FAQ

Even if you do not intend to sue the person at fault for the accident, you are still able to apply for accident benefits and access treatment and other benefits from your own insurance company. If you do not have your own car insurance, your lawyer will help you to identify the correct insurance company to send your application to.

It is important to remember that your friend purchased car insurance for this very reason. If you have been injured in a car accident, as a result of your friend’s negligence, and you sue your friend, in most situations his/her car insurance will defend the claim. If you are seriously injured and you fail to sue the at fault parties in time, you will jeopardize your right to recover for the damages that you may not be able to understand or quantify at this time.

You should speak with a personal injury lawyer to make sure you understand your rights before deciding how you want to proceed.

If you have been involved in an accident, it is important to consult with a lawyer right away. During your initial free consultation with Michelle Linka Law, we will review your rights and options so that you can make properly informed decisions and access all available assistance right from the start, when your need for assistance will be the greatest.

Although you do not need to hire a lawyer to claim compensation for an injury, being an accident victim can be overwhelming, and hiring a lawyer as early as possible is strongly recommended to prevent future problems. At the very least, you should seek legal advice so that you can make an informed decision.

It is important to note that the Statute of Limitations gives you 2 years to pursue a tort action against the person at fault for your accident, beginning from the date of the incident giving rise to your claim, subject to the discover-ability rule. It is best to initiate any action against the at fault driver well before 2 years from the date of the accident. Before suing the at fault driver, you must first apply for accident benefits from your own insurer, which comes with its own set of deadlines and timelines to be followed throughout the process of claiming these benefits in order to avoid disqualification or delays in receiving compensation.

During this difficult period of time in your life our firm will take care of filing the application for accident benefits and all other necessary paperwork for you; therefore, providing you with ease of mind in knowing that all of the legal aspects of your case are being looked after and thereby allowing you to focus on healing.

Injury lawyers normally work on what is called a contingency fee or conditional fee for services provided where the fee is payable only if there is a favourable result in a case. This means you only pay legal fees to your lawyer if there is a settlement or judgment in your favour.

Contingent fees are usually calculated as a percentage of the client’s net recovery. This is generally referred to as a conditional fee agreement or, usually advertised in the media as no fees until we win. The usual form of this agreement is that the lawyer will take your case on the understanding that if lost, the client makes no payment to his or her own lawyer.

A contingency fee arrangement provides access to the courts for those who cannot afford to pay the lawyer fees and costs of civil litigation. Contingency fees also provide a powerful motivation to the lawyer to work diligently on the client’s case. In other types of litigation where clients pay the lawyer by the hour for their time, it makes little difference to some lawyers whether the client has a successful outcome to the litigation. Finally, because the lawyer assumes the financial risk of litigation of your case, Michelle Linka will do her best to maximize your settlement. Call now for a free consultation and Michelle Linka Law can provide more detailed information.