| Personal Injury Litigation |
Anyone who has been seriously injured as a result of the negligence of another is entitled to financial compensation. Most often the source of that compensation is an insurance company. People are entitled to compensation for lost income, medical expenses and the loss of companionship, among others. Most personal injury matters are complex and involve considerable time and effort. We assess each case individually and when prepared to accept a case, usually do so on a contingency basis, allowing payment of legal fees after the matter has finally concluded. As with all legal matters, personal injuries must be prosecuted within a limited period of time. Generally that limitation is two years after the event occurred. If you have been seriously injured through no fault of your own, you should speak with a lawyer as soon as possible to ensure that your rights are protected.
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| WSIB Appeals |
Most workers in Ontario are covered by the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act. If they are injured on the job, they can get compensation and other services from the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board. If you get a decision from the Board that you do not agree with, you have the right to appeal. Appeals at the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board are often complex and legal assistance is necessary to protect your rights. After an appeal at the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board, there is a further appeal to the Workplace Safety and Insurance Appeals Tribunal, an independent tribunal which has the final authority to review decisions of the Board. Mike Pretsell and David Little have extensive experience in this area and both have been responsible for landmark rulings at the Appeals Tribunal
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| Family Law |
A breakdown in long or short-term family relationships can deeply affect every other area of your life. If you find yourself in this position, you require legal advice that is both practical and economical. The cost of litigation is extremely high and nowhere more than in hotly disputed family law matters. How you approach the separation will affect the outcome. We practice traditional “adversarial” litigation when that is warranted. However, David C. also practices in the rapidly developing area of Collaborative Family Law (“CFL”). CFL provides an entirely different approach to divorce by providing the separating parties with the tools and advice to design specific terms of separation that may uniquely work for them, but not necessarily anybody else. The CFL process is designed to promote respect and to keep the separated parties from descending into name-calling by focusing on agreed practical solutions to various difficult problems. Dave C practices in this area.
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| Criminal Law |
Mr. Pretsell is experienced in providing representation to persons charged with criminal offences. He also attends before the Ontario Superior Court of Justice and the Ontario Court of Appeal on appeals of lower Court
decisions in criminal matters.
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| Motor Vehicle Accidents |
The legislation and law affecting people injured in car accidents in Ontario is confusing at best. Currently, if you are injured in an accident you are entitled to receive a number of benefits from your own auto insurer. If you are already injured as a result of a collision, you have probably already received and tried to complete the Application for Accident Benefits. You will then know that merely filling out the forms is baffling. If you have suffered a serious permanent injury, you may be able to claim compensation from the driver that caused the injury. However, there are limitation periods and all manner of legislative and legal obstacles inherent to the glut of legislation in this area. David C, Mike and Kandace all have experience in this area and will be pleased to spend a half hour or so explaining the variety of legal remedies available. We typically take these matters on a contingency basis also and are pleased to discuss the particulars of how that process works. If you have been involved in a serious motor vehicle accident, you should contact someone as soon as possible to ensure that you receive fair and prompt compensation.
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| Commercial Litigation |
Commercial litigation includes disputes arising out of shareholder agreements, contractual relations as well as Construction Lien issues and debt collections. Mike and Kandace practice in this area.
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| Wrongful Dismissal |
If you are a non-union employee and have been fired for no particular reason, you may be entitled to compensation from your prior employer for wrongful dismissal (breaking the employment contract). Generally, a person who has been fired without cause is entitled to receive payment for a “reasonable period of notice.” The amount to which any individual person may be entitled depends upon his or her specific circumstances and meeting a lawyer is important to determine what, if any, remedies may be available immediately after being fired. Our firm has extensive experience in this area.
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| Long and Short Term Disability Insurance Litigation |
Many people have private policies of insurance providing income protection should they become disabled. These plans are generally through group benefits through your employer. Claims of disabled individuals are often denied by insurance
companies notwithstanding that you have a valid claim. Our firm has expertise in bringing actions against the insurers to assist the disabled individual to obtain benefits to which they are entitled. There is generally
a limitation period of two years in which a claim must be advanced after the discontinuance of disability benefits. It is therefore important to contact counsel as soon as possible when a dispute arises with your
disability insurer.
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| ODSPA and CPP Disability Benefits Appeals |
If you have applied to either of these income programs and been denied, there are appeals available and have developed a very successful practice in the appellate regime for both areas. If a person is receiving compensation under a Long Term Disability plan it may make sense to apply for CPP Disability Benefits also, as this can have the effect of increasing your CPP payments upon reaching age 65 and may also assist with benefit disputes between persons and their insurers.”
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