Personal Injury claims include any action where a person sustains any type of physical or psychological injury due to the negligence of another. These injuries are most commonly caused by motor vehicle accidents, slip and fall type accidents or medical malpractice.

In order to pursue a personal injury claim it will be necessary to commence your action within a certain period of time. This period of time is set by statute and may vary in different situations. For instance if you are injured in a motor vehicle accident the limitation period is typically two years (however this may vary once again depending on the circumstance of your particular case) but if you are alleging negligence against a city or town governed by the provisions of the Municipal Act there will be steps you must take within sixty days of the event occurring. If you are injured it is imperative that you seek legal advise immediately so that you will be clear on the limitation aspects of your case.

Commonly personal injury cases are done by lawyers on a contingency basis. This means that the lawyer gets paid a percentage of the claim and is therefor paid from the proceeds of the lawsuit itself. Depending on the lawyer you deal with you may or may not have to pay for the lawyers actual out of pocket expenses along the way (ie. the actual cost of filing the action, the cost of obtaining medical reports and the like) the amount of which will vary depending on the nature of the claim. [these out of pocket expenses are known as disbursements]. In actions arising out of motor vehicle accidents the maximum amount the lawyer can charge as a percentage is 33 1/3 % and for non motor vehicle personal injury claims the maximum percentage a lawyer can charge is 40%. A typical form of contingency agreement you will have to enter into with the lawyer is set out below.

In situations where you may be partly at fault for the injury occurring but someone else is also at fault you may also proceed with a claim. Where you are partly at fault the other party will plead contributory negligence on your part or that you contributed to your own loss. If the court eventually finds that you have indeed contributed to part of your own loss your eventual claim will be reduced by that percentage amount. For instance if the court awarded you damages of $12,000.00 for your personal injury claim but found that you were 40% responsible for your own loss then the party that you sued would only have to pay you $7,200.00. The important thing to remember is that if you have been injured but feel that you may be partly responsible you should still seek the advice of a lawyer.

 

  

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Telephone (604) 925-6900 Fax Number (604) 926-7817

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