sesamestreet
Well-known member
Does anyone have experience with "personal injury lawyers" ala diamond & diamond?
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Got rear ended on the 401 yesterday....
- Thread starter sesamestreet
- Start date
sesamestreet
Well-known member
Well that helps. It was literally the first place I was thinking of going. There are so many of these, hard to know what's good.
JTR
Well-known member
They've been under investigation by the Law Society of Upper Canada recently, as I remember reading a few articles. They've also got 3 star average on yelp.
Try this http://www.lawyerratingz.com/search...10&1=Personal+Injury+/+Disability&ratedonly=1
Try this http://www.lawyerratingz.com/search...10&1=Personal+Injury+/+Disability&ratedonly=1
sesamestreet
Well-known member
I was hoping to get a recommendation of one that's been tried before. Also interested in the "don't pay until you win" variety.
my 2015 thruxton is totalled and I'm not feeling too good about the insurance company's upcoming settlement. I want to be ready in case things don't end up as expected. Also I was going to just let insurance handle it and get the value for my bike but because the kid and his 4 passengers stupidly lied to the police officer at the scene (contrary to my witness' statement, seriously thank god that man came out of his car in the middle f the 401 to hand me that ripped piece of paper) I would love to excercize my rights tO the full extent and teach that G2 carrying shitstain a lesson in honesty.
my 2015 thruxton is totalled and I'm not feeling too good about the insurance company's upcoming settlement. I want to be ready in case things don't end up as expected. Also I was going to just let insurance handle it and get the value for my bike but because the kid and his 4 passengers stupidly lied to the police officer at the scene (contrary to my witness' statement, seriously thank god that man came out of his car in the middle f the 401 to hand me that ripped piece of paper) I would love to excercize my rights tO the full extent and teach that G2 carrying shitstain a lesson in honesty.
FLSTC
Well-known member
As long as the other guy is assessesd at 100% at-fault and you are assessed at 0% at-fault, that's the end of your interaction with each other.
Your damages all come from your own insurer. Lawyers mostly involved to ensure your insuror is covering your injury / medical expenses as much as warranted. A personal injury lawyer would probably also recommend assessment by the appropriate medical professionals to ensure sufficient evidence is available to support your injuriy and treatment claim.
Payout on the bike may be in question, but you may be able to negotiate that yourself with some advice here and save whatever the lawyer would charge for that. The $ comes out of your DCPD coverage - no recovery from the other party, so no punishmemt for them here. That being said, you're entitled to get the best deal and I suspect the first offer from your insuror won't be the best (they're in the business to minimize expenses, n'est pas)
Your damages all come from your own insurer. Lawyers mostly involved to ensure your insuror is covering your injury / medical expenses as much as warranted. A personal injury lawyer would probably also recommend assessment by the appropriate medical professionals to ensure sufficient evidence is available to support your injuriy and treatment claim.
Payout on the bike may be in question, but you may be able to negotiate that yourself with some advice here and save whatever the lawyer would charge for that. The $ comes out of your DCPD coverage - no recovery from the other party, so no punishmemt for them here. That being said, you're entitled to get the best deal and I suspect the first offer from your insuror won't be the best (they're in the business to minimize expenses, n'est pas)
Excellent personal injury lawyers - ThomsonRogers.
Handled my claim with ease, with just the right mix of professionalism and aggressiveness towards the other parties.
Handled my claim with ease, with just the right mix of professionalism and aggressiveness towards the other parties.
sesamestreet
Well-known member
there has been no mention of fault yet. I am being assessed by my chirpopractor as well as my family doctor, got x rays and all that.
Also the insurance company wants me to release the bike to them from the tow yard because storage is $60/day there, but the towers and even my parents are saying not to release the bike until I get a $ figure (because it IS totalled) because that way I have leverage to get the proper payout. Is this true?
Unless you're seriously enough injured that you're considering suing them I'm not 100% confident it's worth lawyering up. It'll cost you more than you stand to gain out of it, so I'm not sure what the point would be.
If your only concern is getting fair value for your bike, that's between you and your insurance company, and it's negotiable - do NOT accept the first offer unless it's fair - negotiate and insist on what you want, and be able to back it up with proof of value - other comparable bikes in your local geographic area (They'll find that one dirt cheap bike in the middle of nowhere somewhere accessible only by dogsled, and then present that to you as a valuation, don't accept it) and then insist on what you want. If they don't negotiate in good faith or come to an amicable settlement then you pursue it legally, but I doubt it will need to go that far - it will cost them more money to defend themselves then it would to just cut you a cheque for a more reasonable dollar figure.
Anyhow, the police certainly charged him with rear ending you (It's an automatic at-fault basically) and that alone will "teach him a lesson", so anything you can do legally won't hurt him anymore really, it'll just be his insurance company paying. His premiums will skyrocket at his next renewal regardless of what happens now, or really how much the final dollar figure ends up costing his insurance company. Your insurance policy/record to the contrary will be untouched as you were not at fault, so regardless of the final dollar figures you walk away smelling of roses.
And yes, avoid Diamond and Diamond - skeevy company under a lot of investigation right now, and you won't even be dealing with them anyways, they just farm everything out in the end.
If your only concern is getting fair value for your bike, that's between you and your insurance company, and it's negotiable - do NOT accept the first offer unless it's fair - negotiate and insist on what you want, and be able to back it up with proof of value - other comparable bikes in your local geographic area (They'll find that one dirt cheap bike in the middle of nowhere somewhere accessible only by dogsled, and then present that to you as a valuation, don't accept it) and then insist on what you want. If they don't negotiate in good faith or come to an amicable settlement then you pursue it legally, but I doubt it will need to go that far - it will cost them more money to defend themselves then it would to just cut you a cheque for a more reasonable dollar figure.
Anyhow, the police certainly charged him with rear ending you (It's an automatic at-fault basically) and that alone will "teach him a lesson", so anything you can do legally won't hurt him anymore really, it'll just be his insurance company paying. His premiums will skyrocket at his next renewal regardless of what happens now, or really how much the final dollar figure ends up costing his insurance company. Your insurance policy/record to the contrary will be untouched as you were not at fault, so regardless of the final dollar figures you walk away smelling of roses.
And yes, avoid Diamond and Diamond - skeevy company under a lot of investigation right now, and you won't even be dealing with them anyways, they just farm everything out in the end.
There may not have been an assessment of fault by the police, at the scene, but by default the Rules of Fault Determination (used by your insurer) assume 100% fault for someone who rear ends you. Contrary to what PrivatePilot says if you were told to go to a collision reporting centre and this occurred on a limited access highway, and no charges were laid at the scene, there will be no charges at all. Sorry but that's the way the system works, for good or ill. If he has "claim forgiveness" on his insurance and no other claims, his rates won't even go up.
THIS IS NOT LEGAL ADVICE. GO SEE A LAWYER FOR YOUR LEGAL RIGHTS. BELOW IT'S JUST MY TWO CENTS.
There's a plethora of personal injury lawyers who will love to take your case. There are strings attached to the "lawyer doesn't get paid until the client does." Typically for each $1 you settle for with the insurance company, the lawyers get about $0.30. Rumors are that in some cases, it can be as high as $0.50 on the dollar. This means that if you settle with the insurance company for $10,000 (as an example), the lawyer will charge you (and take out of the settlement) $3,000-$5,000 out of the settlement.
Then you have to remember that if you do not settle and go to trial, in Ontario, the loser pays. So while the lawyer does not get paid until you get paid may be true, if you lose and have to pay the other side's costs, you may be looking at tens of thousands of dollars in legal costs payable to the other side.
Finally, legal actions move very slow in Ontario. It is not unusual for lawsuit to take 3-6 years, before it settles; longer if you go to trial. At the end of the day, you might see a few tens of thousands of dollars, or a judgment against you for tens of thousands of dollars (depending on the outcome). Is it worth it?
On the Law Society of Ontario's website, there is a referral site, where they can put you in touch with a lawyer, to discuss your options: https://www.lsuc.on.ca/lsrs/. Good luck.
There's a plethora of personal injury lawyers who will love to take your case. There are strings attached to the "lawyer doesn't get paid until the client does." Typically for each $1 you settle for with the insurance company, the lawyers get about $0.30. Rumors are that in some cases, it can be as high as $0.50 on the dollar. This means that if you settle with the insurance company for $10,000 (as an example), the lawyer will charge you (and take out of the settlement) $3,000-$5,000 out of the settlement.
Then you have to remember that if you do not settle and go to trial, in Ontario, the loser pays. So while the lawyer does not get paid until you get paid may be true, if you lose and have to pay the other side's costs, you may be looking at tens of thousands of dollars in legal costs payable to the other side.
Finally, legal actions move very slow in Ontario. It is not unusual for lawsuit to take 3-6 years, before it settles; longer if you go to trial. At the end of the day, you might see a few tens of thousands of dollars, or a judgment against you for tens of thousands of dollars (depending on the outcome). Is it worth it?
On the Law Society of Ontario's website, there is a referral site, where they can put you in touch with a lawyer, to discuss your options: https://www.lsuc.on.ca/lsrs/. Good luck.
Huh? What's this about?
Glad you're okay. Now go buy a new Thruxton R.
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Ethereal
Well-known member
justride
Well-known member
Just make sure you get more money than the lawyers and beware of false advertising
couple articles from the toronto star to read!
In the wild west world of personal injury lawyer
https://www.thestar.com/news/invest...ersonal-injury-firms-make-dubious-claims.html
Contingency fees should be limited
https://www.thestar.com/news/queens...ry-lawyers-should-be-limited-report-says.html
I would not go to D&D after see him and them on the news!
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