Published on:

By

Often people ask me what the biggest factor is for innocent accident victims to receive real financial compensation for their personal injury case. This is a wonderful question.

Sometimes, cases will be strong on damages, but weak on liability.

Other times cases will be strong on liability, but weak on damages.

And other times, cases can be strong on both liability and damages.

But regardless or whether or not the case is strong (or weak), on liability and damages; those factors and not the most important thing to getting a Plaintiff the compensation which s/he deserves.

The largest factor in whether or not a Plaintiff gets paid (or not) is insurance coverage. Simply put, if there is insurance coverage there; and there are no coverage issues; the Plaintiff has a strong chance of getting paid if their case succeeds on damages and liability. But, if there is no coverage there; the Plaintiff; in all likelihood, will not get paid regardless of whether or not their case is strong on liability and damages.

Continue reading →

Published on:

By

“Thou shall not lie” is the ninth commandment, and it’s a pretty good commandment to abide by. This is reaffirmed at law when before a witness steps on the stand, or provide oral evidence at their examination for discovery; the witness either swears on the bible or affirms to tell the truth and not to lie.

But people are not followed around by Court Reporters and lawyers in their everyday lives. You are not required to swear to tell the truth before you start your day in the morning. Nor are you required to swear to tell the truth when you fill out some form of application. It’s just expected that you fill in the application truthfully, and not lie.

But, what are the consequences for lying on an application which may be relied on in the Courts? That’s a very good question. If often comes up in the form of insurance applications; like for life insurance, short term disability, long term disability or for mortgage insurance.

Often, at the top of these insurance applications, or on the first page there is some form of disclaimer or warning requiring the applicant to be truthful in completing the application, and identifying the consequences for not being truthful. But, few people play close attention to these details which may not be in fine print. The words might be in bold in order to better alert the applicant to the consequences, yet, they still go ignored in many cases because people have a habit of not reading (or not properly reading) standard forms.

Continue reading →

Published on:

By

Brian Goldfinger has been writing the Toronto Injury Lawyer Blog for over a decade.

In all my years of writing, I have never referred to the Toronto Blue Jays in the title of my blog.

Rarely (2-4 occasions) have I referred to the Toronto Blue Jays at all.

They’ve been an afterthought on the Toronto sports scene for many years. When I have referred to the Toronto Blue Jays in the past, it has been in a critical light. I have criticized the organization for acting like a small market team; while operating in a big market. When they do get big ideas, they never seem to execute on them properly, or at all. They play in the most competitive division in Major League Baseball; yet; they have seemed content to take a back seat to their competitors who do whatever it takes to win.

This season has been very different for the Toronto Blue Jays. They set a record for consecutive wins at home. They’re in first place in their division in July, which they haven’t done since their World Series Days back in the 90’s.

If you asked anyone who follows baseball, or who follows the Toronto Blue Jays whether to not they expected this sort of performance from the club, they would tell you this season has been the biggest surprise in baseball. Nobody; even the most optimistic fan, did not expect this level of success. In fact, if you had a prediction for the Toronto Blue Jays this season, it was that they would finish around .500; and that they would fire their manager either during the season, or at the end of the season. Based on a .500 winning percentage, it would be time for a change of manager.

But, this season has gone in a completely different direction. As of the time of preparing this edition of the Toronto Injury Lawyer Blog, the Toronto Blue Jays are winning and are relevant. There is a pleasant buzz around this team which hasn’t been seen for a very long time. This season’s performance has been unexpected in the best of ways.

Continue reading →

Published on:

By

I can’t resist the opportunity to rant and to write about two of my favourite things. In no particular order:

  1. The Toronto Raptors
  2. Personal Injury Law in Ontario

First, let’s examine the Toronto Raptors.

Even someone who doesn’t follow sports will remember back in 2019, the Toronto Raptors won their first ever NBA title.

It was hard even for a non sports fan to ignore their championship run given that it was covered by national and international media. The Toronto Raptors Championship Parade remains a modern day benchmark for North American public sport celebrations; trailing Argentina’s World Cup parade in Buenos Aires which saw an unprecedented turnout. That one was hard to beat.

From 2020-2023, the Toront0 Raptors implemented a new vision to modern basketball. It was dubbed as “Vision 6’9“, referring to the height and length of the players. Basically, the Raptors were trying to design a roster of players built entirely of identical frames, statures and heights. Their roster was composed namely of players who were around 6’6 to 6’10 or so; with supporting lengthy wingspans. The idea what that these players could rotate seamlessly and play multiple positions of the court, and defend different players on the court without need for any help. You were basically cloning one specific body type, and putting all 5 of those players out of the Court and having them play at the same time. It was positionless basketball.

The term I hear a lot more around the NBA is the term “measurables“. Does the player have the requisite measurables (height and wing span), to play?

If a player has the “measurables“, they are instantly more valued. If the player lacks those “measurables“, they are less valued or cast off altogether. If you don’t tick the physical boxes, you won’t get looked at, or won’t play.

Continue reading →

Published on:

By

There are so many tall tales in personal injury law. Things which you hear from your friends, family, therapists, neighbours, acquaintances, or random people in your community are so far off from the reality of what actually happens behind the scenes, and the work involved in a personal injury case.

The only people who really know what happens, and how things happened are the lawyers themselves.

There are a lot of reasons for this.

For starters, personal injury cases deal with new litigants, who are unfamiliar with personal injury cases, or how the law works. This is completely normal as for the majority of clients, it’s their first time hiring a personal injury lawyer, or a lawyer all together. When you are new to litigation, it’s hard to understand how things get done. It’s perfectly ok to be a first time litigant. In fact, if you’re a multiple time litigant for a personal injury case, it will give your lawyer cause for concern. You must be terribly unlucky, finding yourself repeatedly in the wrong place, at the wrong time. You will also likely have an extensive pre-accident history which will invariably come up in your personal injury case.

Continue reading →

Published on:

By

It’s not everyday you have to deal with an insurance company. It’s not an interaction which people are accustomed to.

Think about it.

You don’t need legal advice to buy a pair of shoes.

You don’t need legal advice when negotiating a price for a new/used car.

You don’t need legal advice for a parent/teacher conference at school.

You don’t need legal advice opening a bank account, or negotiating the terms of your mortgage.

What’s set out above are adult interactions which we are used to in everyday life.

But, when it comes to personal injury, car insurance and disability claims, we do need legal advice. We need legal advice because these interactions don’t happen everyday for consumers.  We need legal advice because there are complicated laws around getting compensation. We need legal advice because more often than not, these claims are disputed and often end up being litigated in Court.

Given that our personal injury lawyers deal with insurance companies on a daily basis, here are some tips which we’ve procured for you based on our experience and expertise in dealing with them.

Continue reading →

Published on:

By

It’s not everyday that a person settles their personal injury case. Getting your money from a personal injury settlement is a completely new process which you haven’t experienced, and thus, likely don’t understand.

The settlement money does not magically appear in your bank account the moment after your case settles.  If you attend at your lawyer’s office, the money does not magically appear either. There are still a few steps which need to be done. Those steps take place behind the scenes, and, for the most part, they are completely out of your control; and out of the control of your personal injury lawyer. But, understanding those steps might bring you a bit of peace of mind and will help you remain patient while you wait for the settlement funds to become available.

If you’ve made a deal with the insurance company with the help of your personal injury lawyer, the one thing you can do to move things forward is to sign the Release. If you don’t sign the Release, then the deal is not finalized and the insurance company will not requisition the cheque from their accounting department.

When a personal injury case settles, the Defendant/Insurer will require the Plaintiff to sign a Release. This is standard. Anyone who settles their case outside of Court will need to sign a Release. It will say in legalese that the case has settled for a specified amount; that the Plaintiff will NOT sue again over that specific accident/injury; and that the Plaintiff will not share the fact that the case settled all over town (a confidentiality clause is sometimes there, sometimes not). The faster which a Plaintiff signs the Release, the faster the settlement funds will be requisitioned by the insurance company.

Continue reading →

Published on:

By

Nathan Fielder has a show called “The Rehearsal“. It’s a hard show to explain. You have to see it to believe it. I find it hard to understand how the show was green lit by executives on words or a script alone. It was green lit on the genious and creativity of Nathan Fielder.

The premise, is that Nathan is obsessed about a problem and he wants to get to the route of it in order to solve the problem or make it better. Nathan believes that everything in life would be easier, if you were able to rehearse it over, and over again, until you got it right. That makes sense, but it’s completely impractical which is what makes the show so entertaining. Nathan is so obsessed with the problem that he creates an exact simulation (to the minutest of details) and rehearses the scenario it over, and over again until he better understands what’s happening so that he can get to the route of the problem and solve it. He creates intricate sets which are the exact replicas of reality; hires actors to best simulate the reality of mundane situations; and repeats scenarios over and over again until he gets them right.

It’s a wonderful premise. In part, because it’s so unrealistic in terms of the levels of time, money, effort and energy which are invested into these otherwise mundane scenarios which an ordinary person would not think twice about.

Funny enough, personal injury lawyers do a lot of rehearsing with our clients. This is called client preparation. Our law firm runs “prep sessions” for our clients before big touchstone events in their cases so that they know what to expect and so that they can perform at their best.

Continue reading →

Published on:

By

You know when you’ve been approved for Long Term Disability Benefits. That approval will usually come first verbally, and then be formalized in writing.

While, getting something in writing from the long term disability insurer might feel good, it doesn’t mean anything until the payments start coming in.

That rings true in real world examples:

Let’s say you hear from your adjuster that benefits have been approved. Great!

Then, you receive a letter from the insurance company which formalizes the approval in writing. Great again!

But, as Jerry McGuire would say “Show me the Money“.

When the insurer does examines your file, looks at how much money you made, and how much money you’ve received from other collateral sources, it turns out that the benefit owing to you amounts to ZERO! That means that the long term disability insurer’s approval amounts to no tangible benefits for you; even though you’ve been approved. The reality is that you’ve been approved for nothing!

In that same example, it might be that the insurer had been paying you long term disability benefits. Then, they stopped because you received collateral benefits (like CPP Disability Benefits). Then, having reviewed your file, along with the amounts paid to you in long term disability benefits vs. the amounts paid to you in CPP Disability benefits; it turns out that the long term disability insurer over paid you. Now, they are seeking a repayment of benefits due to the over payment. This means that you owe the long term disability insurer money. Imagine that: a person owing an insurance company money for a over payment (completely unrelated to payments of insurance premiums).

Continue reading →

Published on:

By

Insurance companies love jury trials for personal injury cases.

But getting a trial by way of Jury trial is not automatic. The default is that the personal injury trial proceed by way of Judge alone. Having a personal injury case heard by way of Judge alone simplifies the trial itself. It’s less complex. Less lengthy. Takes up fewer Court resources. It’s cheaper, more efficient and more cost effective. How many times have you heard of a mistrial involving a Jury case because of some shenanigans involving the jury itself? Lots! Now; how many times have you heard of a mistrial by way of Judge alone? Not many! That’s because when the trial proceeds by way of Judge alone, there are fewer changes at disaster happening. These are undeniable truths.

A personal injury case which is proceeding by way of Judge alone can quickly be converted to a Jury trial if either party files a “Jury Notice”. The cost for filing a Jury Notice in a personal injury case is only $138. Insurance companies file Jury Notices as a knee jerk response to defending claims. And, all for the low, low price of $138, the framework of the case has been changed completely.

Why do insurance companies want personal injury cases to be tried by a Jury, and not by way of Judge alone? Good question!

Continue reading →

OTLA American Association for Justice Lexpert Ranked Lawyer
Contact Information
Toronto Office
167 Sheppard Ave W
Toronto, ON M2N 1M9
Phone: (416) 730-1777 Toll Free: (877) 730-1777 Fax: (416) 730-0955
London Meeting Office
341 Talbot St
London, ON N6A 2R5
Toll Free: (877) 730-1777
Peterborough Meeting Office
420 George St N #313
Peterborough, ON K9H 3R5
Toll Free: (877) 730-1777
Kitchener Meeting Office
290 King St E
Kitchener, ON N2G 2L3
Toll Free: (877) 730-1777
Owen Sound Meeting Office
1051 2nd Ave E
Owen Sound, ON N4K 2H8
Toll Free: (877) 730-1777

Past results are not indicative of future results.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Please do not include any confidential or sensitive information in a contact form, text message, or voicemail. The contact form sends information by non-encrypted email, which is not secure. Submitting a contact form, sending a text message, making a phone call, or leaving a voicemail does not create an attorney-client relationship.

Copyright © 2025, Goldfinger Law
JUSTIA Law Firm Blog Design