What To Do If An Accident Happens Outside The Ontario Province?

Now, car accidents are particularly common. While it is usually just a matter of insurance when it happens in Ontario and the claim is highly unlikely to ever reach the court, this is not the case if the accident happens outside of the city. This is something that you should most definitely be aware of. People drive a lot faster when they are outside of the city and that’s why the accidents are very serious and they would even end up with death in a lot of situations.

However, what happens if your accident has happened while you were in the province of Quebec, for instance? Can you use your personal injury lawyer from Ontario to handle your claim? This question isn’t that simple to answer as there are quite a few things that need to be taken into proper account.

The complicated answer

Now, the answer to this question is somewhat complex. The truth is that a personal injury lawyer is going to be able to help you out regardless of what and where it has happened. The question is whether he’d be able to legally represent you. The jurisdiction issue goes further because you need to know in which court to file your claims. This is of critical importance.

Now, usually, your personal injury lawyer from Ontario would be able to legally represent you. However, in order for you to file your claim in Ontario and not in Quebec where the actual accident really took place, you would have to prove some sort of dependency or a connection. For instance, if your injuries are too serious for you to travel to another province just to file your claim, the court will allow the latter to be filed with the court of Ontario.

Other things to consider

Now, you should be aware of the fact that this is far easier said than done. The courts take a significant amount of important circumstances into account before deciding whether the claim could be filed in a different province or not. And, this is rather logical because it prevents a significant amount of fraud. It is also important to understand that regardless of where you reside or where the accident has actually taken place, the other party might still be covered by an insurance policy which take cares of accidents in Ontario.

Of course, the best thing to do is to go ahead and ask your personal injury lawyer in Brantford about clarification on this particular issue. If, by any chance, your motion to file in Ontario gets denied, you can ask your lawyer to help you find someone else that you can trust in the other province.  Usually the lawyer will be able to help you refer to an experienced lawyer that will be able to assist you. Most of the injury lawyers all over Canada work on contingency basis, so payment will not be a factor to consider early on in the case.