Are Slip and Falls Considered Serious Injuries?

Injury Lawyer

It just takes a minute to change your life forever. One minute you are walking on the sidewalk and the next moment your foot slips over the snow and slushy ice. You hurt your back, or maybe even strike your head on the sidewalk. Thousands of people suffer with slip and fall injuries and statistics show that over 70% of the injuries happen to people over fifty years and older. With age, the intensity of injuries increases while the healing takes longer. Some of the sustained injuries include:

  • Fractured hips and ribs
  • Dislocated joints
  • Brain and spinal injuries
  • Bruises and cuts

Slow recovery leads to increased medical costs, longer recuperation and in some cases, additional infections leads to fatalities. Any fall results in injuries and to cover for physical and mental trauma, it is important that you consult a personal injury lawyer in the designated city in Ontario. If you slip on someone else’s property, that business or homeowner is liable for the damage.

More about ‘Burden of Care’

That is why property owners have ‘burden of care’ that they must do everything in their power to prevent such happenings. This becomes an essential requirement to prevent such accidents happening on their property. Thus, shoveling and clearing snow from the driveways breaking up ice, putting sand and salt are just some of the requirements to ensure that slip and fall injuries can be prevented. Most of the municipalities have additional bylaws that require the homeowners to keep the public paths and sidewalks along their properties cleared of snow.

If you are inured due to a slip and fall injury in the winters on public property it is important to contact a lawyer immediately for redressals. As per the Statute of Limitations, for injuries sustained on private property are two years and the Ontario municipality that has been involved has to be informed, in writing within 10 days. This has to be done quickly so that the investigations can be done quickly. After that you have about 2-year period to file a lawsuit, but if you don’t send in the notification, most likely the claim will be dismissed.

Prevention is essential

The best means of dealing with slip and fall on the sidewalks and public or private property during winters is prevention. This means that property owners and municipality will need to clear the sidewalks and roads clear of the snow and ice, so there is no chance of slipping. When snow is left on the open ground, it packs down and becomes ice over a day or two. That is why it is necessary to remove it immediately.

To ensure that as a pedestrian you don’t get injured in accidental falls by being aware of your surroundings and choosing the right footwear. And when you do fall by accident, it is best to call in a personal injury lawyer to file the claim for compensation.

Know More about Basic Disability Law

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You might be finding it difficult to recover from the injuries especially as it might have caused short-term or long-term disability. The uncertainty of whether you will be able to go back to work or the job will be terminated, in case the disability is permanent, can be stressing.

However, you may not be aware of the fact that when you are differently abled, there is disability law that protects your rights. As per the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act and Ontario Human Rights Code, disability includes a number of factors that ranges from personal injuries to birth defect and are categorized as physical and mental disabilities. The law includes chronic pain, back pain, epilepsy and chronic fatigue among other ailments as “non-evident disabilities” as these are not obvious but can be debilitating for the person suffering with it.

Under the Disability Law, Charter of Rights and Freedom’s Section 15 states that all individuals are considered equal. Laws and protection have to be rendered without discriminating on the basis of race, color, ethnicity, mental or physical disability, sex and age. However, the “Duty to Accommodate” comes into the picture when the implementation of rights has to be done.

Under Ontario Human Rights Code, the Section 17 deals with ‘Duty to Accommodate’. This is governed by the fact that irrespective of a government or commercial establishments needs to remove barriers, as they can be an obstacle for a disabled individual from completing their work or accessing their services. This is pertinent in offices where a disabled individual needs to complete their work without any hassles. Some of these have been listed as:

  • Having wheelchair ramps
  • Automatic doors installations
  • Flexible work hours so the individual can take adequate rest
  • Job restructuring so the disabled individual can fit into the new role without any demotion
  • Cannot fire the employee for becoming disabled.
  • Access to Braille signs, sign language translators

However, to cover the businesses from ‘undue hardships’ wherein the cost of employing a disabled individual is high and working with him/her can disrupts the workplace, is recognized by law. However, this is only considered in extreme situations because it is expected that businesses will make the changes to accommodate the changing requirements of the disabled employee.

You have the right to file a complaint with the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal, if your rights have been discriminated or violated. Your complaint will be brought through mediation and if that does not work out, a hearing is held and binding orders issues. It is important that the complaint be filed within 1 year after the discriminatory incident took place. Hiring a personal injury lawyer specializing in disability law can help you get proper justice. They understand how overwhelming a disability can be and the fear of adjusting to a new way of life. And if you face discrimination for no-fault of yours it can be debilitating for your confidence. That is why there are provincial and federal laws protecting your rights and helping you get justice.

Understanding the Significance Of Spinal Cord Injuries

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Even though brain injuries seem to be a lot more common, spinal cord injuries on their part are incredibly traumatic and severe. The city of Barrie abides by the provisions set forth in the state of Ontario, under which spinal cord injuries derivative from accidents are entitled to compensation. This is only fair because recovery is incredibly hard and sometime even impossible. The consequences of spinal cord injuries are grave and ominous and there is a high chance that the person is going to experience pain and suffering to some extend for the rest of his life. This also means that the lawsuits of this particular kind are often accompanied by huge claims for non-pecuniary damages, which is only logical.

Why spinal injuries call for higher compensation?

However, in order to be able to file for an injury of this kind in the city of Barrie, it’s important to be aware of the specifics. Spinal cord injuries would usually happen when the spine is actually damaged. This could be caused by a fracture or by a dislocation. These particular injuries are especially harmful because the spine is the body part which controls especially important functions of your body such as the movement and walking. This is why people who suffer from these kinds of injuries are often required to adhere to a variety of different adjustments to their lifestyle.

Family Act of Canada

Another direct consequence from spinal cord injuries which is incredibly relevant to the area of personal injury law is the lost working ability. This is due to the fact that the injury has rendered the victim unable to provide the same amount of workforce. This of course leads to a reduced payment which causes a direct loss of income. Interestingly enough, the Family Act of Canada empowers family members to file for loss of income, as it is considered a pecuniary damage. The solution is once again fair. The reason for this is that the person who suffered the injury might have been the one who was mainly providing for his family. Now that he is unable to work, the family members are also affected which gives them the right to file for compensation. The amount of it should be the difference between the received income prior to and after the accident or the cause for the injury.

All in all, spinal cord injuries are incredibly important to the subject of personal injury. This also means that they have to be properly understood. This is related with a lot of in-depth and sound knowledge of the particular matter and it requires the understanding of complex medical terminology. This is why lawyers in Barrie tend to spend a long time understanding different medical statements and expertise. This makes it equally more important to hire the lawyers that specialize in such cases.

Questions To Ask Before You Hire A Personal Injury Lawyer

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Barrie is a relatively small town located in the province of Ontario. However, it has a population of approximately 200,000 people which means that there is a wide choice of attorneys. This means that you would have to be able to identify the ones which are going to be properly capable of completing the task that you have at hand. The personal injury area is incredibly demanding and you should definitely consider a lot of things prior to hiring your lawyer. These questions are designated to help you through this overwhelming process.

Ask a list of potential expenses.

Of course, this is the most important thing that you should demand from your injury lawyer in the city of Barrie. This is what most people are concerned about and they very well should be. The expenses are generally based on the amount of the compensation that you are going after but there are a lot of variables. Different attorneys are going to charge you a different amount of money so make sure that you are well aware of the concrete sum in advance so that you can plan accordingly.

Ask which the potential problems that you can face are.

This is another crucial thing that would let you know whether or not your attorney is worth it. First of all, every single case poses some issues. Even if the particular situation seems to be clear enough, chances are that there are going to be issues. You need someone who is objectively willing to let you know what to expect instead of giving you blind faith that the process is going to go smoothly without any obstacles.

Ask if he has experience with insurance companies and settlement talks.

Most of the personal injury cases are about negotiation. In fact, about 90% of the cases never even reach the court room. This is due to the fact that they are settled prior to this. The most obvious reason is because the defending party wishes to avoid legal fees and possible bad publicity, depending on the case. In any way, settling is definitely what you should be aiming for because it offers a lot less of a risk. This is why you attorney should be well versed and experienced in negotiating.

At the same time personal injury cases are almost always about insurance. It doesn’t matter if we are talking about medical or social or even professional insurance, in most of the cases there is going to be an insurance company involved in the matter. This is why you want your attorney to be well pr/epared for handling a legal battle against professional insurers.

That is why it is important to work with a team of experienced lawyers that have successfully resulted in maximizing the compensation for their clients.

Difference between Traumatic and Non-Traumatic Brain injury

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First of all, it’s important to outline how the law system in Canada works. The country is divided amongst different provinces and just like the state system in the United States of America, provinces in Canada can pass different legislative initiatives which would take precedence over the governmental ones. The city of Stouffville is located in the province of Ontario, which means that the legislation of Ontario is dominant in the town. Luckily, the majority of the laws in Ontario do not differ from the ones set forth by the government.

One of the most important aspects, which have a lot of debate to it is the traumatic brain injury. The reason for this is because these types of injuries are quite common in the field of personal injury. However, it’s incredibly important to make a proper differentiation between traumatic and non traumatic brain injuries because this would have a direct reflection on the ruling of the court. In order for an injury to be considered as traumatic, the cause had to be direct. The most common example is an accident in which the victim suffered a blow to the head and as a result got some sort of brain damage. This is incredibly common especially in accidents such as vehicular incidents, slip and fall and many more.

Non-traumatic brain injury

However, a non-traumatic brain injury is considered to be brought about as a result of something else. The most common cause is a disorder such as a disease or an infection and even a tumor. Some of the injuries are listed come under Anoxic Injury which occurs due to low oxygen supply to the brain. This is further divided as:

  • Anoxic Anoxia (starvation of oxygen in the brain)
  • Anaemic Anoxia (lack of oxygen in the blood)
  • Toxic Anoxia (toxins prevent flow of oxygen in brain)
  • Hypoxic Injury (brain cells die due to no oxygen supply)

When establishing the amount of the payable compensation this has an immense importance. In order to sentence a ruling, the judge has to make sure that the damages which are being sought after are strictly derivative from the accident. If a person is filing for a traumatic brain injury he must prove that the said injury was caused by the accident. This is where it gets interesting. The other party can appeal and fight that claim by proving that the injury is not traumatic.

This means that the defending party is claiming that the injury already existed when the accident happened and thus damages can’t be sought. The solution is fair and protective. This is due to the fact that no one should be held liable for something that he didn’t cause. This is also a main principle of personal injury law, judges and lawyers in Stouffville are well aware of it. Non traumatic brain injuries are not irrelevant but they have little significance to the area of personal injury law as opposed to traumatic brain injuries. They are not subjected to compensation unless the accident caused the disorder leading to a brain injury.