Damages in Personal Injury Cases - Ottawa Injury Lawyer

In personal injury cases, there are many damages that may be claimed. At PQTLaw, we review each case on its own merits to determine which head or type of damages the client is entitled to receive. The main areas of damages that may be claimed are: (a) economic damages, (b) non-economic damages and (c) derivative claims. Economic damages include claims for out of pocket expenses, medical expenses, future medical expenses and costs, lost wages and earnings, business losses and diminished earning capacity. Non-economic damages include claims for pain and suffering, aggravated and punitive damages. Derivative damages include claims for negligent infliction of mental suffering - emotional suffering - emotion distress, loss of consortium/society and companionship. Whatever your situation, at Plant Quinn Thiele LLP - personal injury law firm, you can be assured that all types of damages to which you are entitled will be reviewed, considered and advanced in accordance with your instructions. Contact Marc Quinn at 613-563-1131 to obtain more information on how to maximize your damages. Plant Quinn Thiele LLP - Ottawa Accident and Injury Lawyers.

Income Loss Arising from Personal Injury

When an accident causes a loss of income, it is important to accurately calculate the loss - not only to the present, but also what the future losses shall be. As part of that calculation, collateral sources must be considered as well, such as private pensions and CPP. It is not only the loss of income from your job but also the contributions to your pension plan and to CPP that will not be made as a result of the inability to work. These should be claimed as well. Contact Todd K. Plant, 613-563-1131 regarding your personal injury case and recovering your economic losses. Ottawa Accident - Personal Injury - Lawyers, www.pqtlaw.com

Expert Evidence Can Be The Key

Expert evidence is routinely required in order to successfully pursue a personal injury claim. In some cases, the lack of expert evidence can be catastrophic. This month, the Court of Appeal in Askar v. Morton confirmed the decision of the motion's judge to dismiss the Plaintiff's claim. In that case, it was alleged that the infant Plaintiff was injured in a motor vehicle accident while still in the womb.The Plaintiff was unable to obtain an expert medical opinion saying that the infant appellant’s medical condition was probably caused or contributed to by the motor vehicle accident. The dismissal of the claim was upheld on appeal. This is a sharp reminder of the importance of expert evidence in personal injury cases. At Plant Quinn Thiele LLP, we work with you, your doctors and additional experts needed in order to pursue your claim to a successful conclusion. Todd K. Plant, 613-563-1131, Ottawa Personal Injury Lawyers, Plant Quinn Thiele LLP, www.pqtlaw.com

Evidence - Law of Spoliation - Destruction of Evidence - Injury Matters

Injury - Accident Lawyers : Spoliation: The law of evidence is complex. One little know evidentiary principle is the legal doctrine of spoliation (it is a rule of evidence). Spoliation is the intentional destruction of evidence to affect existing or anticipated litigation. The main remedy for spoliation is the imposition of the rebuttable presumption of fact that the loss or destroyed evidence would not assist the spoliator. Intentional destruction of evidence is not an intentional tort, nor is there any duty to preserve evidence for the purposes of the law of negligence. Spoliation, as it stands now, is a evidentiary principle and not an independent tort, although the law is evolving and the Supreme Court of Canada may be set to address this issue in a recent Alberta Court of Appeal case which has been appealed to the Supreme Court of Canada. Marc-Nicholas Quinn, Plant Quinn Thiele LLP, Ottawa Accident - Disability Law Firm. 613-563-1131.

Car Accident - What does "No-Fault" - "Accident Benefits" mean?

What Does "No-Fault" - "Accident Benefits" mean?

If you have been injured in a motor vehicle accident in Ontario, the Insurance Act of Ontario provides details as to what compensation you are entitled to receive. They are called "No-Fault" benefits, often also referred to "accident benefits". A person injured as a result of a car accident in Ontario is entitled, regardless of who’s fault the accident is, to claim these benefits, usually from their own motor vehicle insurer. The "No-Fault" benefits are set out in regulations passed under the Ontario Insurance Act. If you did not have motor vehicle / car insurance at the time of the accident, the Ontario Insurance Act provides a series of priority rules to follow in assessing who is responsible for paying your benefits. You are, however, entitled to receive benefits.

The rules governing the benefits are extremely complicated. Benefits include income replacement benefits, medical expenses, travel expenses, physiotherapy costs, other treatment expenses, rehabilitation costs, caregiver expenses, housekeeping expenses, etc...

In order to claim benefits, you must report the accident to your insurer and complete and submit certain forms within a specific time-period. If you fail to report the accident to your insurer, you may lose your right to receive benefits.

What is important to know is that "No-Fault" benefits do not cover damages for pain & suffering. In order to receive pain and suffering damages, you should consult with a personal injury lawyer who can discuss with you how to advance a "tort" claim, which is a claim seeking compensation for pain and suffering, which claim is advanced against the persons who are at fault for the accident.

There are strict limits on who can advance a claim successfully. Specifically, an injured person must meet a certain "threshold" of injury. The injury must be "serious and permanent" in order to meet the threshold. The threshold is subject to judicial interpretation, changes and is defined by the Courts. In order to determine if your injuries meet the "threshold", you should consult with a personal injury lawyer.

Call us at 613-563-1131 for a free consultation. Marc-Nicholas Quinn, Ottawa Car Accident Lawyer. Www.PQTlaw.com.

LIFE INSURANCE AS SECURITY FOR SUPPORT

Support payors (and their eventual estates) beware. Yesterday, the Court of Appeal released the Turner decision. The parties' separation agreement specified that the husband was required to pay his ex-wife spousal support until she reached 65 years of age and to maintain a life insurance policy for $100,000 until he was no longer obligated to pay support. The husband died but all of the insurance was not in place; his remaining support obligation was considerably less than $100,000. Because the two terms were not linked directly in the agreement, the ex-wife was permitted to claim all $100,000 from the estate even though the deceased's remaining support obligation to her was significantly less than this amount. In the future, payors should ensure that their separation agreements specifically link the obligation to maintain life insurance to the obligation to pay support, or find their estates depleted. Contact Todd K. Plant at 613-563-1131 about your case involving insurance, support or estate matters. http://www.pqtlaw.com/. Plant Quinn Thiele LLP

Facebook Must Be Disclosed to Defendant Orders Justice - Documentary Disclosure

This is a precedent setting decision --- An Ontario Superior Court of Justice Judge had ordered content of Facebook must be disclosed to the opposing party in an Ontario court action. "Discussions with "friends" on social networking sites could have legal implications and turn Facebook users into their own worst enemies." reports The Star.

The Star.com reports: "In a precedent-setting decision, a Toronto judge has ordered a man suing over injuries from a car accident to answer questions about content on his Facebook page that is off limits to the public.

Lawyers for Janice Roman, the defendant in the lawsuit, believe information posted on John Leduc's private Facebook site – normally accessible only to his approved "friends" – may be relevant to his claim an accident in Lindsay in 2004 lessened his enjoyment of life.

As a result of the ruling by Justice David Brown of Ontario's Superior Court of Justice, Leduc must now submit to cross-examination by Roman's lawyers about what his Facebook page contains."

See the entire article at http://www.thestar.com/article/602324. Ottawa Accident Lawyers - Plant Quinn Thiele LLP - Marc-Nicholas Quinn.

Preserving Evidence

In a personal injury case, it is important to preserve the evidence necessary to pursue your case. Examples include pictures of the accident site and of the injuries, receipts for expenses and medical records. Ultimately, these and other vital pieces of evidence will be needed to pursue the claim to its successful conclusion. To discuss your personal injury case, call 613-563-1131. Todd K. Plant, Ottawa Personal Injury Lawyer, www.pqtlaw.com

Types of Disability Insurance and Coverages

There are many types of disability coverages. The most common coverage comes from short term and long term disability insurance policies. What is considered "disability" is different in every policy, although there are some standards in the industry. Usually, short term disability will provide coverage in cases where an injured-disabled person is unable to complete the tasks of his or her own occupation. This is sometimes referred to as an "own oc" policy. Usually, a short term disability policy provides coverage for 2 years, after which time the policy pays out on a long term disability basis. Many policies of insurance then change the definition of disability and provide that the injured-disabled person must be unable to complete the tasks of any occupation (called "any oc" policies) for which the injured-disabled person is qualified to do based on their age, experience and education. This is a more difficult test to meet. If you do not have a private policy of insurance providing coverage in cases where you are injured or become disabled, the government of Ontario and Canada both offer publicly funded disability insurance - Canada Pension Plan Disability (Federal) and Ontario Disability Support Plan (ODSP). If you have been denied benefits under a private or government disability program or policy, contact Plant Quinn Thiele LLP at 613-563-1131. We have the experience needed to protect your rights and obtain the disability coverage you deserve. Ottawa Disability Lawyers, Marc-Nicholas Quinn.

Judgment Obtained - Defendant Declares Bankruptcy - What Do You Do? Ottawa Accident Lawyers - www.PQTLaw.com

It sometimes happens that you obtain judgment against someone in a personal injury court action and that person is not insured and the judgment is unpaid. The defendant is unable to pay and makes an assignment into bankruptcy. What are your rights? If the person has insurance, you may be able to apply for payment from the insurer directly through certain provisions of the Insurance Act of Ontario, in addition to opposing the bankruptcy. If the person was uninsured, you have the right to oppose the defendant's bankruptcy and seek conditions on any discharge ordered. If the person - bankrupt is unable to pay 50 cents on the dollar of his debts owing, there will automatically be a conditional discharge, providing an opposition is filed. If the defendant was particularly vexatious and unnecessarily prolonged the court proceeding, you have grounds to oppose the bankruptcy and seek that there be conditions attached to any discharge such as the payment of money to the Trustee for the benefit of the creditors, who share pro rata to their proven claims, subject to the Trustee's fees being paid as a first charge. There are many grounds that may be used to oppose a bankruptcy. If the judgment obtained is based on a judicial finding of fraud, the debt owed to you will likely be exempt from discharge. Debts occasioned by fraud cannot be discharged on bankruptcy. To learn more about your rights in circumstances where a bankrupt seeks to deny you recovery of compensation, contact us at 613-563-1131 - Plant Quinn Thiele - Marc-Nicholas Quinn.

Failure to Defend Action Can Result in Default Judgment Against You - Ottawa Accident Lawyer - www.pqtlaw.com

Once a court action has been commenced, the Rules of Civil Procedure apply. Those Rules provide strict time-lines by which certain steps in the court action must be completed. For example, once served with a statement of claim (originating document that commences a court action), you have 20 days to file and serve a statement of defence. If you fail to do so, the Plaintiff can obtain a noting in default by filing a simple form in Court and then proceed to obtain Default Judgment. That Default Judgment can be set aside but there is a legal test to meet and in most and not all cases, a Justice will set aside the Default Judgment. The cost of bringing a motion seeking to set aside the Default Judgment can range from $2,500 to $15,000, depending on the complexity of the matter. The lesson learned is - once served, retain a lawyer right away to ensure that the necessary time-lines are met. Marc-Nicholas Quinn - Ottawa Injury Lawyer - 613-563-1131.

EXAMINING I.M.E. DOCTORS

In the course of personal injury litigation, the insurer will likely seek an independent medical examination (I.M.E.) of the injured party. Can you have the insurer's doctor examined for discovery in advance of trial? Generally, the answer is no. The injured party's expert will be able to reply to the I.M.E. report but generally both experts can only be cross-examined at trial and not before. Todd K. Plant, Ottawa Personal Injury Lawyers, www.pqtlaw.com

solicitor client privilege - what does it mean? Ottawa Accident Lawyers - www.pqtlaw.com

Solicitor client privilege - what does it mean? Solicitor client privilege applies to all communications, verbal or written, of a confidential nature, between a client and his lawyer. The privilege covers any such communication related to seeking, formulating or giving of legal advice. Generally speaking, the communication must be written or oral, of a confidential nature, be between a client and lawyer and the communication between solicitor and client must be directly related to seeking, formulating or giving legal advice. If the communication between you and your lawyer fits within this criteria, neither you or your lawyer can be compelled to give evidence of any protected communication. This legal principle has long been established and protects the confidentiality and special fiduciary relationship between a lawyer and his/her client. To learn more about this subject contact us at 613-563-1131 - Ottawa Accident Lawyers. Marc-Nicholas Quinn, Partner, PQTLaw.

Disclosure of Electronic Documents in Personal Injury Cases

Did you know that in all cases, including personal injury cases, each party has a legal duty to disclose all documents which are relevant to any issue in the court case. This includes having to disclose any documents held by the party electronically, including saved documents and e-mails. There is disclosure requirements even if you are claiming privilege. Although in such cases, the document itself need be identified and not provided to the opposing party. Any e-mails between you and your lawyer are protected by solicitor client privilege. However, did you know that if you copy someone other than your lawyer with e-mails between you and your lawyer, the privilege can be jeopardized. Always ensure that all communication between you and your lawyer remains solely between the two of you. Marc-Nicholas Quinn, Partner, Plant Quinn Thiele LLP, Ottawa Personal Injury Law Firm.

When to settle your personal injury case - Ottawa Injury Lawyers - PQTLaw.com

Most clients ask us when they can expect their case to settle. The answer to this question depends on many factors. However, the primary factor is what personal injury lawyers sometimes call "crystalization of injury". This is the period in time when we receive a medical opinion from your treating physician which provides that your injuries will not get any better or any worse and usually means that you have recovered as best as can from the injury. The term is sometimes also called "maximum medical recovery" or "MMR". Once it is determined that you have reached this medical stage, we can work with you to prepare a comprehensive settlement proposal and approach the insurance adjuster or opposing counsel in a attempt to settle your case. To learn more about issues like this visit us at www.pqtlaw.com. Marc-Nicholas Quinn, Ottawa Personal Injury Lawyer. 613-563-1131.

Civil Burden of Proof: A Change.

As my partner, Todd Plant, successfully argued in Boileau v. Bogey Construction, the standard of proof in a civil case, where the allegations are criminal in nature, changes from a balance of probabilities to a somewhat more stringent test closer to the criminal standard of beyond a reasonable doubt. This higher test was accepted as the law at many levels of court and numerous administrative Tribunals. The test makes sense on an abstract level but in application it became difficult to apply.

These days are now behind us as the Supreme Court, in C.(R.) v. McDougall 2008 SCC 53, has held that there is only one standard of proof in civil cases and that is on a balance of probabilities. The test now is that in all civil cases evidence must be sufficiently clear, convincing and cogent to satisfy the balance of probabilities test. This is the new standard which all judges are now presumed to know. Michael K.E. Thiele Ottawa Personal Injury Lawyers, Plant Quinn Thiele LLP

SHIFTING MAINTENANCE OBLIGATIONS TO TENANT

Residential Landlord and Tenant Law in Ontario, including under the current Residential Tenancies Act, has long held that a landlord is responsible for maintaining a property notwithstanding any lease terms to the contrary. The law provides that a term of a lease that is contrary to the provisions of the Residential Tenancies Act is void. In a legally significant development, the Ontario Superior of Court of Justice has held that a landlord may require a tenant, in a lease with that tenant, to maintain the property with respect to snow clearing and that such a clause is not void as against the provisions of the Tenant Protection Act (predecessor to Residential Tenancies Act) which places the maintenance burden on the landlord. The application of the principle of this case will be interesting to follow with respect to more general maintenance requirements within residential apartments. Is this the beginning of residential landlords being able to shift the burden of property maintenance to tenants as a condition of leasing to them? See Montgomery v. Van 2009 CarswellOnt 182. Michael K.E. Thiele, Ottawa Personal Injury Lawyers

Determining Earning Capacity for Accident Benefits

A recent Ontario Superior Court case has applied the test set out by the Ontario Court of Appeal in Miller v. Safeco to determine earning capacity and financial dependency of a claimant. The prior history of earnings may or may not provide an adequate basis for determining this. The determination is a factual issue and each case must be analyzed on its own particular facts. Todd K. Plant - Personal Injury Lawyers - Plant Quinn Thiele LLP - www.pqtlaw.com

Limitation Periods - Plant Quinn Thiele LLP - Ottawa Personal Injury and Accident Lawyers

Limitation Periods - Plant Quinn Thiele LLP - Ottawa Personal Injury and Accident Lawyers. ----> Did you know that the Ontario Limitations Act limits an injured person's right to sue if certain steps are not commenced within the prescribed time-line. Under the Ontario Limitations Act, court action must be commenced by certain specified dates, otherwise you lose your right to sue and claim damages. Don't let the limitation period run out on your case, consult one of our lawyers and determine what you need to do to protect your interests.

Marc-Nicholas Quinn, Personal Injury Lawyer, Mediator and Author - Limitation Periods - Plant Quinn Thiele LLP - Ottawa Personal Injury and Accident Lawyers - www.pqtlaw.com

Disclosure of Documents in Personal Injury Actions - Plant Quinn Thiele LLP - Ottawa Personal Injury Lawyers - www.pqtlaw.com

In Ontario, every person who commences or defends an action must swear and deliver to all parties an affidavit of documents listing all relevant documents. Relevance is interpreted very broadly and includes any document that has a "semblance of relevance". There are penalties for failing to make full and complete disclosure. If a party locates a new document that is relevant, it must be included in an updated affidavit of documents as soon as possible and the affidavit of documents, as updated, must be served on all other parties. Some documents are protected and need not be fully described (but must be disclosed) such as documents prepared in contemplation of litigation which are protected by litigation privilege or documents prepared and exchanged between solicitor and his own client which are protected by solicitor client privilege.

Marc-Nicholas Quinn, Lawyer, Mediator and Author, Plant Quinn Thiele LLP, Ottawa Personal Injury Lawyers - http://www.pqtlaw.com/