In Ontario, the biggest fight in a motor vehicle injury claim isn't about the accident. It's about whether your injuries are serious and permanent enough to meet the threshold.
One of the biggest surprises in personal injury law: you can prove the other driver was 100% at fault for the car accident and still recover very little if you can't prove how the accident changed your life.
The value of your Ontario car accident case has little to do with how damaged your car was.
I've seen written-off vehicles with small claims.
And "minor" accidents with life-changing consequences.
One of the biggest lies people tell themselves after a car accident:
"I'll just tough it out."
I've seen people push through pain for months, only to have the insurance company later argue:
"If you were really hurt, why didn't you get treatment?"
The standard of proof in an Ontario personal injury case isn't "beyond a reasonable doubt." It's a balance of probabilities.
In other words, the plaintiff must show that it's more likely than not that the accident caused the injuries and losses being claimed.
A Pre-Trial isn't a trial. No witnesses testify and no decisions are made on who wins. In Ontario personal injury cases, it's an opportunity for a judge to help the parties narrow the issues and explore settlement before trial.
In Ontario, your family doctor may end up being one of the most important witnesses in your personal injury case. That's because they've often seen both who you were before the accident and who you became after it.
A chronic pain personal injury case isn't difficult because the pain isn't real. It's difficult because the legal system is trying to measure something that often can't be seen on an X-ray or MRI.
Speak to a lawyer to learn about how to prove your injury claim.
Not every injury heals. One of the biggest questions in an Ontario car accident personal injury case is whether your symptoms are temporary or Permanent.
This is part of the threshold test for general damages.
The most valuable evidence in many personal injury cases isn't a single MRI or X-ray...
It's the story told by years of medical records documenting how someone's life changed after the accident.
Speak to an injury lawyer for more information.
Insurance companies often ask: "Can this person still do the activity?"
A better question is: "What does it cost them physically and mentally to do it?" There's a big difference.
Agree?
A person may be unable to work their job and still not qualify for Income Replacement Benefits!
This is the post 104 IRB test. In order to qualify you must be unable to work any job based on their education, training and experience.
"You can win the liability battle and still lose the damages battle."
That's why it's important that you receive medical attention/treatment regularly. You will also likely need to attend medical assessments set up by the insurance company and your personal injury lawyer!
A person can have normal X-rays, normal MRIs, and still be unable to function normally after a car accident.
Some of the most disabling injuries are the hardest to objectively measure, this includes psychological and cognitive injuries!
One of the most common arguments in Ontario personal injury cases: “Your symptoms are caused by degeneration, not the accident.” Pre-existing conditions become a major battleground in many car accident claims.
A lot of people think if they didn’t go to the hospital by ambulance, their case must not be serious. That’s not how Ontario personal injury litigation works.
Many chronic pain and concussion symptoms develop over days or weeks.
In Ontario, the insurance company may accept that you have pain after a car accident—but still argue it shouldn’t stop you from working, socializing, or living normally.
That gap is where many personal injury cases are fought and where arguments about the threshold happen.
A case doesn’t become valuable because the car crash looked bad.
In Ontario personal injury law, value usually comes from proving long-term impact on work, daily function, and quality of life.
Frame of reference: most people involved in car accidents in ontario between 2022-2023 are still fighting their motor vehicle personal injury claims!
Be patient with the process and your personal injury lawyer.
A person can return to work after a car accident and still have a serious personal injury claim.
Many people push through pain because they have bills to pay—not because they’re fully recovered.
The IRB payments are simply not enough to pay the bills.