Personal Injury Lawyers - Who Are They and What Can They Do For You?

Please note that the information provided herein is not legal advice and is provided for informational and educational purposes only. If you need legal advice with respect to retaining a personal injury lawyer, you should seek professional assistance.

Personal Injury Lawyers: who are they?
A personal injury lawyer in Toronto is trained to represent (e.g. individuals, corporations, partnerships, etc.) involved in a civil dispute. Toronto lawyers are called to the bar in Ontario, which means they are learned in and can practice virtually any type of law anywhere in Ontario. In civil cases, unlike criminal cases (where the state or government is the party that is prosecuting an accused person), one or more parties sue each other and the state is typically not a party to the proceedings.

What Personal Injury Lawyers can do for you.
Some of the things which personal injury lawyers can assist you in include (but are not limited to) the following:

1. Determining and advising you on your rights and whether you have a claim (e.g. for damages, for declaratory relief, for an injunction, for equitable remedies, etc.).

2. Explain the civil law process from the time you believe a claim arises through to trial, and finally to a court order and (perhaps) appealing a court order (if it gets there).

3. Negotiating with the opposing counsel to reach a settlement.

4. At trial, challenge witness' credibility and testimony.

5. At trial, present expert evidence in the form of expert testimony and reports that are favourable to their client.

6. At trial, point out past cases (called precedents) that are in their client's favour and draw analogies and parallels, while trying to distinguish unfavourable precedents.

7. At trial, protect their clients from answering inappropriate or irrelevant questions (e.g. questions that would tend to self-incriminate a party, questions which have nothing to do with the trial, or questions which makes the party give testimony which they are not competent or otherwise qualified to give, etc.).

The onus of proof
In Ontario civil trials, parties must generally establish the elements of their case on a balance of probabilities. This means 50% + 1 %. Hence, to establish that a party was negligence or breached a contract, it must establish that that party was more likely than not to have done so. If, however, the elements of the offence are established, then a judge or jury may still find no liability or reduce damages accordingly if the other party had some type of justification or excuse (e.g. undue influence, duress, etc.).

When to consult with or hire a Personal Injury Lawyer?
Immediately on becoming aware of the fact that you have been injured or suffered damages, you should consult with a personal injury lawyer. They can help take away your stress by explaining the law (e.g. your rights, your obligations, your entitlements, etc.), helping to formulate a proper strategy, and telling you about how the civil law process works from start to finish. Again, if you need legal advice with respect to retaining a personal injury lawyer, you should seek professional assistance.

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