FAQs

First – seek medical attention and follow the advice of your doctors.

Second – report what has happened to the police and your insurance company.

Third – call Cook Reynolds. We can help you with the forms you need to submit to the appropriate accident benefits insurer to help initiate your treatment. We can advise you with respect to dealing with the claims process for treatment and weekly benefits and advise you as to your rights. We can let you know about the potential claims you might have and put any potential defendants on notice. We can help you secure the evidence that you may need to prove your case down the road.

If you were injured in a car accident, you must report the accident to the police. This is a required step if you want to apply for SABS. If you were injured by a motor vehicle – including as a pedestrian, cyclist, motorcyclist, passenger, or driver – you qualify for accident benefits. Under Ontario’s ‘no fault’ insurance, you apply for accident benefits from your own insurance company, even if it was someone else who was at fault. If you are not insured, then you may apply against the insurance policy of your immediate family or the driver who caused the accident.

Income Replacement Benefits: If you are unable to work, you may qualify for benefits of 70% of your gross income, capped at $400 per week. You have the option to increase coverage up to $1,000 per week.

Caregiver Benefits: If you cannot provide care to a dependent, you could receive compensation to hire someone to help you care for them.

Non-Earner Benefits: If you don’t qualify for income replacement, are a student, and cannot continue daily life as before the incident, you may qualify to receive $185 per week.

Medical, Rehabilitation & Attendant Care Benefits: This will help with medical and rehab expenses not covered by a private health plan or the government. Mandatory coverage includes up to $65,000 for non-catastrophic injuries or up to $1 million for catastrophic injuries.

Death & Funeral Benefits: In the event you pass away as a result of an accident, $25,000 is paid to your spouse, $10,000 to each of your dependents, and a maximum of $6,000 for funeral expenses.

Let’s talk about it! Sometimes we blame ourselves for not doing everything we could to avoid an accident. Often, there are numerous causes and multiple parties at fault for an accident. Where there are multiple parties at fault, the apportionment of fault is usually expressed as a percentage.

We can give you advice on who is likely to bear what percentage of fault for your accident. Even if you are entirely at fault, you may have entitlement to Statutory Accident Benefits.

Call us immediately. There are very short timelines for giving notice in slip and fall cases, particularly where the fall is due to snow or ice.

For Municipalities, the Notice Period is 10 Days. For other defendants, there is a Notice Period of 60 Days if on private or commercial property.

It is important that these Notice Letters go out as soon as possible and evidence is obtained that you may need to prove your case.

The short answer is that it’s complicated. For slip and fall claims there are very short timelines for giving notice when the fall is due to ice or snow. For issuing a Statement of Claim, the general rule is that it must be issued within two years of the cause of action arising.

Generally speaking, it is best to ensure you speak to a lawyer promptly in order that all timelines are being met. We are happy to provide a free consultation and discuss the timelines that apply in your particular circumstances.

First – seek medical attention and follow the advice of your doctors.

Second – report what has happened to the police and your insurance company.

Third – call Cook Reynolds. We can help you with the forms you need to submit to the appropriate accident benefits insurer to help initiate your treatment. We can advise you with respect to dealing with the claims process for treatment and weekly benefits and advise you as to your rights. We can let you know about the potential claims you might have and put any potential defendants on notice. We can help you secure the evidence that you may need to prove your case down the road.

Call us immediately. There are very short timelines for giving notice in slip and fall cases, particularly where the fall is due to snow or ice.

For Municipalities, the Notice Period is 10 Days. For other defendants, there is a Notice Period of 60 Days if on private or commercial property.

It is important that these Notice Letters go out as soon as possible and evidence is obtained that you may need to prove your case.

If you were injured by a motor vehicle – including as a pedestrian, cyclist, motorcyclist, passenger, or driver – you qualify for accident benefits. Under Ontario’s ‘no fault’ insurance, you apply for accident benefits from your own insurance company, even if it was someone else who was at fault.

Income Replacement Benefits: If you are unable to work, you may qualify for benefits of 70% of your gross income, capped at $400 per week.

Medical, Rehabilitation & Attendant Care Benefits: This will help with medical and rehab expenses not covered by a private health plan or the government. Mandatory coverage includes up to $65,000 for non-catastrophic injuries or up to $1 million for catastrophic injuries.

Death & Funeral Benefits: In the event you pass away as a result of an accident, $25,000 is paid to your spouse, $10,000 to each of your dependents, and a maximum of $6,000 for funeral expenses.

Let’s talk about it! Sometimes we blame ourselves for not doing everything we could to avoid an accident. Often, there are numerous causes and multiple parties at fault for an accident. Where there are multiple parties at fault, the apportionment of fault is usually expressed as a percentage.

We can give you advice on who is likely to bear what percentage of fault for your accident. Even if you are entirely at fault, you may have entitlement to Statutory Accident Benefits.

Damages include general damages (pain and suffering), special damages (measurable financial losses such as lost income and medical bills), economic losses, future care costs, housekeeping and home maintenance, and Family Law Act damages for family members in the event of injury or death.

Contact us to discuss what types of compensation may be available to you or your family.

The short answer is that it’s complicated. Timelines vary depending on the type of claim you are bringing and the municipality. For slip and fall claims there are very short timelines for giving notice when the fall is due to ice or snow.

Generally speaking, you have 30 days to apply for accident benefits. For issuing a Statement of Claim, the general rule is that it must be issued within two years of the cause of action arising.

It is best to speak to a lawyer promptly in order that all timelines are being met. We are happy to provide a free consultation and discuss the timelines that apply in your particular circumstances.

Call us! Cook Reynolds can help you determine whether or not you have a case against your LTD insurer. This will depend upon the specific wording of the policy and your specific medical limitations. We can also help you with the claims process and dealing with adjusters.

Many insurers when denying your benefits will offer an internal appeal process in which you can submit further information and ask them to reconsider. We can discuss whether appealing is something you should do.

Asking the insurer to reconsider their position on an appeal frequently does not change their position and often delays the process. In some cases, it might make sense to commence an action rather than submit to an internal appeal process.

Quite often we see clients who have received letters that their LTD benefits will be terminated around the two year mark. Many policies have a test change around this point in time where the test changes from an “own occupation” to an “any occupation” test.

This is not always the case and it is important to have a lawyer review the policy carefully to determine what policy provisions apply to your case.

It is important to know that the “any occupation” test does not literally mean any occupation. Usually there are qualifiers in the policy that the proposed occupation must be suited to you – by reason of your education, training, or experience – and of a comparable level of remuneration.

In some policies there may be a clause that further defines total disability to include your being unable to earn a certain percentage of the gross income you were earning at the time you became disabled.

If you have contributed to CPP and have a disability that regularly stops you from doing any type of work and is of long term or indefinite duration, you will probably want to apply for CPPD disability benefits. To qualify you must have a severe mental or physical disability that prevents you from doing any type of substantially gainful work on a regular basis.

Many long term disability policies will have wording that makes applying for CPP disability mandatory after a certain period of time. In some policies the wording allows them to estimate the amount of the benefit and deduct it even if you have not applied.

If you have already applied and been denied, often the appeal period is only 90 days from the date of the denial letter. Therefore, it is important that you reach out to an experienced lawyer so that they can review the original decision and see if there are grounds for appeal. In many cases, the claim has been wrongfully denied and time is of the essence.

When someone is injured it usually affects their employment as a result of them not being able to go back to work. There are times where an injured person may lose their job and need representation to ensure that they are treated fairly and their rights are protected.

If you’ve been fired, you need to obtain legal advice before agreeing or signing anything. Let us help you secure the severance package you deserve. It is important that you understand your rights and make an informed decision on how to best handle your employer.

The following outlines the statutory minimums under Ontario’s ESA, 2000:

It is important to note that the statutory minimums generally do not fully satisfy the employers’ obligation and the employees’ entitlement. Cook Reynolds LLP can help ensure that you receive the compensation you are entitled to.

A mediation is a facilitated settlement meeting. The lawyers often hire an experienced lawyer or other experienced person with expertise in the subject area of the case to act as a neutral party and to help them resolve the case. The mediator is not there to decide the case or make any rulings or orders – they are there to keep the parties talking and focused on the common goal of resolution.

A mediation is what is called a “without prejudice” settlement discussion. That means what you or anyone else says at the mediation cannot be used later on in the litigation or at the trial of the action.

Mediation is usually the best opportunity during the litigation to settle the case. Knowing a mediation is approaching, lawyers prepare by ensuring they have marshalled the necessary evidence, obtained any documents necessary to settle the case, and secured expert opinions if appropriate. Most importantly, the parties will have set aside time to resolve the case and the decision makers – the clients – will be present to hear the position of the other parties and ultimately decide if the case resolves.