FAQs
Find answers organized by the area of law most relevant to your situation. Don’t see what you’re looking for? We offer free consultations.
These questions apply to most types of cases we handle. If you're unsure where to start, this is a good place.
First, we always provide a free initial consultation. During that consultation we will talk about the type of fee arrangement that applies to your case.
If you have been injured in an accident, have lost a loved one in an accident, or have a disability claim against a long term disability (LTD) insurer, we will typically agree upon a contingency agreement. Recently the Law Society of Ontario mandated the form of the contingency agreement and set the maximum rate at 30%. We will talk to you at our initial consultation about the rate that will apply in your particular case.
For other types of cases we may agree on an hourly rate. Legal fees and expenses are a concern of every client and we want to be as transparent and open as we can about fees and disbursements. We will take the time to fully explain our fees. It is important that you have a full understanding, so please ask us any questions you may have.
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, however this often does not bar a claim if the application is late. For issuing a Statement of Claim, the general rule is that it must be issued within two years of the cause of action arising. However, there are discoverability rules that apply, and the limitation period is sometimes found not to have started to run until the claim was discoverable by you and commencing litigation was reasonable.
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.
There is no question that lawsuits take time. Sometimes they take several years. We will do our best to move your case forward as quickly as possible. Sometimes it will take a number of months or even years to determine how you will recover from injuries or until you reach your maximum medical recovery.
As the case moves forward we will also diligently watch for opportunities to settle the case. Sometimes we can achieve a settlement before we even commence an action. We are happy to speak to you about an anticipated timeline based on the particular facts of your case.
Damages are the amount that can be awarded to you if you are successful in proving that another party has caused you to suffer injury. There are many different types of damages. Let Cook Reynolds ensure you are being fairly compensated and secure what you are entitled to.
In a tort case, some of the damages you might be entitled to include:
General Damages – Often referred to as pain and suffering. This type of damage is designed to compensate you for the loss of enjoyment of life and how your injuries have affected your ability to function and carry on a normal life.
Special Damages – These are the types of damages that you can measure in terms of money. Examples include loss of income or wages, loss of opportunity, out-of-pocket expenses, damage to property, and medical bills.
Economic Losses – If you are unable to work following the accident you can claim for past loss of wages. In addition you may have money that will be lost in the future due to an inability to work.
Future Care Costs – Money for cost of future care allows you to secure an amount necessary to acquire medical and other professional assistance, items, and services required to restore you, as much as possible, to the person you were before the injury occurred.
Family Law Act Damages – In the event of injury or death, family members can sue for their loss of care, guidance, and companionship. In addition, they may have dependency claims for the loss of shared family income, loss of household services, and many other damages.
Contact us to discuss what types of compensation may be available to you or your family.
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. For example, one party may be 75% to blame and the other may be 25% to blame.
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.
Personal injury cases cover a wide range of accidents and incidents. These questions address the most common concerns our personal injury clients bring to us.
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.
If you've been injured in a car, motorcycle, or pedestrian accident in Ontario, these answers will help you understand your next steps and your rights.
First – seek medical attention immediately and follow the advice of your doctors. Some injuries, like concussions or soft tissue damage, may not be immediately apparent.
Second – report the accident to the police from the scene if there are injuries. You must also notify your insurance company within 7 days to initiate a claim.
Third – preserve evidence if you are able. Take photos of the vehicles, the scene, and your injuries, and collect witness contact information.
Fourth – call Cook Reynolds. We will handle the insurance adjusters, help you submit the necessary forms to initiate your treatment, and advise you on your right to sue the at-fault driver.
Because Ontario operates under a “no-fault” insurance system, anyone injured by a motor vehicle — including drivers, passengers, pedestrians, and cyclists — qualifies for Statutory Accident Benefits. You apply for these benefits through your own insurance company, regardless of who caused the crash. If you do not have insurance, you can apply through the policy of the vehicle you were in or the vehicle that struck you.
These benefits are designed to provide immediate support and may include Income Replacement Benefits if you cannot work, Medical and Rehabilitation Benefits for treatments not covered by OHIP, and Attendant Care or Caregiver Benefits depending on the severity of your injuries.
You can still make a claim even if you were partially at fault. Your entitlement to Statutory Accident Benefits is not affected by fault — you receive these regardless of who caused the collision.
If you file a lawsuit (a tort claim) against the other driver, your compensation may be reduced by the percentage of fault assigned to you (known as contributory negligence). For example, if a court determines you were 25% at fault, your damages award would be reduced by 25%. An experienced lawyer can help minimize the fault attributed to you and maximize your recovery.
In Ontario, you generally have a strict two-year limitation period from the date of the accident to file a lawsuit against the at-fault driver. If you miss this deadline, you lose your right to sue. However, there are also much shorter deadlines for notifying your own insurer to claim Accident Benefits (typically 7 days). It is critical to speak with a lawyer as soon as possible to ensure all deadlines are met and evidence is preserved.
Slip and fall cases involve strict notice deadlines — especially in winter conditions. Acting quickly is critical to protecting your rights in Ontario.
First – seek medical attention immediately.
Second – report the fall to the property manager, store owner, or municipality, and ask them to document it in an incident report.
Third – document the scene. Take photos of the hazard (ice, spill, broken concrete) and your footwear. Get contact information from any witnesses.
Fourth – call Cook Reynolds immediately. Evidence like surveillance video disappears quickly, and there are very short legal timelines for giving formal written notice to the at-fault parties. We will secure the evidence and send the required notice letters on your behalf.
In Ontario, you generally have a two-year limitation period to formally file a lawsuit. However, you must provide written notice much sooner:
- 10 Days: 10 Days: If you fall on municipal property (like a city sidewalk or public facility), you must provide written notice to the municipality within 10 days.
- 60 Days: 60 Days: If your fall was caused by snow or ice on private or commercial property, you must provide written notice to the property owner or snow removal contractor within 60 days.
If you miss these notice deadlines, your claim may be permanently barred. Call a lawyer immediately to ensure these letters are sent on time.
Liability depends on exactly where you fell. If you fell on a municipal sidewalk, the city or town may be liable, but the legal threshold for proving municipal negligence is very high (gross negligence). If you fell on a private walkway, driveway, or commercial parking lot, the property owner, the tenant, or their hired snow removal contractor may be liable under the Occupiers’ Liability Act. A lawyer will investigate the property lines and maintenance contracts to identify all responsible parties.
You may still have a valid claim. Property owners often try to blame the victim by arguing they were wearing inappropriate footwear, looking at their phone, or rushing. While a court may find you partially at fault (contributory negligence), this does not eliminate the property owner’s liability — it only reduces your compensation by your percentage of fault. We regularly succeed in claims where the defense attempts to blame our clients.
If your disability claim has been denied or your benefits are being terminated, you have options. These are the questions we hear most often from LTD clients.
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.
If your injury has affected your employment, or if you've been terminated or treated unfairly by your employer, you have legal rights. Here's what you need to know.
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:
| Length of Employment | Minimum Notice Required |
|---|---|
| Under 3 months | None |
| 3 months to under 1 year | 1 week |
| 1 year to under 3 years | 2 weeks |
| 3 years to under 4 years | 3 weeks |
| 4 years to under 5 years | 4 weeks |
| 5 years to under 6 years | 5 weeks |
| 6 years to under 7 years | 6 weeks |
| 7 years to under 8 years | 7 weeks |
| 8 years or more | 8 weeks |
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.
Bruce Cook has over 20 years of experience as an insurance defence lawyer. His unique background gives him insight into both sides of the table.
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.
If you’ve been injured by a dog in Southern Ontario, we can help.
If a dog bites or attacks in Ontario, the owner is liable – period.
When a loved one is lost due to someone else's negligence, Ontario law provides specific avenues for the surviving family to seek compensation and justice.
In Ontario, wrongful death claims are governed by the Family Law Act (FLA). The Act specifies that only certain family members can bring a claim against the at-fault party. Eligible family members include the deceased’s spouse (including common-law partners), children, grandchildren, parents, grandparents, and siblings. A lawyer can help determine exactly who in your family is eligible to participate in the claim.
Eligible family members can claim both financial and emotional losses. This includes compensation for the loss of “care, guidance, and companionship.” It also covers concrete financial losses, such as the loss of the deceased’s future income that would have supported the family, the loss of household services (like childcare or home maintenance), and out-of-pocket costs including funeral and burial expenses.
If the death was the result of a car, motorcycle, or pedestrian accident, the family is entitled to immediate Death and Funeral Benefits through Ontario’s Statutory Accident Benefits Schedule (SABS). These benefits are paid by the deceased’s own auto insurance policy, regardless of who caused the crash. They typically provide a lump sum to the spouse, a lump sum to dependents, and coverage for funeral costs up to a statutory maximum. This is in addition to the right to sue the at-fault driver.
Under Ontario’s Limitations Act, the family generally has a strict two-year period from the date of the death to formally file a lawsuit against the negligent party. However, if the death involved a motor vehicle, the insurance company must be notified within 7 days to claim Statutory Accident Benefits. If the incident occurred on municipal property, written notice must be given within 10 days. It is critical to consult a lawyer as soon as possible to ensure no deadlines are missed while the family grieves.
Pedestrians have unique legal protections in Ontario. If you've been hit by a car, truck, or motorcycle, these answers will help you understand your rights.
In most personal injury cases, the injured person must prove the other party was at fault. However, under Ontario’s Highway Traffic Act, when a pedestrian is struck by a motor vehicle, the law automatically presumes the driver was negligent. This is called the “reverse onus.” The burden of proof shifts to the driver, who must prove they did everything reasonably possible to avoid hitting you.
Yes. In Ontario, any pedestrian struck by a motor vehicle is entitled to Statutory Accident Benefits, even if they do not have their own auto insurance policy. You will claim these benefits through the insurance company of the driver who hit you. These benefits help cover lost income, medical treatments not covered by OHIP, and attendant care.
If the driver who hit you flees the scene and cannot be identified, or if they are driving without insurance, you are still protected. You can apply for Statutory Accident Benefits and pursue a claim for pain and suffering through the Ontario Motor Vehicle Accident Claims Fund (MVACF). A lawyer will guide you through this specific claims process.
You can still make a claim. The driver’s insurance company will likely try to blame you for the accident, but the “reverse onus” means the driver still bears the primary responsibility to avoid hitting a pedestrian. If a court finds that your actions contributed to the accident (contributory negligence), you are still entitled to compensation, though your final financial award may be reduced by the percentage of fault assigned to you.
In Ontario, you generally have a strict two-year limitation period from the date of the accident to formally file a lawsuit against the driver. However, to claim Statutory Accident Benefits to cover your immediate medical needs and lost wages, the insurance company must be notified within 7 days of the accident. You should contact a lawyer immediately to ensure these critical early deadlines are met.
Still have questions? We offer free consultations – no fees until you win.