Personal Injury Practice Group
The personal injury lawyers at Tierney Stauffer LLP have specialized in personal injury for over 25 years. We offer services in the following areas:
- Accident Benefits claims arising from Motor Vehicle Accidents
- Assault and battery injuries
- Brain, spinal, and neurological injuries
- Catastrophic injuries and wrongful death from motor vehicle accidents and other causes
- Claims against municipalities for injuries on municipal property and roads
- Claims against taverns, golf clubs, arenas, schools, institutions and other public facilities where injuries are caused by management failing to provide a safe environment
- Claims for injuries caused by defective consumer products, vehicles, equipment and buildings
- Claims for insurance benefits, health and disability benefits, including life insurance claims
- Injuries from attacks by dogs and other animals
- Medical and dental malpractice claims
- Motor Vehicle Accidents
- Slip and fall and trip and fall injuries
If You’ve Been Injured or are Suffering from a Serious Illness:
We recognize and appreciate that for anyone that has suffered a personal injury, going through the process of understanding your legal rights can be extremely overwhelming. Our dedicated team of lawyers, law clerks and legal assistants provide our clients and their families with caring, comprehensive professional legal services in order to help you through this process. Our goal is to assist you in navigating your way to a fair and equitable resolution to your claim.We understand that our clients who have suffered serious injuries or illnesses are usually under great financial stress. For this reason, we are able to offer a free consultation and if we agree to take on your case, will work for you on a contingency fee basis. What this means is that we only get paid if we recover money for you. Our fees are calculated as a percentage of the total amounts recovered. The percentage that is applicable to each client’s case is discussed fully before we start and is set out in writing in our Retainer Agreement, which includes an example of how the fee is calculated. Furthermore, if you are unable to come to our office due to the nature of your injuries or illness, we will make a hospital or home visit.
There are time limits to all claims and any delay in proceeding may be subject to a deadline so you should not delay in proceeding with your claim or obtaining legal advise to clarify these deadlines. Choosing a lawyer who specializes in the area of personal injury is critical, so please call one of our personal injury lawyers today for a free consultation.
| > | Your Legal Rights Following an Injury [PDF 106 KB] by The Personal Injury Practice Group, Tierney Stauffer LLP |
If you are a Health Care Professional:
If you are a Health Care Professional and your patient has come to see you due to a personal injury, you should advise your patient to contact a personal injury lawyer as soon as possible to ensure his or her legal rights are protected. Here is a list of common questions and answers that can assist you and we would welcome your referral in order to protect your patient’s legal rights.| 1 | How and when should the patient retain a lawyer? Motor Vehicle Accidents: If the patient is injured in a motor vehicle accident and their injuries appear to be serious and permanent, they should contact a lawyer immediately. Other Accidents: If the patient is injured in a fall or by some other means they should contact a lawyer immediately as a short limitation period or deadline may be applicable to the case depending on how or where the injury occurred. If the firm that your patient is contacting specializes in personal injury, there will be no charge for the initial interview. |
| 2 | When should the patient contact his or her insurance company? It is very important that the patient contact their own insurance company as soon as they are able in order to apply for no-fault benefits. In order to contact their insurance company, they should telephone their insurance broker who will direct the claim to the appropriate person at their insurance company. If it is a serious accident, the adjuster for the at-fault driver of the other vehicle will undoubtedly try to contact your patient. There is no legal obligation for the injured patient to speak with a representative from the at-fault driver’s insurance company. |
| 3 | Who can make a claim? If the patient is in a motor vehicle accident or has suffered an injury from any other accident, the person who is injured can make a claim as can members of that person’s family including, spouses, children, grandchildren, parents, grandparents, brothers and sisters. |
| 4 | What is the legal process? The legal process commences with an interview with a lawyer after which the lawyer will attempt to settle the patient’s claim with an adjuster from the insurance company. If the lawyer is unable to settle the claim, the law firm will commence a lawsuit. Ninety-nine percent of these claims will settle before trial. The legal stages that the patient will have to attend will be mediation, examinations for discovery, a judicial settlement conference and finally, a trial. |
| 5 | How long does the process take? Typically, an experienced personal injury lawyer will not attempt to settle the case until he or she has a final medical report or until he or she is satisfied that the medical experts have ensured that the diagnosis and prognosis is correct and final. It is only at that time that the personal injury lawyer can assess a claim properly. Depending on the nature of the injuries, it may take up to two years before the claim can be assessed. Following that, most cases are settled out of court. However, if the matter has to go through the entire court process to trial it will, in all likelihood, take another two years depending on the backlog of cases in the judicial system and the jurisdiction in which the case is being pursued. |
| 6 | How much will the patient have to pay? Most personal injury firms work on a contingency or percentage basis. In other words, if they don’t win or settle your case, they don’t get paid. In all cases the initial interview is free. |
| 7 | If one is in an accident, how does a judge determine how much money one gets? Compensation for injuries or “damages” arise from many different losses. Some obvious examples are pain and suffering for both physical and psychological injury, loss of income, medical expenses, loss of ability to work in the future, loss of ability to compete against an uninjured person. Basically, the approach of the courts is to put the person into the same shoes they would have been in had they not been injured. |
| 8 | Between the time of my accident and time the patient receives my compensation, how can they make ends meet? If it is a motor vehicle accident the patient will have in all likelihood an income replacement benefit paid to them by their own insurance company. They may also have long-term disability benefits available to them through their employment or they may be able to apply for Workers Compensation benefits if the accident happened while they were working. There are other sources of financial assistance available. This is an area they will discuss with their personal injury lawyer at their initial interview. |
| 9 | Should the patient contact the police? If the patient that has been involved in an accident has not contacted the police it is imperative that they do so immediately. |
Articles of Interest for Health Care Professionals:
The following articles are included in our “Personal Injury Manual for Health Care Professionals”. If you have any questions, or would like to receive a copy of the Manual, please contact any of the lawyers in our Personal Injury Practice Group. In order to access the articles, please click on the links below:| > | If Your Patient Has a Dispute Over the Denial or Termination of a Benefit [PDF 119 KB] |
| > | How to Apply for Insurance-Funded Treatment for Your Patient [PDF 72 KB] |
| > | The Pre-Approved Framework (PAF) [PDF 74 KB] |
| > | Where Do I Send My Application Forms? [PDF 90 KB] |
| > | When to Get Legal Counsel [PDF 68 KB] |
| > | Starting a Lawsuit [PDF 68 KB] |
| > | Deadlines and Limitation Periods [PDF 68 KB] |
| > | Additional Resources for Your Patient [PDF 68 KB] |
| > | Fee Guideline [PDF 100 KB] |
Tierney Stauffer LLP, Personal Injury Lawyers:
| > | Frank C. Tierney |
| > | Ian R. Stauffer |
| > | Dana P. Tierney |
| > | Susan D. Mitchell |
| > | Teena L. Belland |
| > | William J. Simpson * |
| > | John J. Cardill * |
| > | Roderic G. Ferguson * |
| > | James B. Curran * |
* Designates an Associate Practicing Individually – Not a Member of the Tierney Stauffer LLP Partnership:
