Toronto Injury Lawyer Blog

Published on: October 17, 2025

Goldfinger On Personal Injury and Privacy

I was watching the film All The President’s Men from 1976. It stars Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman as Carl Bernstein and Paul Woodward (Woodward and Bernstein) as the two Wash Post journalists who broke the Watergate Scandal involving President Richard Nixon. I was watching the moving because Robert Redford passed away last month, and I wanted to watch (re-watch) some of his work.

So much was different with the 70’s. The attire. The hardwire rotary dial phones (with multiple lines in fancy offices). The fact that people picked up their phones. If people were away from their desks, there were no answering machines. You would leave a message with a receptionist, and she (back then it was always a she) would leave the person a note (almost always on yellow paper) to call the person back.

What amazed me of Woodward and Bernstein was how easily they were able to access information, and how few barriers there existed back then to obtaining background information in those days. There are many more privacy barriers when it comes to access to information today.

In one scene, they attend at a library in Washington and they’re able to see instantaneously the names telephone numbers, addresses and amounts of all donors tied to the Democratic Party to elect the next President. With that hot list of contacts in hand, they’re able to knock door to door, or make cold calls. People actually either answered the door, or answered the phones to speak with these guys. Getting this sort of personal information so easily is almost unheard of these days. Getting people to cooperate with you is just as rare.

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Published on: October 8, 2025

Hot Take on After the Event Insurance (ATE)

By Goldfinger Injury Lawyers

Insurance companies love to hear when clients have “After The Event” insurance or “ATE” as it is known in the industry.

What is ATE?

At trial, a Judge can order that the losing party pay for the winning party’s legal costs. ATE is a policy of insurance meant to cover a Plaintiff if they lose at trial and they are ordered to pay the insurance company’s legal costs. This means that the Plaintiff would be covered up to the limits of the ATE policy. The amount of coverage depends on the policy itself. The better the policy, the more the Plaintiff would be covered should things go wrong after a loss at trial.

How are ATE Policies Sold?

ATE is an insurance policy which is generally sold to personal injury law firms to insure ALL of their personal injury clients; or clients with similar contingency fee arrangements. You won’t see ATE insurance for clients in non-litigation sorts of cases. ATE can be sold on individual policies, but generally, these are either hard to come by, or very expensive. The companies which sell ATE typically sell them to personal injury law firms to cover all of their files, some of their files; or more than 1 file. The business model is set up for bulk files and not individual files.

Can I take out my own individual ATE policy?

I have never seen an individual Plaintiff take out and pay for their own individual ATE policy, although I suspect that it’s entirely possible. I suspect that the answer to this is “no“, but it really depends on the appetite for risk of the insurance company. They would want the peace of mind knowing that there is a competent lawyer advancing the case rather than a self represented Plaintiff. But, anything can be sold at the right price if the insurer is flexible. I would imagine that the premiums for an individual policy without a lawyer would be very high to the point of prohibitive. But, if you told an insurer that a Plaintiff was willing to pay $500,000 for an ATE policy worth up to $200,000; I don’t think the insurer would be opposed to selling the policy knowing that they would be guaranteed to make $300,000 on the sale of policy. Anything can be sold for the right price. Continue reading →

Published on: October 3, 2025

How insurance companies use the money you pay to them against You

By Goldfinger Injury Lawyers

I saw a YouTube Clip of a prominent American Trial Lawyer not long ago. It was very “us against them” in tone, but the messaging rang true.

For years, and in some cases, for decades, hard working people pay their hard earned after tax dollars to car insurers for premium payments. In Ontario, it’s illegal to drive a car without car insurance. So, paying your car premiums is the law; so you have to pay these premiums if you want to drive legaly.

More often than not, these payments are made to the same insurance company for years because studies show that people don’t often change insurance companies. That means you’re dealing with the same insurance company year, after year.

And year after year, nothing out of the ordinary will happen. You will pay your insurance premiums, and receive the occasional letter from your car insurer enclosing updated policy information and slips. But that’s pretty much it. You won’t ask a lot from your car insurer. And, in return, they won’t ask a lot from you aside from demanding the payment of premiums.

Car accidents and catastrophic events are the exception. They aren’t the rule. You can go your whole life without ever being involved in a serious car accident. And, let’s hope that’s the case because nobody wants to be involved in a car accident.

But, in the rare circumstance that you’ve been hurt or injured in a car accident; you would expect that the insurer who you have been dealing with for years to be there at your side in order to pay you the compensation which you deserve.

At the end of the day, you were in the wrong place, at the wrong time and have done nothing wrong. All that you are seeking is that you are compensated fairly for your losses, along with your pain and suffering.

But this is not how things work in personal injury cases. Instead of helping you out, the insurance company will use their immense resources to fight your claim every step of the way. They will pay experts, investigators and their lawyers thousands and thousands of dollars (if not more), to make sure that you aren’t compensated a single dime.

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Published on: September 22, 2025

In a Personal Injury Case: It’s all about Credibility, Credibility, Credibility

By Goldfinger Injury Lawyers

I was chatting with my 8 year old son not long ago about house prices.

He was curious as to why a small home in geographically desirable part of Toronto would sell for more than a much larger home in less desirable town with less amenities and less access to services.

We spoke about the golden rule of real estate: Location, Location, Location.

People will pay more money for a home with easy access to transit, postal services, entertainment, schools, potable water etc. Living off the grid might be desirable for some, but not most people, and is far more difficult than living on the grid.

There is a golden rule for personal injury law as well: Credibility, Credibility, Credibility.

If a Court doesn’t accept what a Plaintiff has to say about their case; then chances are that the Plaintiff won’t win.

The same can be said for a Defendant. If a Court doesn’t accept the Defendant’s evidence, then there is a very good chance that the Defendant will not be successful.

But, here is the hurdle for the Plaintiff.

The Defendant, in the vast majority of personal injury cases, will only be able to provide evidence as it relates to liability (how the accident happened). The Defendant will not be able to speak to the other major 2 elements of a personal injury case. The Defendant cannot provide evidence with respect to causation. Nor can a Defendant provide evidence as it relates to injuries or damages. Any by not being able to comment on these areas, the Defendant can win the case. It’s an example of less is more. The Defendant won’t be able to dig themselves into a hole by saying something which they shouldn’t say; or by rubbing a judge or jury the wrong way. The Defendant will stick to the information which they know as it relates to liability; and then; in the majority of cases won’t have anything left to say.

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Published on: September 17, 2025

Contingency Fees for Personal Injury Lawyers vs. Contingency Fees for Realtors

By Goldfinger Injury Lawyers

I have often seen a comparison between personal injury lawyers and real estate agents because of the way that they bill their clients.

Both realtors and personal injury lawyers take on files on a contingency fee basis. That means that they only get paid, unless there is an element of success (financial recovery) in the case. It has never made sense to me that personal injury lawyers and real estate agents are both paid on a contingency fee basis when the deals, the circumstances of the clients, and degree of difficult are so different when comparing the two industries.

Personal injury lawyers don’t need to take cases on a contingency fee basis. But, in the overwhelming majority of cases, we need to do so because our clients can’t afford to pay the high cost associated with modern day litigation. Even the most modest hourly rates are expensive. Even Court filing fees being charged by the Ministry of the Attorney General are expensive. The Court filing fee for a Statement of Claim is $243, which does not cover the cost of serving it which will tack on an extra few hundred dollars. The cost of filing a trial record with the Court is a staggering $859. On Court filing fees alone for a Statement of Claim and for filing a trial record, without taking into consideration any costs for a lawyer’s time, or the cost of a process server to get these documents served, an innocent accident victim has to pay to the Court a whopping $1,102! How on earth would a person who is too injured to work from their accident be able to afford that, let alone a lawyer’s time in preparing these documents or fighting the case on its merits.

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Published on: September 10, 2025

Broken Back in a Car Accident Case

By Goldfinger Injury Lawyers

Our law firms handles a lot of car accident cases from across Ontario. Each case is different. But, many car accident cases all carry common threads, and common themes.

At the most basic level, a car accident case will involve Defendant Driver causing a car crash involving a Plaintiff Driver. Defendant driver will have made some sort of mistake or misjudgment while driving which personal injury lawyers refer to as negligence. If the Plaintiff cannot establish negligence (or fault) on the part of the Defendant driver, then, the case will likely fail. In order to succeed in a personal injury case, the Plaintiff must establish some sort of tort against a Defendant. This is called a cause of action. If there is no cause of action (like negligence), then a Plaintiff cannot win his or her case.

Some injuries are really bad, or catastrophic as a direct result of a car accident. Some of the worst injuries which our personal injuries lawyers see are spinal cord injuries (or injuries to the back or lumbar spine). These injuries can leave an innocent accident victim paralyzed and requiring around the clock attendant care along with loads and loads of car costs which unfortunately might not be covered by OHIP.

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Published on: September 5, 2025

Kawhi Leonard and the Toronto Raptors

By Goldfinger Injury Lawyers

Sometimes, the Toronto Injury Lawyer Blog writes about things other than personal injury law. This is one of those occasions.

Earlier this week, Pablo Torre launched a bombshell investigative report on his podcast, Pablo Torre Finds Out. It explores how the LA Clippers may have circumvented the NBA’s salary cap rules by paying their star player, former Toronto Raptor, Kawhi Leonard; through a no-show $28 million dollar endorsement contract.

It’s a must listen podcast for anyone who enjoys investigative journalism, business, basketball, and/or the Toronto Raptors. I, myself, love all of those things; so I listened to the podcast over, and over and over again.

Coincidentally, the podcast was released on Wednesday morning. That same morning I had to do all sorts of driving to meet with clients across Ontario; so I uploaded the podcast for my drive. It provided wonderful edutainment for my journey.

In listening to the podcast, I got really upset. You might be wondering why.

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Published on: August 28, 2025

The Difficulty in Winning a Personal Injury Assault Case

By Goldfinger Injury Lawyers

Goldfinger Injury Lawyers receives a lot of inquiries from people looking to advance personal injury cases arising from assaults.

An assault can take place in a variety of ways, in a variety of different places, between a variety of different people.

Think of it as a game of “Clue“. One day it can be Colonel Mustard, in the Conservatory, with the Candlestick. The next, it could be Professor Plumb, in the Ballroom, with the Lead Pipe. There are millions of different scenarios.

What does it mean to “win” one of these personal injury assault cases?

First, it’s important to make a distinction between a criminal case, and a personal injury case.

There is no compensation awarded to the assault victim in the criminal case. The assault victim is an innocent victim of a crime who stands to win nothing from the outcome of the criminal case. If the Crown is successful in proving that the accused broke the law, then the accused will be punished according to the law. This punishment can take form in many different ways. Normally, we see jail time, parole time, restrictions on gun ownership, restraining orders and/or payment of a fine to Court. The Judge can also order a payment of restitution, which is NOT an award for pain and suffering to the victim of the crime.

On the other hand, a personal injury case is all about compensation for the innocent victim of the assault (known as the Plaintiff). Therefore, “winning” a personal injury case for assault means that the Plaintiff is successful in having the Defendant pay them money for their pain, suffering and other damages compensable at law. This is what it means to “win” a personal injury case.

If a Plaintiff’s goal in the personal injury case is just to be an annoyance to the Defendant; then; there are other less expensive ways of doing that. But, if that is their goal, and if money is of no concern to them, then so be it. Lawsuits are a pain and a grand annoyance to deal with for everyday people who are not accustom to litigation. This is why wealthy people like to use lawyers.

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Published on: August 21, 2025

Artificial Intelligence and Personal Injury Law

By Goldfinger Injury Lawyers

There are some great ways which Artificial Intelligence (AI) can help personal injury lawyers run their practice and help their clients.

But, there are some major pitfalls to leaning too heavily on AI.

Lawyers who use artificial intelligence the wrong way will get punished. I am reminded of the decision of Ko v. Li, 2025 ONSC 2965 (CanLII) where the lawyer included in her factum references to several non-existent or fake precedent court cases. In her oral argument in open court the lawyer relied on two non-existent precedent cases from her factum.

This is a bad use of AI. There will be no substitute for a lawyer reviewing the work being submitted to the Court. The lawyer is ultimately responsible. “The Buck Stops Here“.

Lawyers can use AI to prepare all sorts of pleadings and documents, but, if those lawyers don’t check the work being submitted, they are doing so at their own peril.

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Published on: August 13, 2025

Motions which Waste the Court’s Time

By Goldfinger Injury Lawyers

In personal injury cases, you will hear a lot of lawyers, mediators, insurers and judges tell injured accident victims who are unfamiliar with civil litigation that the Courts are slow on account of a lack of resources. That’s very true.

But, what does having a lack of court resources look like and what does it mean?

What having a lack of resources means is that there isn’t enough money in the civil justice system to hear all of the cases which need to be heard.

This plays out with a shortage of judges, a shortage of court staff, and a lack of operating physical courtrooms themselves.

This is not because people don’t want to serve in these roles, or because we don’t want people to have their day in Court. It’s because there isn’t enough money budgeted to hire more people to handle the workload for the volumes of cases which need to be heard.

I’ve see cases which were commenced in Brampton, and then moved to Kitchener because the Brampton courthouse didn’t have the people to have the case heard. I’ve seen jurors drive to Brampton, only then to be bused to Kitchener for a jury trial because the trial could not be heard in Brampton that day.

Having practiced personal injury law for over 20 years, I’ve made note of some steps which could ease the burden on Courthouses and the civil litigation system, without burdening or making dramatic changes to civil litigation as we know it. Currently, there is a civil rules review committee which assembled and has made a number of recommendations to better stream line civil litigation cases, such as personal injury cases.

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