Myth vs Fact: The Truth About Personal Injury Lawsuit

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Myth vs Fact The Truth About Personal Injury
Lawsuit
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Five important realities you need to understand
in a personal injury lawsuitDespite reasonable
restrictions on advertising legal services in the
area of personal injury law, there are still
plenty of people who hear the words personal
injury lawyer and immediately think of a rag tag
bunch of lawyers in bad suits, chasing an
ambulance or waiting at the emergency room doors,
contracts in hand.
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That is a bad image that the profession has gone
to some lengths to dispel, but for many, it
persists. Part of the reason for these images
gone wrong is that there are lot of myths and
misunderstandings out there about personal injury
law. Its not like you see in the movies sorry,
but Julia Roberts aka Erin Brockovich is not
coming to your door with a cheque for 3.5
Million dollars.
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Myth 1 Having An Accident Will Make You A
MillionaireThat last line brings me to my first
point you wont become a millionaire by cashing
in on an injury claim, as the result of an
accident.You (probably) wont go to court and
have a judge scream at the defendant, all the
while handing wads of cash to you. In fact, the
whole concept of win or lose is not how the
system works, in Ontario.
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In reality, a settlement is reached through
careful negotiation. Its about how much youre
entitled to receive under the law, not whether
you were right or wrong.The negotiation system
also means that many cases dont even go to
court. Its not really the desired outcome for
most anyway, as the risk of a lower payout is
high when you involve a judge and jury, to say
nothing of the added costs.
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This is why many cases settle out of court, so if
youre hoping for the dramatic finale with your
lawyer thundering away at a cowering defendant,
youre likely to be disappointed.While an
experienced personal injury lawyer can give you
some idea on a range of what your final
settlement might look like, they cannot and
should not promise you a specific number. Be wary
of anyone who does.
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Myth 2 You Dont Need A Lawyer Because You
Have InsuranceThe insurance company, while not
the enemy to your case, is not necessarily on
your side either.Their staff is not there to rip
you off, but theres no doubt that they are
looking to pay out the least amount that they
must.If you are entitled to compensation, under
the law, you can take all necessary measures to
receive the best possible settlement amount. That
includes hiring a
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lawyer, from the beginning, to ensure that you
are covering all your bases. And theres no
downside for you most personal injury lawyers
will work on a contingency basis. That is, you
dont have to put money down up front, and
instead, they will take a percentage of the final
settlement in compensation. You wont look bad
in the eyes of the insurance company its the
way things are done and theyre used to it.
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I need to stress the importance of hiring a
lawyer from outset, if youve been injured. A
lawyer will be able to tell you how to go about
managing your file, dealing with your doctor,
communicating with the insurance company on your
behalf and so on.If your injury has resulted in
your being on long term disability benefits and
your company is telling you that you are going to
be cut off, you have the ability to appeal the
decision but its not something you want to
undertake without legal help. Time is of the
essence too if you dont file a lawsuit within a
certain timeframe, you could be out of luck!
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Myth 3 There Is No Cost To You Unless You
WinWhile its true, as I said above, that most
personal injury lawyers will work on contingency,
you need to be clear in your dealings when it
comes to expenses.While working on your file,
they will be paying out certain expenses, like a
medical examination with a full report, for
example. If your settlement was to be minimal or
even if there was no settlement achieveda rare
situationyou need to know upfront what you are
going to be responsible for in terms of
disbursements (expenses.)
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Myth 4 Its Frivolous To Hire A Personal
Injury LawyerFrivolous lawsuits arent the
norm, mostly because lawyers working on
contingency arent going to waste their time and
their own funds on a case that has no hope of
settling.After a car accident, you have to meet
an injury threshold before you can sue anyway, so
if youre getting to that point, its because
your injuries are serious and your ability to
continue in your normal course of life is
impaired.
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Myth 5 Compensation Is Only For Physical
InjuriesFor many people, physical injuries are
only one part of the trauma theyve endured in an
accident situation. Psychological injuries and
post traumatic stress issues are factored in when
your lawyer is negotiating for a settlement, as
these invisible injuries can be just as
debilitating as a physical one.At the end of the
day, the best way to make sure that you arent
caught up in the myths surrounding personal
injury law is to talk to us. In the case of a
motor vehicle or other kind of accident, we can
help you to decide the right course of action
that will net you the best possible result.
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