Personal Injury Claims by the Numbers

Personal injury claims are increasing each year, even with the number of auto accidents continuing to decrease.

Per the in 2014, there were 1,667 fatalities from automobile accidents and 110,500 Canadian Motor Vehicle Traffic Collision Statistics personal injuries. In total, there were 149,900 injuries in 2014.

The costs of treating these injuries are also increasing, which makes it more likely for a victim to seek compensation through the courts and through the assistance of personal injury lawyers in the area.

Anyone that has been injured in a motor vehicle accident should contact an injury lawyer. However, they should also get an understanding of how frequent their claim is made elsewhere as well as what generally follows making a particular claim.

What are the Most Common Types of Personal Injury Claims?

Some claims are more prevalent in Canada than others. While most personal injury claims focus on motor vehicle accidents, there are other types of personal injury claims as well. Each year, the number of vehicle registrations and driver’s licenses issued increases. In fact, 2014 saw 24,914 new driver’s licenses issued – which is a 17% jump from only a few years prior.

1. Motor Vehicle Collisions

The most common type of accidents includes rear-end collisions, single motor vehicle crashes, turn strikes, angled hits, and sideswipes, according to 2014 data from the Ministry of Transportation.

Drinking and driving accounted for 24.9% of the total number of road fatalities in 2014, while speed-related collisions only accounted for 17%. Inattentive or distracted driving resulted in 17.9% of deaths. The highest volume of fatalities occurred on rural streets, while the largest number of personal injuries took place on urban streets.

2. Premises Liability

Premises liability includes slip and fall, dog bites and attacks, and trip and fall cases. These occur on public land, at retail stores, and even in private homes. All managers and property owners have a duty to visitors of their business or residence to provide a safe premises. When they fail to do so, they are legally liable for any injuries or damages that can occur.

According to DogsBite.org, 86% of dog attacks cause bodily harm, and 81% of those attacks were to children in the United States and Canada. Pit Bulls and Rottweilers caused the most physical injuries in 2014.

Slip and fall injuries are common in the workplace, per the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety. They state that 42,000 Canadian workers are injured due to falls, and 66% resulted from same-level slips and trips, while the remaining 34% were falls from various heights.

3. Public Transportation Accidents

Public transportation demands are growing in the country. According to Statistics Canada, 12% of Canadians use public transit. In 2014 this led to 536 public transit accidents, nine of which resulted in fatality.

Anyone injured in a public transportation accident will need to contact a personal injury lawyer as lawsuits against the government are much more complicated than those involving private entities.

4. Cycling or Boating Accidents

Active Canadians have alternate transportation options to vehicles and public transportation. Many Canadians ride their bikes to work. However, those cyclists are not without risk on the road. Cyclists account for 1.9% of the fatalities on the road, and 11.5% of personal injuries.

Boating is also popular in Canada. Almost half of the boats used recreationally in Canada are powerboats, says the Lifesaving Society of Canada. Powerboats are involved in more than half of boating related fatalities, and the fundamental causes of those deaths are alcohol consumption and not wearing a personal flotation device. Of those deaths, the highest number of fatalities involved those ages 35 to 64.

5. Wrongful Death Incidents

Wrongful death lawsuits occur for numerous reasons. Whether it is due to an automobile fatality, medical malpractice issue or work-related injury, the family members left behind have the right to sue those responsible for their loved one’s death.

Wrongful death lawsuits occur for numerous reasons. Whether it is due to an automobile fatality, medical malpractice issue or work-related injury, the family members left behind have the right to sue those responsible for their loved one’s death.

According to Accidents in Canada: Mortality and Hospitalization, accidents are the leading cause of death for Canadians under the age of 45, and the fourth-highest cause of death for the total population. The six leading causes of accidents include:

• motor vehicle accidents
• falls
• drowning
• fires
• suffocation
• poisoning

6. Product Liability

Product liability claims involve defective products, products that are marketed inappropriately, or products that do not have adequate warning labels. They are also the highest yielding personal injury settlements because they tend to cause devastating injuries and often involve class-action lawsuits (suits involving multiple people making the same claim).

Per the Insurance Information Institute, the median personal injury award for product liability was $3,000,000. The data also indicates that the average settlement amount is approximately $5,275,103 for claims in the United States and Canada.

Common Settlements and Compensation Awarded

Settlements are more common than jury-awarded compensation. In fact, 97% of cases do not go to trial and settle before their hearing date.

The average settlement for an auto accident in Canada is approximately $120,000 (median settlement is approximately $56,500), with 43% of those settlements occurring in the Greater Toronto Area.

The median compensation value injury lawyers see is approximately $56,500.

If you have lost income claims as part of your personal injury suit, your Toronto personal injury lawyer can typically help you receive up to 70% of your gross income loss. If you settle after trial, you may receive 100% of your total income loss. Therefore, this is something to consider.

The largest settlement in Canadian history is $16.9 million. It was awarded to a 20-year-old man from a motor vehicle injury that resulted in traumatic brain damage, says CBC. The jury in 2009 issued the award and it is the largest settlement to date.

When it comes to work-place injuries and deaths, the WSIB in Ontario reports that there were approximately 230,000 claims and $2.58 billion in benefits paid in 2015.

Understanding the Plaintiff’s Role in the Claim Process

Some factors can affect your success in your claim. For example, if drugs or alcohol are were involved in your injury, it may reduce your chances of winning by 25 to 45%.

Also, your actions that contribute to your injury and the severity of those injuries play a major role. If you were injured in a cycling accident but did not wear a helmet, it may reduce your settlement by 10 to 15 percent. The same goes for wearing a seatbelt. If you are injured in a car accident but were not wearing a seatbelt, you could reduce your chances of success by 15 to 25 percent.

Therefore, your actions play a significant role in the outcome of your personal injury case.

Hire a Toronto Personal Injury Lawyer Today

Now that you know the facts of personal injury, it is time to speak with Toronto personal injury lawyers about your case.

After your motor vehicle collision, public transportation accident, or the loss of a loved one in a work-related incident, you deserve compensation, and the other party should be held accountable for their negligence.

The team at Levitt Di Lella Duggan & Chaplick LLP can help.

Schedule a consultation with the experts in personal injury by calling 416-512-7440 or contact us online with your questions.