Find Lawyers in Toronto, Ontario for Personal Injury Litigation
Practice Area Overview
The primary goal of personal injury law is to put the injured party (the plaintiff) in the same position they were in prior to the injury occurring. Sometimes this is impossible, such as when the plaintiff sustains a permanent or irreversible brain injury or spinal cord injury. In such cases, the goal is to put the plaintiff in as “close a position” as possible to the position the plaintiff was in prior to the occurrence of the injury, including the same financial position had the accident not occurred.
There are several categories of compensation that an injured party may be entitled to receive as part of a personal injury claim. If the injury effects the plaintiff’s employability the plaintiff may be entitled to a loss of income or loss of earning capacity claim. If the plaintiff is no longer able to perform their normal housekeeping chores as a result of their injuries, they may be entitled to recover the ongoing cost of hiring someone to perform these chores. If the injured party is likely to require treatment, medications, or equipment in the future, then a claim can be advanced for the cost of future care. The injured party is usually entitled to reimbursement for reasonable out-of-pocket expenses related to the claim. Another category of damages is compensation for pain and suffering. This award includes compensation for physical pain suffered as well as emotional and psychological injuries sustained by the injured party.
An injured party will only have a claim against a party at fault (the defendant) if the injured party can establish that the defendant was liable or responsible for the injury occurring. In some cases, the injuries to the plaintiff may result from a combination of the defendant’s negligence and the plaintiff’s negligence. A common example is where a plaintiff (who was injured in a motor vehicle accident) had failed to wear a seat belt. The plaintiff’s compensation may be reduced if the defendant can show the plaintiff’s injuries were contributed to by the failure to wear a seat belt. This is commonly referred to as ‘contributory negligence’.
If a plaintiff is unable to resolve their claim with the defendant through the normal negotiating process, then ultimately the plaintiff has the right to have their matter decided by a judge (or judge and jury) at a trial. Only a small percentage of personal injury cases actually proceed to the trial stage as the vast majority of claims are resolved through the normal negotiating process.
Kevin enjoys practising law and loves the challenges of civil litigation. He has broad experience in all aspects of insurance claims litigation, including personal injury, products liability, property losses, professional negligence, class proceedings, and coverage disputes. He is an expert in handling first-party accident benefits claims and disputes between insurers (loss transfer and priority disputes). Kevin is proud to assist many of the firm’s longstanding clients with tailored, p...
Tim is an experienced litigator recognized by both clients and his peers for his skillful handling of a broad range of insurance claims. Tim works in partnership with his clients, sophisticated litigants who appreciate his talent for quickly analyzing and assessing claims and bringing them to a prompt and fair resolution. He has defended financial advisors, insurance brokers, real estate agents, and engineers from a wide variety of disciplines. He has extensive experience in automobile insura...
Colleen Arsenault is a partner at Beard Winter LLP. She practises exclusively with the insurance group, dealing with tort matters encompassing disability benefits, motor vehicle accidents, property damage, occupier’s liability matters, product liability, construction, CGL issues, coverage issues, subrogation and general bodily injury claims. Colleen has appeared at all levels of court in Ontario, including the Court of Appeal. Over the course of her career, she has conducted hundreds of...
Jordan joined the Gluckstein team in 2012 to carry out his articles-at-law. He graduated from York University in 2007. He received his Juris Doctorate degree from Bond University in Australia and completed his Canadian Accreditation in 2012. Following his call to the bar in 2013, Jordan assumed his current position of an associate lawyer at Gluckstein Lawyers. Jordan’s practice is devoted to all areas of Personal Injury litigation on behalf of plaintiffs, including motor vehicle acciden...
Rick Aucoin is a partner at Beard Winter LLP with a wide range of litigation experience before all courts and tribunals. The focus of his practice is civil litigation with an emphasis on property, casualty, tort and negligence cases, commercial insurance, product liability and coverage issues. Rick’s practice also focuses on professional errors with a recent appointment to the preferred counsel list for the defence of lawyers in their professional capacity. Rick has been providing litig...
Melinda graduated with her LLB from the University of Western Ontario in 2002 and articled in London, Ontario with Harrison Pensa LLP. Following her call to the Bar in 2003, Melinda began working with Barbara Legate of Legate & Associates, a Plaintiff personal injury firm, where she was exposed to a variety of complex civil litigation files, including motor vehicle accident, medical malpractice and disability cases. In November 2005, Melinda relocated to Toronto, Ontario and continued wor...
Michael has experience as counsel for several insurance companies and The Office of the Public Guardian and Trustee but has now restricted his practice to the representation of accident victims and their families. Michael has authored publications on insurance law and has presented to other lawyers and representatives at The Office of the Public Guardian and Trustee on subjects concerning benefit entitlements, the rights and responsibilities of insurers and accident victims. Practice Area: Pe...
Robert Ben dedicates his practice to representing and obtaining compensation for victims of traumatic brain injury, spinal cord injury and serious orthopaedic and other injuries, as well as those who have suffered wrongful death. He represents clients throughout Ontario in cases that involve: Vehicular negligence (including automobile, motorcycle, bicycle, ATV, snowmobile and boating accidents) Municipal liability (negligent road design, maintenance/repair, snow and ice removal) Day care and ...
Robert Betts joined the firm in 2008 and has worked for the insurance industry since 2004. His years of experience have provided him with an in-depth understanding of the issues faced by insurers. As a partner in the firm’s Insurance Litigation group, he handles a wide range of civil and commercial litigation with an emphasis on recreational liability, commercial host disputes, occupier’s liability, professional negligence, construction and property claims, product liability and c...
Chris Blom is an experienced insurance litigation lawyer with a practice that concentrates on insurance defence work in connection with both tort and accident benefits cases, including out-of-province and cross-border cases. Chris acts on behalf of insurers in the province of Ontario with respect to claims across Canada and in the United States regarding all aspects of general insurance liability, including motor vehicle accidents, fire loss, construction negligence, CGL claims, occupier&rsqu...
Lauren is a partner at Beard Winter LLP and a member of the firm’s Insurance Litigation group. Lauren began her practice in insurance defence litigation in 2000 upon her call to the bar. She continues to practice in the insurance defence field and has focused her practice on motor vehicle accident cases, nursing home litigation, institutional sexual liability and occupiers’ liability disputes. She has proven successful on numerous summary judgment motions and has appeared before t...
Richard M. Bogoroch is a highly regarded and accomplished personal injury lawyer. Mr. Bogoroch has over 29 years of experience and dedication to his profession, and is actively involved in the legal community. Mr. Bogoroch is a past Director of the Ontario Centre for Advocacy Training and a past Director of the Advocates’ Society. Mr. Bogoroch is also a past Chairman of the Canadian Bar Association - Ontario Provincial Committee on the Judiciary. He is also a member of the Metropolitan ...
Heidi R. Brown is a partner at Bogoroch & Associates LLP and is certified by the Law Society of Ontario as a Specialist in Civil Litigation. She was called to the Ontario Bar in 1993, and practised for seven years as counsel to the Children’s Lawyer, Ministry of the Attorney General for the Province of Ontario where she represented the legal interests of children in various litigation matters.Since joining Bogoroch & Associates LLP in November of 1999, Heidi has exclusively prac...
Following the wrongful death of a family member, William chose a career as a personal injury lawyer so that he could represent the interests of others going through similar experiences as his. After receiving an Honours Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Guelph, majoring in Criminal Justice and Public Policy, William earned his law degree from Queen’s University. Called to the bar in 2018, William joined McLeish Orlando as an Associate. While studying at Queen’s, Willi...
Craig Brown is an experienced trial lawyer who attributes his success to strategic planning and careful risk management of his clients’ cases. Craig is listed in The Canadian Legal Lexpert® Directory as a leading personal injury practitioner and in The Best Lawyers™ in Canada 2019 publication. Craig’s practice philosophy is to ensure that his clients have all the information they need to make informed decisions. “Going to court involves risk and almost always costs...
Kate Cahill is a personal injury lawyer, whose focus is primarily on medical malpractice cases, including claims arising from obstetrical negligence, surgical negligence, nursing negligence, emergency room negligence, medication errors, missed diagnoses and delayed diagnoses. Kate’s medical litigation practice extends to representing people who have suffered injury as a result of defective medical devices or surgical implants. Kate’s personal injury litigation practice also involv...
Joseph is a Partner at McLeish Orlando. He is a graduate of the University of King’s College, Dalhousie University, and Western University. Joseph began his legal career as an articling student at McLeish Orlando in 2008 and has dedicated his practice exclusively to working for injured clients and their families. He has handled a wide variety of personal injury cases, for people of all ages, and has the expertise and dedication required to achieve a successful outcome, no matter how com...
Lindsay Charles joined McLeish Orlando as a law student and following her call to the bar she was hired to the firm as an Associate Lawyer. Lindsay’s practice is devoted exclusively to plaintiffs’ personal injury and wrongful death cases, including motor vehicle collisions, occupiers’ liability, products liability, medical negligence, and disability benefits claims. Lindsay regularly appears at the Superior Court of Justice and the License Appeal Tribunal. Lindsay has been c...
Alex Curry is one of Beard Winter LLP’s managing partners. A civil litigator, Alex practises exclusively in the area of insurance defence litigation. He has a special interest in disability-related matters including claims arising from long-term disability policies (both group and individual), critical illness policies, mortgage life, and life insurance claims. Alex takes a common sense approach to resolving all variety of matters including coverage disputes, statutory accident benefits...
Frank S.M. Devito is a civil litigator and senior partner at Beard Winter LLP, with more than 20 years of insurance defence litigation expertise. Bringing sound advice and a deep understanding of the Canadian insurance industry, Frank has a lengthy track record of successfully defending insurers in relation to various types of claims. These include motor vehicle tort claims, personal injury claims, general liability claims, property/casualty claims, construction claims, contractor liability c...
Joel is a Partner at HSH whose practice is dedicated to personal injury litigation, and in particular, motor vehicle accidents, product liability injuries and solicitors’ negligence. Joel has argued successfully in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, the Divisional Court and the Court of Appeal for Ontario and has handled the full range of personal injury claims, from slip and falls, to amputations and catastrophic brain injury. Joel is passionate about his work and has earned a repu...
With over a decade of experience and a proven track record of success, Erin Ellis is an advocate for survivors of both recent and historical sexual and physical abuse. Erin received her Bachelor of Science degree from Cornell University (2003) and her law degree from Queen’s University (2007). She was called to the Ontario Bar in 2008. Erin represents plaintiffs from across Canada, demanding acknowledgment and compensation for the harms perpetrated or facilitated by individuals and inst...
Duncan is a Partner and head of the Medical Malpractice group at Neinstein Personal Injury Lawyers. He primarily acts on behalf of plaintiffs on cases involving all areas of medical negligence including obstetrical negligence and surgical negligence. He also acts for plaintiffs on all types of catastrophic personal injury claims including claims for institutional negligence, occupier’s liability, motor vehicle accidents and product liability matters. Duncan also handles complex multi-ju...
Ian has practiced exclusively in the area of personal injury and insurance-related matters since his call to the bar. He primarily dedicates his practice to children and adult victims injured in motor vehicle accidents, including motorcycle accidents, pedestrian-car accidents, ATV accidents, and snowmobile accidents. He represents accident victims and their families throughout Ontario. Ian strives to ensure that injury victims for whom he acts have access to attendant care and rehabilitative ...
Christine’s practice is almost exclusively dedicated to the defence of class action proceedings. She has significant experience litigating claims involving product liability, medical malpractice, complex bodily injury, abuse, sports and recreation, professional liability, construction andproperty damage. She has represented clients in a number of trials, arbitrations, applications, motions and tribunal hearings. Prior to joining Dolden Wallace Folick LLP in 2017, she maintained a busy p...
Penny Georgoudis is a partner at Beard Winter LLP and a member of the firm’s Insurance Litigation Group. A seasoned civil litigator with more than 30 years of experience in the area of insurance defence, Penny acts on behalf of numerous insurers throughout Ontario on tort and negligence claims, property and casualty, product liability, coverage issues, commercial insurance, and general liability claims. She regularly appears before all levels of Ontario Courts, representing clients at t...
Deanna S. Gilbert was admitted to the Law Society of Ontario in 2008. Her practice is devoted to representing Plaintiffs in personal injury litigation including cases arising from motor vehicle accidents, medical malpractice, slip and falls, product liability, and assaults. Deanna has appeared before all levels of Court in Ontario, including the Ontario Court of Appeal, and frequently appears before the Licence Appeal Tribunal. She has been designated a Certified Specialist in Civil Litigatio...
Bernard has always been a staunch advocate for the rights of injured persons. Well-known for his philanthropy, he provides executive and financial support to many non-profit organizations across Ontario. He frequently organizes events for persons with brain and spinal cord injuries.Bernard has 57 years of experience in Personal Injury litigation and is a Lifetime Member of the Law Society of Ontario.Within the firm, Bernard is personally involved in most of the serious cases as well as taking...
Charles Gluckstein was called to the Ontario Bar in 1999 and is a Specialist in Civil Litigation, which encompasses personal injury, medical and professional negligence, motor vehicle claims, occupier’s liability issues, and products liability. An award-winning lawyer himself, Charles is known for his active support within the medical and disability communities and his innovative mindset for providing better and faster resolution to all Gluckstein client cases, without sacrificing even ...
Jennifer obtained her BA from the University of Toronto in 1992 and her LL.B. from Osgoode Hall Law School in 1995. She was called to the Bar in 1997 and joined Zarek, Taylor, Grossman, Hanrahan in 1999. In 2008 she joined the partnership. Jennifer currently practices predominantly in the area of first party accident benefits with an emphasis on catastrophic claims. She also assists insurers with priority disputes, loss transfer claims and cases involving interface with the Workplace Safety a...
Eric was called to the Ontario Bar in 1989 and has been certified as a Specialist in Civil Litigation by the Law Society of Upper Canada since 1999. Eric has been named by Best Lawyers International as Lawyer of the Year, Personal Injury Litigation, Toronto, for 2018, and is recognized annually as a Best Lawyer in Canada in personal injury and insurance law by that organization. Eric continues to be recognized by Lexpert as a leading practitioner in personal injury law. He has attained an AV ...
Susan Gunter, partner since 2002 at Dutton Brock LLP, holds an LLM in Civil Litigation (Osgoode), an LLB (UNB), and was called to the Ontario Bar in 1996. She is recognized in The Best Lawyers in Canada (Products Liability Law, Insurance Law and Personal Injury Litigation). Her litigation practice defends domestic and international corporations and insurers. She has appeared before federal and provincial tribunals, at all levels of court in Ontario and at the Federal Court of Canada. She is c...
Richard Halpern is a senior lawyer acting exclusively for injured people in medical negligence cases, with a special focus on infants injured at or around the time of birth. Richard is known across Canada for his expertise in birth injury cases. He has more than 30 years of experience representing seriously injured people. Richard has a detailed understanding of the highly technical medical issues, particularly relating to birth injury cases. His experience allows him to provide meaningful ad...
Carr conducts a trial advocacy practice in the field of civil litigation. Carr has successfully represented his clients at trial before the Superior Court of Justice and the Financial Services Commission of Ontario. Carr’s practice is dedicated to helping victims and their families achieve the best possible results when they have suffered serious personal injuries.Carr’s practice focuses on helping victims of personal injuries and fatalities, historic sexual assaults, product liab...
Michael practises personal injury law, with an emphasis on motor vehicle accidents, insurance and disability claims and other facets of personal injury litigation, such as recreation/sports injury claims, motorcycle accidents, boating accidents and wrongful dismissal matters. A founding partner of the firm, Michael is committed to helping victims and their loved ones through difficult times and to achieve a fair result to compensate them for their losses. Michael has been a frequent speaker a...
David Himelfarb is head of the Litigation practice at the firm . He has extensive experience in civil litigation and has appeared before all levels of Courts and tribunals in the Province, including the Ontario Court of Appeal as well as the Supreme Court of Canada. He is acknowledged as an effective advocate and negotiator . Many of his cases have been reported and are utilized as precedents in the legal community. His reputation and proven track record are supported by a long list of multi-...
Lloyd Hoffer is a civil litigator with experience in a broad variety of courts and administrative tribunals in multiple jurisdictions within Canada. He has a broad perspective not only on how judicial and administrative decision-makers actually make decisions, but also on how clients of differing needs and characteristics can best define and achieve their goals within the confines of judicial and administrative decision-making processes. Lloyd's case experience includes trials, appeals and ad...
Jim’s practice is devoted to litigation, principally in the areas of personal injury litigation, insurance claims and medical malpractice, on behalf of victims. Jim helps clients deal with disasters that have come into their lives. When it comes to making sure that they are properly compensated for their injuries and able to manage the quality of their lives moving forward, Jim takes a hard-nosed approach to his cases. He has tried these cases and appeared before the Ontario Superior Co...
Michael Huclack is a partner at Beard Winter LLP and a member of the firm’s Insurance Litigation group. Since his call to the British Columbia bar in 1989 and to the Ontario bar in 1991, Michael has practised exclusively in the area of insurance defence litigation. His practice includes first-party and tort motor vehicle claims, disputes between insurers, and CGL, homeowners, and product liability actions. Michael has appeared as counsel before the Ontario Court of Appeal, the Superior ...
Meghan’s practice is devoted to all types of personal injury litigation on behalf of seriously injured plaintiffs and their families. She has genuine concern for the predicaments of her clients and goes the distance to do everything she can for the best possible result, in order to assist them in reshaping and rebuilding their lives. Meghan has appeared before the Superior Court of Justice, the Divisional Court, the Court of Appeal of Ontario, the Financial Services Commission, and the ...
Simona Jellinek leads the Sexual Abuse and Assault team as counsel. Simona has more than 25 years of representing survivors of childhood abuse as well as adult assaults. She has litigated against religions institutions, Childrens’ Aid Societies, all levels of government, Big Brothers, Scouts, school boards, and many other institutions where people are placed in harms way. Simona’s has litigated hundreds of cases and has helped her clients achieve some of the highest settlements fo...
Tessie Kalogeras has been working in the area of insurance litigation since her call to the bar. She is a diligent and conscientious lawyer that takes great pride in her work and in providing balanced, well-reasoned results for her clients.As a partner in the firm’s Insurance Litigation group, Tessie’s practice primarily focuses on insurance defence litigation, including first and third party claims, disputes between insurers, occupiers’ liability claims and property damage ...
Our Methodology
Recognition by Best Lawyers is based entirely on peer review. Our methodology is designed to capture, as accurately as possible, the consensus opinion of leading lawyers about the professional abilities of their colleagues within the same geographical area and legal practice area.
The Process
Best Lawyers employs a sophisticated, conscientious, rational, and transparent survey process designed to elicit meaningful and substantive evaluations of the quality of legal services. Our belief has always been that the quality of a peer review survey is directly related to the quality of the voters.
In Brief
The Upcycle Conundrum
by Karen Kreider Gaunt
Laudable or litigious? What you need to know about potential copyright and trademark infringement when repurposing products.
Wage and Overtime Laws for Truck Drivers
by Greg Mansell
For truck drivers nationwide, underpayment and overtime violations are just the beginning of a long list of problems. Below we explore the wages you are entitled to but may not be receiving.
My Husband Didn’t Want to Stay Married…But He Didn’t Want a Divorce
by Jennifer Billock
Patience—and the law—prevails when an uncooperative partner avoids divorce proceedings.
Enhancing Consumer Safety Through Winning Jury Trials and Substantial Settlements
by Justin Smulison
Firm founder and lead trial lawyer James P. Frantz discusses how landmark victories in litigation and trial protect consumers.
