Frequently Asked Questions

Personal Injury

Frequently asked questions about Bonn Law’s personal injury law and litigation services.

You will be entitled to insurance accident benefits from your automobile insurer. These benefits can include income replacement, medical and rehabilitation treatment, attendant care, housekeeping assistance, care giving and death benefits.

Yes. Insurance companies are not going to look out for your best interests. To be sure that you get all of the benefits that are available, you should contact a lawyer as soon as possible. If the collision was caused by another driver, a lawyer will tell you your rights to sue that driver for your injuries and losses.

Generally, injured victims can sue the person or company that caused the injury for the following types of damages: pain suffering, loss of income, loss of housekeeping capacity and future medical and rehabilitation care. Family members of injured victims can also sue for their losses.

Yes. A person injured in a car collision can only sue for pain and suffering damages and medical and rehabilitation care if she has suffered a permanent serious impairment of an important physical, mental or psychological function, or a permanent serious disfigurement. This test is commonly referred to as the “threshold”. It is often difficult to know if a person’s injuries will pass this threshold and an injured person should consult a lawyer who is knowledgeable in this area.

A car crash victim can also sue for loss of income. Generally there is no restriction on recovering for future loss of income. However, a car crash victim can only recover 70% of the gross income losses suffered before trial or settlement of a claim.

There are no restrictions on an injured person’s right to sue for loss of housekeeping capacity.

Each case is unique. Some personal injury cases can be resolved in 6 months to 1 year while other cases can last for 5-7 years. The time to complete a case depends on many factors, including the type of injuries suffered, the defence insurance company, the defence lawyer, the court and the expert witnesses. We use the best technology to ensure that your case will be completed in the most efficient manner possible without sacrificing its value.

If you’ve been hurt in a car collision and need to claim for accident benefits, you need to notify your insurer within 7 days of the collision.

You must submit an application to your insurer for accident benefits within 30 days.

You have 120 days from the date of the car crash to put the at-fault driver on notice of your intention to sue.

If you have been denied long-term disability benefits, you may have 1 year to start a legal action.

Generally you have 2 years from the date of your injury to start a legal action. However, the 2 years may not start until you reasonably know that you have a legal claim.

To make sure that you don`t miss an important time deadline you should consult a lawyer at your earliest opportunity.

If you were hurt from a slip and fall on municipal owned property, you are required to provide the municipality with written notice within 10 days of the accident.

At Bonn Law, our goal is to help individuals who have suffered harm and loss from the wrongdoing of others.

Bonn Law primarily represents clients in the areas of personal injury, motor vehicle crashes, insurance disputes, employment law, disability law, institutional negligence, motor vehicle accident benefits and medical malpractice.

Litigation can seem daunting. The law is complex and it costs a lot of money to hire a law firm to sue for what you have lost. Bonn Law does not believe that justice should be reserved only for the wealthy. For most cases, Bonn Law will agree to represent you on a contingency fee basis.

What does this mean to you?

With a contingency fee, Bonn Law will not charge you legal fees unless and until you recover money for your legal case. If you don’t recover any money from your case, you do not pay us fees.

The contingency fee for our work on your case will be based on a percentage of your recovery. This means that our legal fee for your case is tied to your successful outcome of your legal action. Each case is different and we may charge a different percentage depending on the specific facts of each case. Our usual contingency fee for most cases will be in the range of 20 to 30 percent of what the defence agrees or is ordered to pay for damages, interest and costs. However, for the most complicated cases our maximum contingency fee may be 35 percent.

A contingency fee arrangement allows us to help you sue for what you have lost even if you can’t afford to pay for a lawyer. We are determined to fight for our clients and see that justice is done.

Criminal Defence

Frequently asked questions about Bonn Law’s criminal defence and litigation services.

YES. Whether you think you are innocent or guilty, you should always speak to a lawyer as soon as you are arrested. No matter what the police tell you they are not your friends and nothing that you say will stop them from charging you after you have been arrested. Your best option is to speak to a lawyer immediately to know your rights.

At your first court date, the court will read you the criminal charges that you are facing. In most cases, your matter will be adjourned for several weeks for the Crown to get the case ready for trial. You are not expected to enter a plea on your first court date. Until you have seen the evidence against you, you should not plead guilty. While your case will not be resolved at your first trial date, it is critically important that you attend. If you fail to attend you will likely be facing another criminal charge. However, if you have retained a lawyer, that lawyer can attend on your behalf.

Any criminal charge is serious. A criminal conviction can result in you losing your job, restrict you ability to travel, prevent you from volunteering and ultimately the loss of your freedom. A lawyer will be able to tell you if you have a defence to the charges and/or if appropriate in the circumstances negotiate the best result on your behalf. You are always better to contact a lawyer before your first court date. If you retain a lawyer to represent you and sign the necessary documents, your lawyer can attend court on your behalf so you don`t have to take time off of work.

For most criminal charges there are no specific time deadlines. However, if you have been charged with an impaired driving related offense (i.e. impaired driving, over 80, refusal to provide a sample), there are specific time deadlines that you need to know. In August 2010 the Ontario government amended the Highway Traffic Act to allow drivers who have been convicted of operating a motor vehicle when impaired by alcohol or over 80, to apply to the early interlock program. If you are accepted into the program, you could start driving within three months of your conviction date. However, in order to be eligible for the early interlock program, you must resolve your charge within 90 days of the offence date. If you have been charged with impaired driving related offense, you should immediately consult a lawyer to ensure that you do not miss the opportunity to start driving again as soon as possible.

These are actually two separate criminal charges. The legal limit of driving with alcohol in your system is 80 mgs in 100 mL of blood. However, even if you have a lower blood alcohol level, you can still be charged with impaired driving if the police officer believes that your ability to drive the motor vehicle was impaired by alcohol. As well, even if you don’t show any signs of impairment, you can still be charged with over 80 if your blood alcohol level exceeds this amount. The consequences of being convicted of either of these offences are essentially the same.

For many cases you may have a valid defence and reasonable chance of being acquitted. The police must follow certain rules when arresting a person and taking samples of breath or blood. If the police did not follow those rules, the results can be excluded resulting in the charges being dismissed. Also, every citizen has constitutional rights. If the police violated those rights, the court can exclude the evidence resulting in the charges being dismissed. Given the severe penalties for being convicted of an impaired driving related offense, you should consult with a lawyer who is experienced in defending these types of cases before you agree to plead guilty.

For a first offence there is a minimum fine of $1,000. There is also a minimum driving prohibition of one year which means that you are not allowed to drive anywhere in Canada for one year. However, you may be able to drive after three months if you install an alcohol ignition interlock device.

For a second offence there is a minimum jail sentence of 30 days and a minimum driving prohibition of two years. You also be faced with the provincial license suspension of three years, which means that you will not be allowed to drive a vehicle in Ontario for three years.

For a third offence there is a minimum jail sentence of 120 days and a minimum driving prohibition of three years. If you have been convicted of a third offence in Ontario, your driver’s license will be suspended for life.

In addition to the penalties and consequences described above, you can also expect that your insurance premiums will skyrocket. You are also at risk of being barred entry into the United States as you will have a criminal conviction on your record.

If you want to drive as soon as possible following a first conviction, you can expect to pay over $20,000 taking into account the following:

$1,000 for the minimum fine
$500 for the Provincial Back on Track Program
$1,500 for the Interlock Device
$20,000 for increased insurance premiums for the next 3 years