Motor vehicle accidents
Decades of experience helping people injured in car and truck collisions navigate Ontario's complex compensation system.
Toronto · Huntsville · Bowmanville
Toronto · Huntsville · Bowmanville
Practice Areas · Personal Injury
The Practice
My strength is finding the shortest path to the best possible outcome for my clients. Jim Davidson, Partner
A serious injury rarely arrives alone. It brings medical bills, lost income, a long and uncertain recovery, and an insurance system that does not make any of it simple. The people who are hurt did not ask for any of this, and they should not have to fight the consequences without help.
Our personal injury group is led by senior partners David Morin, Jim Davidson and Paul Cahill, with Ron Strike, Joel Cormier, Peter Reinitzer and Hudson Chalmers. On this side of our practice we act for the injured person and their family, and our work runs from everyday collisions to the most catastrophic injuries.
We take cases from across Ontario, from offices in Toronto, Huntsville and Bowmanville. If you are not sure where you stand, the most useful first step is a conversation. You may also find our overview of what to know after a car accident in Ontario helpful.
The Basics
Being hurt is not, by itself, a claim. To recover compensation, an injured person generally has to show that someone else was at fault and that the fault caused real harm. Four building blocks have to be in place, and the burden rests on the injured person throughout.
The other party owed you a duty to take reasonable care, whether as a driver on the road, an occupier of property, or the maker of a product.
That party fell short of the care a reasonable person would have shown in the circumstances. What the standard required is proved with evidence, and with experts where the issue is technical.
The breach caused your injury. You must show that, but for the other party's conduct, the harm would not have happened.
There is real, compensable loss: the injury itself, the cost of care, lost income, and the effect on your life. Without loss there is no claim, however careless the conduct.
Where We Act
Our work spans the full range of serious injury. The matters we are most often retained on include the following. If your situation is not listed, it does not mean we cannot help, so please ask.
Decades of experience helping people injured in car and truck collisions navigate Ontario's complex compensation system.
Securing the no-fault accident benefits available after a motor vehicle accident, including income replacement, treatment and attendant care.
Representing those with the most severe injuries, who may qualify for enhanced benefits if found to be catastrophically impaired.
Concussions and traumatic brain injuries, which can cause lasting disability, loss of work and dependence on others for care.
Catastrophic spinal injuries that affect mobility and independence, where the compensation has to fund a lifetime of changed needs.
Serious injuries from poorly maintained walkways and premises, including municipal sidewalks. More on slip and fall claims.
Collisions involving the most exposed road users, where injuries are often severe. More on cycling safety and the law.
Injuries caused by negligently designed or manufactured consumer products that fail in use.
Acting for families after a death, including their own claims for the loss of care, guidance and companionship.
After a Motor Vehicle Accident
People are often surprised to learn that a motor vehicle accident in Ontario can give rise to two separate claims that run at the same time. They serve different purposes, and we pursue both.
These come from your own insurer, regardless of who caused the accident. They can include income replacement, medical and rehabilitation treatment, and attendant care, and they are meant to start early to support your recovery. Disputes about benefits are decided by the Licence Appeal Tribunal, and the most seriously hurt may qualify for enhanced benefits as catastrophically impaired.
This is the lawsuit against the person who caused the crash. It is where you recover the full range of your losses, including pain and suffering and the future income and care that benefits do not fully cover. It is subject to its own deadlines and, for pain and suffering, to a deductible and a threshold.
The two work together, and the choices made on one side affect the other. Coordinating them is much of the skill in a motor vehicle case, and it is why early advice matters.
Compensation
The purpose of a claim is to put the injured person, so far as money can, in the position they would have been in had the injury never happened. In a serious case that figure can be very large, because the biggest components are usually the lifetime cost of care and lost earning capacity.
These are the measurable financial losses, and there is no legal ceiling on them. They can include past and future medical treatment, attendant and personal care, therapy and rehabilitation, assistive equipment, home and vehicle modifications, lost income, and the loss of future earning capacity. In catastrophic cases the future-care and income components are what drive awards into the millions.
These compensate for pain, suffering and loss of enjoyment of life. The Supreme Court of Canada has set an upper limit on this category that is indexed for inflation and now sits in the range of roughly $400,000 to $470,000, with the maximum reserved for the most devastating injuries.
Motor vehicle cases carry an extra hurdle that other injury claims do not. Ontario law applies a statutory deductible to compensation for pain and suffering, and in many cases a monetary threshold must be met before those damages can be awarded at all. Both figures are adjusted each year. They reduce or affect only the pain-and-suffering portion of a tort claim, not your accident benefits, and not the pecuniary losses above.
Under Ontario's Family Law Act, close family members can advance their own claims arising from a serious injury or a death, including compensation for the loss of care, guidance and companionship, out-of-pocket expenses, and the value of care they provide.
Deadlines
Ontario's Limitations Act, 2002 sets the basic deadline to start a lawsuit at two years. Under the discoverability rule, that period generally runs from when you knew, or ought reasonably to have known, the facts pointing to a claim, rather than from the date of the accident. The clock does not run against a minor who is unrepresented, or against a person who is incapable and unrepresented, and a separate outer limit bars most claims after 15 years.
What catches people out, though, are the much shorter notice periods that can apply long before the two years are up. Missing one can bar an otherwise strong claim.
Some of these are counted in days, not years, so the safest course after an injury is to seek advice immediately, even if you are still recovering. Limited exceptions exist, but they cannot be relied on.
Our Approach
Every injury is different, but the work tends to follow the same path. We tell clients early what to expect, because these cases reward steady, thorough preparation.
We start with what happened and how you are doing, and make sure treatment and benefits are in place while the claim takes shape.
For a motor vehicle case, we get the no-fault benefits flowing and deal with the insurer, and the Licence Appeal Tribunal if a dispute arises.
We secure the scene, the records and the witnesses before they fade, and act on the short notice deadlines that can apply.
We retain the medical and economic experts needed to prove the injury, the future cost of care and the loss of earning capacity.
We commence the lawsuit within time and test the case through documentary and oral discovery, where much of it is won or lost.
Most claims settle on terms that reflect their full value. When a fair resolution is not available we are trial counsel, and we run our own appeals.
Fees and Access
We believe a serious injury should not be made worse by the cost of getting help. We act for injured people on a contingency fee basis, so you do not pay our legal fees up front, and our fee is a percentage of what we recover for you.
We explain the fee, and how disbursements are handled, clearly at the outset. An initial consultation to find out where you stand is without obligation.
The Team
Senior trial counsel and a deep bench, across three offices, for people who have been seriously hurt.
Excellence matters.
David is the firm's Managing Partner, and his litigation practice includes personal injury, product liability, municipal liability and professional negligence. He has represented seriously injured clients and taken cases to the Court of Appeal, and he has served as a Deputy Judge of the Superior Court of Justice of Ontario since 2003.
Full profileMy strength is finding the shortest path to the best possible outcome for my clients.
Jim is a Law Society of Ontario Certified Specialist in Civil Litigation and has been recognized by Best Lawyers in Canada for personal injury litigation since 2018. He has significant experience in injury, fatality and disability claims, and began practising in 1993.
Full profileAchieving successful outcomes in challenging lawsuits is what I do best.
Paul is a Law Society of Ontario Certified Specialist in Civil Litigation and has been recognized by Best Lawyers in Canada for both medical negligence and personal injury litigation since 2021. He is a trial lawyer who has obtained significant results for catastrophically injured clients, and acts as trial counsel to other lawyers on select matters.
Full profileI take pride in helping the little guy get justice in personal injury lawsuits.
Ron practises exclusively in personal injury law and represents plaintiffs only. He has acted for seriously injured clients for more than 40 years, has litigated numerous catastrophic injury cases, and has been recognized by Best Lawyers in Canada for personal injury litigation since 2024. He was called to the Ontario bar in 1983 and works from the firm's Bowmanville office.
Full profileThe most essential trait of a good litigator is not a readiness to fight, but a willingness to listen.
Joel's practice includes personal injury, subrogation, insurance and construction litigation, with considerable experience at trial and on appeal. He has been recognized by Best Lawyers in Canada for personal injury litigation since 2023 and was called to the Ontario bar in 2006.
Full profileAnalytical. Creative. Fearless.
Peter has built a practice with a focus on personal injury and property loss, and appears regularly at the Superior Court of Justice and the Court of Appeal. He pairs trial advocacy with creative resolution to achieve results for his clients, and was called to the Ontario bar in 2015.
Full profileAdvocating with purpose and compassion.
Hudson's practice includes personal injury and insurance litigation, with a special interest in medical malpractice. He completed his articles at the firm, was called to the Ontario bar in 2020, and takes pride in understanding both sides of a dispute.
Full profileRecognition
Questions Injured People Ask
You may, if someone else's carelessness caused your injury and you have suffered real loss as a result. A poor outcome on its own is not enough. We will look at what happened and give you an honest view of whether there is a claim worth pursuing.
The basic deadline to sue is two years, often running from when you discovered the claim rather than the date of the accident. But much shorter notice periods, some measured in days, can apply for accident benefits, for suing an at-fault driver, for falls on municipal property, and for snow and ice falls. Because of that, it is best to get advice immediately.
Accident benefits are no-fault benefits paid by your own insurer after a motor vehicle accident, regardless of who was at fault. A lawsuit is a separate claim against the person who caused the crash, for the full range of your losses. Most injured motorists have both, and they run at the same time.
Past and future care, lost income and earning capacity, which are not capped, and compensation for pain and suffering, which is subject to a national limit and, in motor vehicle cases, to a deductible and threshold. Family members may also have their own claims under the Family Law Act.
We act on a contingency fee basis. You pay no legal fees up front, and our fee is a percentage of what we recover for you. We explain the fee and how disbursements are handled at the outset, and an initial consultation is without obligation.
Often, yes. Ontario law generally reduces a claim by the injured person's share of responsibility rather than barring it outright. Being partly at fault is not the same as having no claim, so it is worth asking.
The firm has a separate insurance group that defends insurers. This personal injury group acts for injured people. They are distinct practices, and conflicts are screened when a matter comes in.
Serious injury claims are evidence-heavy and often vigorously defended, so they can take time, sometimes several years, to resolve. We keep you informed at each stage. Our note on how long a claim takes to settle may help.
Speak With Our Team
If you or someone you love has been seriously injured, contact Davidson Cahill Morrison LLP. The first conversation is straightforward, confidential and without obligation, and because some deadlines are measured in days, the sooner you reach out, the better we can protect your claim.
Davidson Cahill Morrison LLP · 220 Bay Street, Suite 1400, Toronto · dcmlaw.ca