Serious Catastrophic Injury Lawyers in Toronto
If you or a loved one have been Seriously injured, or if your pursuit of catastrophic designation has been denied by your insurer, the catastrophic injury lawyers at HENNICK LAW can help. Serving all of Ontario.
WITH OVER DECADE OF EXPERIENCE IN SERIOUS CATASTROPHIC INJURY, WE ARE PREPARED TO TAKE CARE OF YOU EVERY STEP OF THE WAY.
Know Your Rights:
TYPES AND LEVEL OF CATASTROPHIC INJURY
While being a descriptor for the most serious injuries, the term “Catastrophic” is also a legal definition with important repercussions for your case. If an injury is caused by the use or operation of an automobile, then the injured person is entitled to no-fault accident benefits. Examples include: car accidents, motorcycle accidents, cyclists struck by an automobile, and pedestrians struck by an automobile.
There are three different levels of severity for accident benefits, with each level giving access to more benefits. The three levels, from least to most serious are:
- The Minor Injury Guideline (MIG): individuals who fall under the MIG are only entitled to up to $3,500 for their medical-rehabilitation needs.
- Non-Catastrophic Impairment (non-CAT): an individual who does not fall into the MIG and who does not qualify for a catastrophic impairment will be deemed to be non-catastrophic. They will have up to $65,000 for their medical-rehabilitation needs and attendant care funding.
- Catastrophic Impairment (CAT): an individual who is deemed catastrophically injured is entitled to up to $1,000,000 for their medical-rehabilitation needs and attendant care funding.
THE SOLUTIONS YOU NEED
The Right Outcome For You
With so much at stake, it is crucial that you hire a personal injury lawyer that has experience with handling cases involving catastrophic injuries.
The personal injury lawyers of HENNICK LAW have extensive experience handling claims involving serious catastrophic injuries. In order to obtain maximum benefits, it is necessary to hold insurance companies accountable for their obligations to injured individuals. To do this, it is often necessary to proceed to a hearing for a catastrophic determination from an adjudicator. It is important that your personal injury lawyer has a reputation in the insurance industry of being prepared to effectively advocate at a hearing should it be necessary. The lawyers of HENNICK LAW have extensive experience appearing at arbitrations and are recognized as leaders in the industry when it comes to advocating on behalf of our clients.
Criteria for Accessing Accident Benefits
One aspect of accessing accident benefits that makes the process so complicated is that different criteria apply depending on what specific accident benefit is being applied for. For example, one set of criteria applies for accessing medical-rehabilitation benefits, while a different set of criteria applies for accessing income replacement benefits.
Let us help you turn your setbacks
into comebacks and remember,
YOU ARE NEVER ALONE!
into comebacks and remember,
YOU ARE NEVER ALONE!
35,000 +
Car Collisions
Over 35,000 car collisions in Ontario resulted in personal injuries in 2018
4,200 +
Pedestrian Injuries
Over 4,200 pedestrians were injured on Ontario roads in 2018
160,000
Brain Injuries
160,000 Canadians will experience an acquired brain injury every year
42,000 +
Fall Injuries
Over 42,000 Canadians are injured annually due to fall accidents
Can You Afford Not Doing It Right?
Our Vision
At Hennick Law, we strongly believe that finding you expedient and cost effective solutions to your legal matters is always the best approach. We will work hard to ensure that no stone is left unturned in trying to achieve your desired goals.
At Hennick Law, advocacy is our talent and getting you the results you deserve is our passion, even if it means going to trial. We are ready to go that extra mile with your best interests always in mind.
What Makes Us Different?
We Empathize With You
Standing in your shoes and taking the time to deeply understand your legal challenges are critical factors to our success. Through this approach, we will find ways to shift the paradigm in our fight against the “victim blaming” and “dehumanization” tactics of many large insurance companies, corporations, institutions and government agencies. These entities can use their power and resources to instil fear and intimidation into the minds of those most vulnerable. At Hennick Law, we’ll make sure that your best interests are protected.
We Provide Personalized Legal Services
No matter the size of your case, Lawson Hennick will oversee it from day one. Your case will not be passed down the chain of command to a junior lawyer or to someone else without your knowledge.
We Keep You Informed
We take it upon ourselves to keep you updated on all major steps in your case. We know how daunting litigation can be so we make it a point to keep you informed. Regular contact puts you at ease and helps us work together to craft the best outcome for your case.
We Are Cost Effective
We’re a small but focused law firm and we aren’t on Bay Street by choice. We don’t need fancy offices, grandiose artwork or large overhead to be great. We’d rather focus on our craft and pass the savings on to you.
Trust Our Experience
Do you have the right lawyer in your corner to get your life back on track after a major injury or injustice?
Areas We Can Help You With
Other Areas
- Small Claims Court Disputes
- Breach of Contract Disputes
- Uninsured/Underinsured Defence
- Wrongful Dismissal Claims and Workplace Harassment
- Advocacy before Administrative Tribunals or Boards
- Appeals
- Libel/Defamation Claims
Options For “A La Carte”
Legal Services
Legal Services
Most lawyers will either handle all or none of a case. However, we recognize that sometimes people want to represent themselves. Depending on the circumstances of your claim or lawsuit, you may be interested in receiving professional legal services for only limited elements of your case.
FAQ
This is one of the most common questions that personal injury victims have. The truth is that there is no way to answer this question without considering the unique facts of each individual case. After an injury, the value of one’s case depends on various factors such as the degree of fault or liability involved, the impact on their quality of life as compared to before, the nature of the injury itself and the need for past and future medical expenses and care needs. It is also important to take into account whether there is an income loss due to one’s inability to continue working at their pre-injury level of function or at all. These factors will play out differently in every case and there is no “one size fits all” when it comes to what an injury case is worth.
Generally speaking, in Ontario you have two years from the date of the incident to commence a lawsuit. If you are a minor at the time (under 18 years of age) then you would have two years from the date you turn 18 to start your lawsuit. It is very important that you start your claim within this timeframe as late claims may result in you losing your right to sue forever. There are certain types of harms for which limitation periods may not apply at all, such as sexual abuse claims. There are also situations where claims can be commenced after the prescribed limitation period based on the doctrine of “discoverability”. It is always best to speak with an experienced injury lawyer to properly advise you of these rights.
This is a common question with no clear answer as every case is different. Cases usually take 2-3 years from start to finish. That being said, this is a very rough approximation. There are some cases that can be resolved in a few months. Other cases can take more than 5 years. The factors that affect the length of a case may vary from case to case. Some of these factors may include issues with locating parties or legal procedural issues that can affect the length of a case. For example, disputes may arise over certain elements of a case such as documentary production obligations. The proceedings may also tend to be lengthier if there are lots of parties involved, which can create delay with scheduling hearings and completing examinations for discovery of multiple parties.
Generally speaking, most parties being sued in personal injury actions will have liability insurance to protect them. This means they will usually have an insurance company to respond to and defend the litigation and entertain any settlement or payout on their behalf. For example, in Ontario it is mandatory for all drivers to have auto insurance. Therefore, after a car accident, the other driver’s insurance company would generally respond to the claim, not the driver personally. Similarly, if you had a slip and fall on a property and injured yourself due to the property owner’s negligence, the property owner would usually have liability insurance to cover such claims. It is not the case that they would be personally exposed unless they didn’t have insurance. Most businesses do. If you were injured on the premises of a private home due to the negligence of the property owner in failing to keep their premises reasonably safe, there would likely be insurance coverage under the home insurance policy. In fact, most home insurance policies even respond to dog bites brought against their insured home owners, even when the dog attacks occur off the property.
The great majority of cases in Ontario do not end up going to trial. Trial is usually the very last stage of litigation. It will be expensive and risky to take a case all the way to trial for either side. As a result, most cases will resolve before trial. Starting a claim is merely the beginning of the litigation process and it is usually years removed from the trial date. However, that doesn’t mean that during the process you won’t still be questioned by the other lawyer under oath, be assessed by doctors from either side to obtain medical opinions or attend a mediation. With the right lawyer in your corner, you will be well prepared for these events even if trial isn’t a likely situation. That being said, all cases must be prepared for as if they will be going to trial.
In the context of car accidents, no matter whether or not you are at fault, you can always pursue a “no fault” claim through your accident benefits auto insurer for a host benefits. These benefits include income replacement, medical and rehabilitation and attendant care benefits. In other cases, fault can be split in different proportions given the facts of the case. For example, if a party slipped and fell on a poorly maintained staircase in part because they were running and not keeping a proper lookout, a court could in theory apportion liability in any number of ways. Being at fault is not necessarily a bar to recovering compensation but the degree of fault is important as the more at fault one is, the less money they would likely recover.
Most injury lawyers work on a contingency fee basis. This means there are usually no initial legal fees payable up front. Instead, the legal fees are paid out as a percentage of the settlement or award at the conclusion of the case after deducting the firm’s expenses. This allows injured clients to retain the services of lawyers without having to worry about finding the money up front. This promotes greater access to justice by enabling injured clients to get the treatment they need and start a claim without the added financial burdens on top of their already difficult situation.
It is very important to understand that as an injury claimant, the onus is on you to prove your case. The battle grounds in most injury lawsuits are centred around who is at fault but also on the nature of the injuries, future medical needs and income loss. This will require obtaining the necessary supporting documents to support your case. This would require continuity of treatment and regular follow up with your treating healthcare professionals. There are many seriously injured people who choose not to be active in their treatment. This can be problematic as insurance companies will simply conclude that lack of treatment means absence of impairments. While this is often not the case, it may be difficult to counter these assumptions without the necessary treatment records. It is also important to secure witness statements from those who can speak to your limitations in different aspects of your life to assist in proving your impairments and limitations in all facets of your life. With that being said, there is no substitute for discussing these maximization strategies with an experienced personal injury lawyer.