Category: Personal Injury FAQ’s

There are quite a few different things that could be said about product liability. First and foremost, it’s an interesting institute because it’s definitively regulated by a few different aspects of the law. Contractual law contains provisions navigating cases of product liability as well as the Common law which sets forth some warranty provisions and procedures. With this in mind, it’s important to pay closer attention to the responsibility that stems from product liability than to where the provisions come from. So, without any further ado, let’s take a look at some of the consequences.

Filing a claim against the manufacturer

When is it actually possible to file a claim against the manufacturer? The question is rather straightforward, yet the answer could vary. First, it strongly depends on the fact of where you bought the product from. If you bought it directly from the manufacturer the situation is rather self-explanatory. However, if you bought it from a reseller then it begins to be a bit more complicated. First of all, you need to quickly take a look at the warranty and whether it comes from the manufacturer or from the reseller. Even though the most common practice is that the warranty would come from the manufacturer as the reseller won’t have the necessary authority nor capabilities to take care of a broken product, it’s not impossible for this to happen.

What to expect

In some cases you wouldn’t have to worry about the claim too much, if you even need to file a claim. That’s when everything goes smoothly and the product is being dealt with under the warranty in the due terms. However, when you’ve sustained damages as a result, you might want to dig a bit deeper. It is best to discuss your case with a lawyer dealing with tort cases especially product liability. They must have dealt with similar cases and working on your case would help you get justice.

Damages from product liability can stem from all sorts of situations as well as from different types of defective products and even from services. With this in mind, if you want to recover said damages, you’d have to file a legal motion to do so. In the majority of cases the one you are filing the claim against is going to have insurance for product liability which is going to require you to direct the claim towards the insurance company. That’s not necessarily a bad thing but keep in mind that his insurance might fail to cover all of the necessary and claimed expenses. Be careful, however, because insurance companies aren’t easy to deal with.

If you claim the damages from the manufacturer directly, you would need to definitively prove that the damages have derived from the malfunctioning product and that there is nothing else that could have or has caused them. It’s important to be consider all of these aspects.

If you’ve been involved in a car accident or you have gone through an injury, you might have an insurance claim in mind – regardless of whether it’s directed towards your own insurance company or towards the one of the at fault person. You should, however, get in touch with your insurer in order to let them know of the accident. However, there are things that you need to take into account.

When To Contact The Insurance Company?

It’s not a bad idea to go ahead and get in touch within no more than 72 hours of the accident in order to get them notified about it. For one thing, your own insurance policy might have a requirement for such notice of intent. Now, strictly speaking, it is highly beneficial to get in touch with your insurance company as soon as you can and provide them with all the necessary information, especially if you are directing the claim towards them. This is due to a wide range of different reasons, so let’s go ahead and take a look.

It Will Help Them Figure the Case

Keep in mind that regardless of how mind numbing the accident might have been, the investigation is going to take some time. The reason is quite obvious – the adjuster that’s dealing with your case has at least 100 more of them to figure out and you are most certainly out of his priorities. There’s nothing personal to it, it’s just business that needs to be taken care of. It is best to allow your personal injury lawyer to help you with the process. The experienced lawyers have worked with plenty of cases and dealt with insurance companies on a regular basis. Thus, they understand the details of the process.

Will Speed Up the Process

The sooner you notify the insurer, the sooner you are going to get your case looked into. There is absolutely no need for you to wait. Furthermore, it is in your best interest to get the case going quickly so that you can prevent months of waiting time. However, keep in mind that you shouldn’t be an imposition – make sure that you take care of everything but don’t impose as this is likely going to put you on the back burner.

In any case, dealing with the insurance company isn’t something tremendously complicated but there are some specifications that you need to account for. It is in your best interest to be helpful and to assist them in the matter in order to avoid long waiting periods. However, you should also keep in mind that an adjuster is going to do everything within his reach to avoid going to court so don’t be afraid to leverage a motion, if you need to. This is capable of getting you a bigger settlement offer as opposed to the low ball one you are going to get in the beginning.

Over 90% of the personal injury claims in Ontario never reach the court room. The reason for that is quite obvious – people don’t want to waste years in court battles and insurance companies don’t want to run the risk of reaching a ruling that’s not in their favor. So, in the most cases, both parties would compromise in a sense to reach a mutually beneficial agreement. Whether or not this is beneficial for you is a situational point and there are things to be considered but for the most parts it is going to be.

With this in mind, it’s important to be well aware of what happens once you’ve filed your injury claim with your insurance company. The first thing that you need to know is that if you haven’t filed a lawsuit and if the adjuster hasn’t got all the necessary facts to make a reasonable suggestion, the latter is going to send in an offer which is going to be a particularly low one. The adjuster is just not going to be settling the case if he feels like he doesn’t have the full picture. However, you need to understand the process of investigating your claim and the determining of the facts in order to know the whole story.

Investigating your claim

The first thing that the adjuster is going to do is understand the claim of the insured and get as much information from him about the accident. You are the insured – make sure that you present him with as many details as it is necessary as well as all the relevant documentation. Furthermore, he is going to conduct a questioning of all those involved in the accident so that he can have a clear statement.

After that, he’s going to start taking a closer look at the police reports as well as all other sorts of reports which are connected to the case in some way. He’s going to take into account the facts stated in the medical records of the injured parties in order to make an informed proposition.

Analyzing the facts

After the adjuster has gone through all of the necessary information, he’s going to structure and organize it so that he can properly analyze the facts. This is essential for him to make a proper offer for settling the case. By accounting for all the variables, the insurer is going to be able to make a comprehensive proposition which is going to be viable and reasonable. Of course, you shouldn’t expect something off the charts as the initial offer is going to be considerably lower. That’s why you need to have yourself prepared for fierce negotiation. Additionally, when you seek the services of a personal injury lawyer in Barrie or Orillia, they can represent your interests with the insurance company. This will help you get a better negotiating platform for ensuring that the compensation is maximized.

The first thing that you need to know is the kind of work that the adjuster is going to do. This is the person who’s going to handle your entire case and he is the one who is going to officially make the settlement proposals. With this in mind, there are quite a few things that you might want to take into account when dealing with him in order to go ahead and get the most out of your proposal.

The first thing that you need to determine is whether or not you will be able to strong arm him. On theory, you will be able to but you should do so only in certain situations, so let’s walk through it.

The initial stage

At first the insurance adjuster is going to begin by conducting a proper investigation of your case. He is going to ensure that he has all the necessary information before he proceeds to making an offer. This is a lengthy process which is going to take some time. Here, you should interfere only to help. Don’t go ahead and think about pushing him because that’s only going to backfire on you. There are tons of legislative opportunities which will allow the adjuster to delay your claim and you don’t want to take that chance. That is why this is the right time to hire the services of an injury lawyer in Ontario.

Rejecting the proposal

Whenever you reject a low ball proposal on behalf of the insurance adjuster, you are going to need to have something to respond with – the best thing you can do is to get a motion for a personal injury lawsuit prepared and attached. Simply say that you don’t feel like the proposal is suitable and you intend on getting the matter resolved through the court. This is going to get you the much needed attention and he’s going to start proposing regular amounts.

The thing is, insurance adjusters aren’t going to want to go to court. This puts them over a barrel because they don’t want to risk paying the full amount that is due on top of the lawyer fees, court taxes and the interest for the delayed payment. Even though you might lose the case, the insurance company isn’t going to be willing to invest in the case on the off chance of saving a small amount. That’s why it’s going to respond with a bigger offer. Now, you should also take into account the fact that a trial is going to be particularly lengthy. You will be in court for at least a couple of years, meaning that you are nowhere near seeing that compensation. That’s why you should also weigh the pros and cons and see  if it is or is not a good idea to compromise and get a lower settlement right on the spot.

 

Now, medical malpractice is a particularly interesting and yet overwhelming area of personal injury law. The truth is that there’s nothing more concerning for a victim than the possibility of his medical doctor, the person who’s solely responsible for his entire recovery and in certain situations – his life, to fail because of negligence. Of course, not every single mistake could be considered as negligence and there are quite a lot of things that have to be taken into account in order to be eligible for a medical malpractice claim. Let’s take a look at the standpoints of a case of the kind and walk through the process itself.

Right off the bat, you are going to need three different cumulatively present conditions in order to be even eligible for filing a medical malpractice claim.

1.    Negligence. This is something which is present in every single personal injury claim and that’s basically the differentiating factor which sets apart criminal and civil law in Canada. In civil law we have a perpetrator who unintentionally or without understanding the full scale of his actions is committing something that cause injuries. So, in the event of medical malpractice, not every misdiagnosis is going to lead to a claimable merit. Only those which were brought upon negligently.

 

2.    Damages. Interestingly enough, even if you don’t suffer any physical damages you can still file for medical malpractice. For instance, you could have been told that you suffer from a cancerous disease. As you know, a fatal diagnosis of the kind is capable of completely turning your life around. You stop taking joy out of occasion which you used to love, you lose motivation to fight and to advance your career and so on and so forth. In other words – you incur tremendous emotional turmoil without exhibiting any physical symptoms.

 

3.    Causality. The causality is the effective link between the negligent behavior of the treating doctor and the damages themselves. For instance, the emotional damages which were described in the previous point can only be claimed if they derive directly from the misdiagnosis. This is an imperative rule which places particularly effective and convenient limits and borderlines in order to protect the overall legal security of society.

As you can see, even if you’ve been subjected to some sort of injuries in the hospital while you were getting your treatment executed, you might not be eligible to file a claim. It’s definitely best, if you contact a personal injury lawyer in order for him to take a look into your case and hope you find the best chain of action that’s going to get you compensated for your troubles.

If you need to take the claim further, it is important to ensure that the lawyer you have hired is experienced and has relevant experience in similar cases. Look online or get referrals to schedule an interview with the lawyer.