Category: Car Accidents

There is a great deal of legislation which is governing the exploitation of motor vehicles as well as the consequences which take place in an eventual accident. We have the Traffic Acts which governs the way you are supposed to behave while taking part in the traffic in the province of Ontario as well as the Insurance Act which is currently in force and regulates the consequences deriving from an accident. It’s safe to say that the legislation is extensive enough and it is designated to cover all hypotheses, even though precedents tend to take place every now and then. However, there is a whole lot of things that have to be considered when talking about motor vehicle accidents that it seems most appropriate to cover the most common reasons for which they tend to occur.

Distracted Driving

This is likely to be the most universal reason for which accidents happen. However, it’s also the most common because it envelops a lot of other reasons into one sentence. Distracted driving stands for everything that is capable of capturing your attention such as one-hand driving, talking on the phone, smoking a cigarette while driving, not paying attention to the current road condition and their specifications and many more. In any case, the result is always the same – horrible motor vehicle accidents with high mortality rate. This is mainly due to the fact that these accidents tend to happen at really high speed as the drivers are fully conscious and they are confident that they are handling the situation just fine.

Driving Under Influence (DUI)

Drunk driving is also something that’s incredibly dangerous and, unfortunately, common. Driving under the influence is also something which encompasses a lot of other reasons, much like distracted driving. As per the Highway Traffic Act of Ontario almost all kinds of substance abuses are strictly prohibited when it comes to driving. The most common one of them, of course, is alcohol. It impairs the driver’s ability to take proper conduct and almost always results in an accident. Driving under the influence of sedatives and other medication that can impair reflexes is covered under these laws. Usually motor vehicle accidents tend to be on high speed which in turn causes fatal injuries and disabilities.

Technical malfunction

This is also something quite common on the streets of Ontario. However, this is particularly interesting because it leaves the doors open for a civil lawsuit under the premises of product liability. This is one of the personal injury areas which pose great interest to the practitioners as the cases are often targeted towards major corporations, which ensures wealthy commissions. However, it’s also worth noting that this type of liability is covered by the Contractual and the Civil law of Ontario with provisions being set forth in the Contractual legislation as well as in the Common law statues of the province.

There have been some recent changes to the regulations which govern the claiming of car accident benefits. Once again, the government of Canada alongside the province of Ontario has decided that it’s reasonable to increase the amount of the deductible in car accident compensations. Let’s dig a bit deeper into this.

It goes without saying that legislation in Canada, regardless of the municipality, has its own debatable regulations. Well, it’s safe to say that the deductible clause is one rather questionable provision, to say the very least. Even though the opinion of a lawyer in the matter might be a bit subjective because it affects directly the amount of money that he’s going to get out of his contingency fee, it’s worth taking into consideration out of strict professional point of view.

With this in mind, there is a growing discussion amongst many practicing lawyers in Ontario that the deductible provision is particularly unfair and fails to deliver the justice that the law is supposed to. This particular provision stipulates that the at-fault party is entitled to a deduction that can go to as much as $30,000 in car accident cases. So, let’s say you’ve been involved in an accident of the kind and you claim $60,000 worth of compensation. You get the verdict in your favor and you get the compensation that you filed for. Right there, on the spot, you are going to receive $30,000 less because of this provision. And why is that? Well, that is because it’s considered justified and protective of the opposing party.

So, let’s sum up – you get to incur the damages, you get to pay your medical and rehab bills and legal fees and you get to receive $30,000 less than what you are actually entitled to. While there might be merit behind this clause, it’s particularly challenging to dig it out.

The deductible shows that there isn’t enough trust behind the verdict. The verdict is the court act which regulates particular social relation. This is the essence of the law itself. If there is a post imposed clause which alters the verdict itself, this puts the entire nature of the law in question. The same is the case with the deductible. The fact that such clauses exist, it means that the legislative arm is putting in question the ability of the court to properly assess the claim and that it might issue an excessive verdict.

In any case, this particular clause has given birth to fierce debates. However, it seems that the legislative responsibility doesn’t give it many credits because just recently, this deductible was once again increased, contrary to what a lot of people may have expected. If you have a claim to file which might get into complexities due to the recent changes, it is best to connect with an injury lawyer who is conversant with these legal requirements.

Personal injury law is complicated as it is. Multiple car crashes, however, pose a whole new page of complications that are sometimes nearly impossible to deal with. Multiple claims, multiple claimants, tons of rights to be considered and numerous insurance policies – all of these have to be taken into thorough consideration while settling a versatile dispute of the kind. If you or a loved one is injured in a similar accident, it is essential that you go ahead and find a lawyer to ensure that you get maximum compensation for the damages.

One of the things that might pose a lot of difficulty is the fact that everyone is going to be running away from responsibility. Fault determination rules are going to be setting forth the insurance companies that are going to have to repay other drivers and they are all going to try to limit their financial exposure to the fullest. With this in mind, blames are going to be shifted. That is why personal injury lawyers step in apart from other law enforcement agencies.

The recreation of the accident and the proper determination of what actually happened could be incredibly challenging. When multiple vehicles are involved in one big car crash there are a lot of factors to be considered. Who was tailgating? Who was talking on the phone? Were the road conditions proper? The answers to these questions are going to have deciding roles when it comes to the outcome of the entire event and they might be impossible to get. In any case, it’s incredibly hard to determine particular faulty parties in situations of the kind, simply because the majority of the drivers are going to instantly argue about their involvement and the extent of their responsibility. It’s not easy to determine whether or not someone is actually telling the truth in a case involving 40 other drivers who are all claiming the same thing – that they didn’t have any responsibility for the cause of the accident.

The truth is that the majority of multiple-crash cases are almost always going to conclude with out of court settlements as this is the easiest and the quickest way for people to get what they are in for. Of course, there are going to be people who are actually at fault and they know that they are in strong position as proving and determining fault is incredibly expensive in situations of the kind. That’s why they are likely to be inclined to pushing the case towards a civil lawsuit in order to get the liability lifted.

In any case, there are tons of factors to be properly weighed in and the proper conduct of the matters is going to have a detrimental impact on the outcome of the event. Liability stemming from a car crash involving tens of vehicles is going to be incredibly hard to come forward to and that’s why these cases are always overly complicated.

When it comes to personal injury law, it’s worth noting that the majority of the cases are going to come resulting from a motor vehicle accident. However, putting aside car accidents, motor bicycle accidents are certainly the next most common and dangerous type. The main reason for this is because they are going to leave the cyclist exposed as the only thing that’s going to provide some sort of protection is the specific gear that they have to wear. However, this is far from being enough and the results are often terrible. A wide range of the severe motor cycle accidents are going to result in death while even more are going to result in terrible mutilations, broken bonds, ripped tendons and other incredibly severe orthopedic injuries.

This is why they deserve a special place in the legislation of Ontario and that’s thoroughly taken into account by the enactment of the Highway Traffic Act. This piece of legislation sets forth the incredibly strict driving regulations that have to be considered every time you sit behind the wheel or you start operating a motor cycle.

Insurance Act of Ontario

However, the truth is that the majority of cases are going to be subjected to insurance claims as they are not going to get through the court room. This is mainly due to the fact that the Insurance Act of Ontario is pretty comprehensive and it has substantial amount of regulations which are going to be incredibly beneficial if you find yourself involved in a situation of the kind. For instance, the aforementioned piece of legislation sets forth the so called Rules of Fault Determination which have on particular rule that’s commonly referred to as “no fault” rule. This means that you would be compensated for your damages, regardless of the whether or not you are found at fault. The only significant influence that this is going to have is going to be in relation with your insurance policy. If you are found at fault you would have to pay higher amounts of monthly premiums as your risk factor is going to increase as a result of the accident.

Hire a personal injury lawyer

However, the truth is that the investigation is going to be carried out by the insurance company and you have to be incredibly vigilant in order to ensure that everything is kept in check. This is going to have a significant impact on the outcome as some insurance companies might prefer to skew the actual circumstances in their favor in order to ensure a more profitable outcome. This is why it might be a good idea to rely on the help of a professional attorney to navigate this particular process on your behalf and ensure a hassle-free situation. With plenty of trusted and experienced legal firms in Toronto, it will not be difficult to find a lawyer willing to represent your rights.

As you may know, the area of Ontario is governed by the Rules of Fault Determination dully laid out in the Insurance Act of Ontario. This means that the “No Fault” rule is in full force which suggests that you are going to be compensated for your damages regardless of whether you are found to be at fault. However, even though the fault wouldn’t impact your legal right to get compensated as that’s what the insurance is being paid for, your insurance rate is likely to go up.

If you have been involved in a car accident or any other kind of motor vehicle accidents and you were the driver at fault, the chances are that your premiums are going to increase. However, it’s worth explaining how to determine the particular amount of the increase. This is a particularly interesting and rather difficult question to tackle because the increase rate of your premiums is going to be individual for each company and as such it’s going to vary. This is why it might be a good idea to discuss this particular issue with your insurance company prior to purchasing the policy. This is going to provide you with a clear idea of how the insurance rates are going to change in time in case you’ve been involved in a car accident and it’s your fault.

You should also bear in mind that any subsequent car accident that is being caused by you and you’ve been found at fault is going to continue to increase your premium rates. In some particular cases, the insurance company would have the right to actually cancel the policy as you are going to present too much of a risk factor for it.

Furthermore, there are other additional factors which are going to impact the amount of the increase. The seriousness of the accident, the type of car that you are driving as well as the gravity of the damages are all going to impact the increase in the rate. With this in mind, it is definitely in your best interest to pick up an insurer which is going to provide you with the best terms and the lowest rates.

However, the best way to avoid all of the aforementioned hassle is simply to drive safely. If you adhere to the rules and regulations set forth by the Traffic Act of Ontario, the chances of you being involved in an accident are going to decrease dramatically. Furthermore, if you abide by the provisions and are involved in an accident you are far less likely to be found at fault which isn’t going to have an impact on your premium rates. Discuss your case with an injury lawyer in Brantford that is experienced with tort laws. Not only will they be able to assist you with the documentation and filing for compensation but of the case isn’t settled out of court, they have the experience to stand and represent you through the trial.