Complex Cases. Simple Solutions.

Personal Injury | Products Liability

If you have been injured due to someone else's negligence, you need the advice of an experienced and skilled personal injury lawyer. Charney Lawyers have years of experience fighting for injury victims.

Charney Lawyers specializes in representing people who are injured as a result of an accident.

While the majority of fatalities and serious injuries are caused by automobile accidents, Charney Lawyers also represents people who are injured in other types of accidents, such as defective products, food contamination, slip and fall, fires, boating accidents, airplane accidents, explosions and medical malpractice.

We have represented hundreds of accident victims in all manner of injuries, including fatalities, brain injury, spinal cord injury, amputees, orthopaedic injuries, elder claims, chronic pain/fibromyalgia, and psychiatric injuries such as post- traumatic stress disorder.

We frequently appear in Court as counsel on personal injury trials including jury trials and as counsel on arbitrations for accident benefits at the Financial Services Commission. Our lawyers have conducted many arbitrations and mediations at the Financial Services Commission. We also represent insurance companies in the defence of injury claims. Our years of experience representing some of the largest insurance companies in Ontario, means that we are known within the insurance industry and that we know what it takes to recover top dollar for your case.

Because of our extensive court experience, Charney Lawyers has an established reputation for securing the best possible outcome for injury victims. We have litigated successfully against multinational corporations, banks and insurance companies. Our name, reputation and experience are beneficial to our clients in recovering the best possible settlement.

Our personal injury practice group is one of the firm’s largest. Our group works to help persons involving:

• Motor Vehicle Accidents (including auto, truck, motorcycle, and snowmobile accidents)
• Accident Benefits claims arising from Motor Vehicle Accidents
• Pedestrian and Bicycle accidents
• Long Term Disability Claims
• Slip and Fall injuries
• Medical Malpractice, including malpractice in hospitals, and by health professionals
• Serious Injury Claims including;
  • Brain Injury
  • Spinal Cord Injury
  • Paraplegia
  • Quadriplegia
  • Amputations
  • Wrongful death
  • Fibromyalgia
  • Fractures
  • Lacerations, Burns, and scarring
• Defective products - Improperly designed or faulty products causing injuries or illness
• Other injury causing incidents

Every personal injury and disability claim is subject to strict legislative time limitation periods to commence your claim. You should consult our personal injury group as soon as possible to make sure that you do not lose your right to sue. When a person is injured in a motor vehicle accident in Ontario, they often have two claims available to them to obtain compensation:

1. A claim against your own insurance company (Accident Benefits Claim); and
2. A claim against the person that injured you (Tort Claim)

Fees

No Recovery – No Fee Guarantee

Charney Lawyers recognizes that when people are injured they are already burdened financially and are unable to afford retaining a lawyer on basis of their hourly rates. Therefore, for personal injury cases we offer a free consultation and if we agree to take on your case, we will work for you on a contingency fee basis.

The contingency fee arrangement means that our clients are not required to pay any fees or expenses unless the case is successful. We don’t get paid until our client gets paid.

If you win or settle your case you pay us a percentage or other agreed portion of the settlement. You will not be charged any legal fees unless we obtain a settlement or recovery for you. You have absolutely no obligation for legal fees or expenses unless we win your case. If we don't obtain a settlement for you, you owe us nothing!

We will explain the contingency fee arrangement to you from the outset and it will be set out as part of our Retainer Agreement.

Free Consultation

If you have been injured because of someone else’s negligence, been involved in a motor vehicle accident, suffered injuries as a result of any other accident or have been denied benefits, please contact us for your initial free consultation or fill out the online personal injury questionnaire below.

Once you initiate contact with our office by phone or through our questionnaire, one of our lawyers or paralegals will contact you within 48 hours. At that time, you will be asked comprehensive questions in order for us to understand the details of your potential claim. We will then schedule a convenient time to for your free initial consultation. If your injuries are such that they prevent you from traveling, are housebound or still in hospital, we will make arrangements to come to you. At that time we will discuss your potential case and if appropriate, start the initial steps in pursuing legal action.

Accident Benefit Claims

What is an Accident Benefits Claim?

Our Group is one of the most experienced law firms when it comes to accident benefits. We have been litigating accident benefits at FSCO since its inception in 1990.We have been counsel on a number of precedent setting FSCO decisions.

If your insurance company denies your claim, we will mediate your dispute at FSCO. If the mediation fails to resolve the dispute, then we will arbitrate your dispute at FSCO or start a lawsuit depending on the circumstances.

Accident benefits are available through your automobile insurance company if you were involved in motor vehicle accident regardless of who was at fault for the accident. If you did not have insurance at the time of the accident you may be able to claim these accident benefits from the insurance company of the other person involved in the accident. If there is no insurance available through the other persons insurance then there may be a claim for accident benefits through the government organization called the Motor Vehicle Accident Claims Fund.

You may have different accident benefits available to you depending on they type of insurance you purchased from your insurance company and whether optional benefits were available. The Accident Benefits regime can be very complicated but our Group has for years been bringing claims for our clients with very high success rates.

Tort Claims

What is a Tort Claim?

A person injured in a motor vehicle accident may also have a claim for damages for pain and suffering. Charney Lawyers has handled thousands of these claims. A tort claim is a lawsuit for damages against the party or parties who were at fault or negligent in causing the accident. The Ontario Courts and legislation have set a “threshold” of injuries in order to obtain compensation. Your injuries must reach this “threshold”. If you sustain a "threshold" injury then you can proceed to bring a claim against the other party. The Courts and the law of Ontario dictate that your injuries must meet the following criteria:

1. You sustained a serious and permanent impairment of an important physical, mental or psychological function; or
2. you have sustained a serious and permanent disfigurement;
3. Your injuries must exceed the statutorily prescribed deductible which is $30,000.00. The deductible will not be applied where the injury claims exceed $100,000.00.

   You can also sue for lost income, future lost income, impairment of your ability to earn income, loss of competitive advantage in the work-place, and business losses without meeting the threshold.

Families of those injured may also have a right to sue the other party for loss of care guidance and companionship; this is called a “Family Law Act” claim. There is a $15,000.00 deductible for Family Law Act claims. The deductible will not be applied where the claims under the Family Law Act exceed $50,000.00 or the claim is based on a fatality.