effort should be made in this regard. Working with a good lawyer should be the first step to seek justice.

Personal injury law is an incredibly vast area which envelops a lot of possible causes that could lead a case to be put into this particular category. This is because it involves characteristic behavior of a person which has to be negligent and it has to cause other people injuries. As a result, the injured has the legal right to claim compensation through a claim and the court. The claim should be addressed towards the perpetrator and it should demand a certain monetary compensation for the damages that he had to incur. Of course, it’s really not as simple as it may sound.

The claim has to be properly addressed. The city of Kitchener is within the boundaries of the state of Ontario in Canada, which means that the provincial law is going to take precedence over the governmental laws. As per the procedural regulations set forth in the regional legislation, the claim should be filed in the court on the territory of the city in which the accident has happened. Unlike Contractual and Common law, where the competent court is going to be the one located where the current residency of the defendant lies.

Other important things to be considered when dealing with personal injury claims are preclusive terms. These are such terms which are stipulated within the lawful regulations which demand that a certain legal action is taken in a certain period of time, pre-determined by the law and stipulated in a statute or an act. This is a fair solution and even though there aren’t many preclusive terms, they truly bring a lot of advantages because they help to move the whole procedure a lot faster.

However, the most important act is called the Statute of Limitations and the terms stipulated by it, are preclusive. This means that the right is going to be precluded once the term within which it had to be exercised passes. However, the court is not obligated to follow preclusive terms and in order for it to take effect the opposing party should make an objection and expressly state that the term has passed.

The different injuries derive from different accidents and the laws that govern and regulate them are also various. For instance all kinds of dog attacks and bites which have led to a certain injury of a third party or another domestic animal are regulated by the Dog Owners’ Liability act which puts the responsibility of the owner within certain limits. Another example for an act governing a large part of personal injury cases is the Occupiers’ Liability act which governs accidents related with slip and fall mishaps which are probably one of the most common reasons for compensatory claims in the city of Kitchener.

Even though it may seem like there are a lot of causes for personal injury claims in the city of Milton, and in reality – there really are, it is important to set them aside from insurance claims which are something completely different. There are three important legal premises which are set forth in the Common Law of the country of Canada and as such are enforceable on its territory and in every state, despite of the provincial laws. In order for a case to be considered as a personal injury material the incident must include negligent behavior, damages and a causality link.

Obviously the most important thing of them all, are the damages because they would be subjected to compensation. Ergo, if there are no damages the claim won’t have merit because there won’t be anything to seek compensation for. However, the damages discussed can be either physical, emotional or both. Even though the law differentiates them as pecuniary and non-pecuniary, in reality the general differentiation is based upon the fact whether or not there are visually comprehended by third parties. Physical damages are going to leave a mark on the tissue of the person which can be perceived by other people, whereas emotional damages are impossible to be seen and they are assessed in each case discretionally by the court. This suggests that the assessment of physical damages is based upon selected documents which serve as proof and the assessment of emotional trauma is based upon the discretion of the court.

Going further, the second legal premise which serves as grounds for filing compensatory claim is called negligent behavior. As per the current Canadian legislation, enforceable in the city of Milton, negligent behavior is this which is breaching some particular legal provisions, most commonly the duty of care, and it is not constituted as criminal. The negligent behavior is also incredibly important because without it you are going to be in front of a simple insurance claim where the Rules of Fault Determination would take over and the compensation will be distributed as per them.

The third thing that is required by the Common Law of Canada is the so called causality link. This implies that the negligent behavior is the only and direct cause of the damages and without it the latter could not have occurred. Failing to prove this may lead to some serious procedural complications and possible dismissal of the case. This is why it is incredibly important to be well aware of the factual and circumstantial situation and environment surrounding the case in order to prevent any further surprises. These three legal premises formulate the core of a personal injury claim and losing or failing to prove each one of them is likely to get your case dismissed.

Personal injury law derives from a larger institute of the law which is commonly referred to as tort law. However, tort law refers to every single case of civil misconduct and in order to narrow it down, the personal injury law only relates to causes which involve negligent behavior. Such causes include motor vehicle accidents, slip and fall, motorcycle and pedestrian accidents, public transit accidents, dog bites as well as product liability. Some of the most common injuries caused by incidents of this particular regard include traumatic brain and spinal cord injuries as well as a variety of different orthopedic injuries.

The injuries can be both emotional and physical and the law of the province of Ontario, located in Canada, likes to categorize the injuries in two particular, main kinds. The first one is commonly referred to as pecuniary damages which are also known as special damages. Now, the most important factor that should accounted for is that the amount of these damages that is due compensation is solely based upon documentation. Prove of the amount of pecuniary damages may include medical bills, apothecary receipts, contracts with rehabilitation facilities and many more.

However, pecuniary damages are special in a way because they envelop a part of the incurred damages which are not actually suffered as a direct result of the injury. This refers to a stipulation in the Family Act of Canada which empowers family members to file compensatory claims on personal behalf of the injured without having to be specifically authorized to do so. However, the damages which are most commonly claimed are based on the loss of income. It is difficult to seek treatment and pay medical bills without a source of income.

Basically, whenever someone suffers from a serious accident and he is unable to recover quickly enough, his salary and respective monthly and yearly income is going to be reduced. The employer has the full right to do so because his labor contract clearly states other working conditions and requirements which the injured person cannot fulfill. This results in a loss of income for the whole household. However, it is very important to take into consideration the money which has already been paid by the insurance companies and other social structures. Make sure that you are not claiming anything in excess because you are not entitled to it.

One of the general principles of the Canadian Common Law states that no one is entitled to more than he has actually lost and receiving it would be subject to appeals and eventual return. This will only increase your legal charges and expenses and will make your case harder. That’s why it’s important to account for these things prior to filing your claims. Make sure to run these things by the personal injury lawyer that you have set your sight on in the town of Lindsay.