OVER 80 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE advocating for people throughout ontario, including those seriously injured in Sudbury
Thomson Rogers prides itself on providing extraordinary legal representation for seriously injured individuals. We represent clients all across Ontario and are especially proud of the work that we have done in the community of Sudbury.
Our law firm is consistently ranked as among the best in Canada. The lawyers representing our personal injury clients are dedicated to excellence in advocacy, are frequently certified by Law Society of Ontario as Specialists in Civil Litigation, and are recognized by their peers as experts in personal injury law.
FEATURED SUDBURY PERSONAL INJURY CASE
It was a rainy December day when our client’s friend offered to drive him home. The Christmas season had just ended, and New Year’s day was around the corner. It was that time of year when nobody is working, and nothing gets done. On that fateful day, the road crew responsible for maintaining the Trans-Canada highway just outside of Sudbury was short-staffed. This staffing shortfall had devastating consequences for our client and his family.A flash freeze hit the area. The wet roads turned into sheer ice. The short-staffed road crew failed to properly salt the roads. The Trans-Canada Highway became the Trans-Canada skating rink. The car in which our client was travelling lost control and hurtled head-first into oncoming traffic. Our client sustained a catastrophic, life-altering brain injury. He will never fully recover. He was 18 years old.
Fast forward two years, and we obtained for our client, three separate settlements totalling, $11.7-million*. It was one of the largest ever Personal Injury settlements paid by the Government of Ontario for the failure to salt and sand a roadway. And it happened just minutes outside of Sudbury.
There are two reasons that this case is worth noting: the record-setting payment, and the time in which it was achieved.
So, what are the ingredients
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It was a rainy December day when our client’s friend offered to drive him home. The Christmas season had just ended, and New Year’s day was around the corner. It was that time of year when nobody is working, and nothing gets done. On that fateful day, the road crew responsible for maintaining the Trans-Canada highway just outside of Sudbury was short-staffed. This staffing shortfall had devastating consequences for our client and his family.A flash freeze hit the area. The wet roads turned into sheer ice. The short-staffed road crew failed to properly salt the roads. The Trans-Canada Highway became the Trans-Canada skating rink. The car in which our client was travelling lost control and hurtled head-first into oncoming traffic. Our client sustained a catastrophic, life-altering brain injury. He will never fully recover. He was 18 years old.
Fast forward two years, and we obtained for our client, three separate settlements totalling, $11.7-million*. It was the largest ever settlement paid by the Government of Ontario for the failure to salt a roadway. And it happened just minutes outside of Sudbury.
There are two reasons that this case is worth noting: the record-setting payment, and the time in which it was achieved.
So, what are the ingredients that you need for such a large settlement? Two of them (a seriously injured plaintiff and a defendant with deep-pockets) are obvious. However, there are equally important, though far less obvious ingredients.
As the old saying goes: you need to spend money to make money. Nowhere is this adage truer than in serious personal injury cases. A lawyer prosecuting a large claim needs considerable resources. You must be able to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars in disbursements; without batting an eye. We did not hire one or two private detectives. We hired a team of private detectives. They flew across the province to interview witnesses, police officers and paramedics. On top of the usual medical experts, we hired experts on everything from highway engineering to meteorology to road maintenance procedures.
The right experts make all the difference. A case with damages this severe meant that we had to hire leaders in the field of neuropsychiatry, neuropsychology, occupational therapy and speech-language pathology. It also required an exceptional treatment team: to document ongoing difficulties, corroborate medical reports and provide comfort and support to the victim and his family. Proper valuation of the claim demanded a world-class team, including medical professionals, accountants and academics.
Not all of these experts could be found in Sudbury. It is not unusual for our firm to hire leading experts from across the continent, from Toronto, British Columbia, Alberta, Harvard or California.
The Ministry self-insures. It retains top-notch counsel and fights these claims tooth and nail. At discoveries, counsel for the Ministry promised that the case would never settle. They claimed that the Ministry would never be held liable. At the mediation of this matter, a high-ranking Ministry official commented that he had never before seen preparation this thorough. As a result, the Ministry offered to settle the case for more money than it had ever paid before.
After you settle a case for $11.7-million*, it is easy to look back at it as a “sure thing” from day one. It is tempting to re-write history and tell yourself that you were confident of the result the whole way through. It would be a mistake to do so here.
From day one, we knew that our client was not wearing a seatbelt. Right off the bat, the Defendants were entitled to a deduction for contributory negligence. On their face, the Ministry documents showed that the accident site had been continuously salted all day (including minutes before the collision). Establishing liability was going to be an uphill climb.
When we drilled down, we found contradictions in the Ministry documents. Upon receiving more documentation, we found more contradictions. Eventually, interviews with passing motorists and plow operators allowed us to completely undermine the Ministry’s self-serving documents. In fact, when our investigators went door-to-door in Sudbury, several Sudburians told them that this particular stretch of road was chronically underserviced.
In the end, the result could not have been more satisfying. A few short years after retaining us, our client has the financial resources to start planning and living the rest of his life.
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*Past results are not necessarily indicative of future results and the amount recovered and other litigation outcomes will vary according to the facts in individual cases.
FEATURED SUDBURY PERSONAL INJURY CASE
It was a rainy December day when our client’s friend offered to drive him home. The Christmas season had just ended, and New Year’s day was around the corner. It was that time of year when nobody is working, and nothing gets done. On that fateful day, the road crew responsible for maintaining the Trans-Canada highway just outside of Sudbury was short-staffed. This staffing shortfall had devastating consequences for our client and his family....Read More
TESTIMONIALS FROM OUR CLIENTS Across ontario
My daughter Julia fell from the 4th floor window and sustained multiple severe injuries. My lawyer Darcy Merkur at Thomson Rogers came to our home and was very caring and easy to understand when he explained how the entire process works.
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Darcy and his team are true professionals, they worked tirelessly on the case until the settlement was reached out of court. The settlement will provide financial security for my daughter for years to come.
Darcy’s care, compassion and experience made all the difference.
THANK YOU!
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Roman D.
On the advice of a friend, I contacted Sloan Mandel of Thomson Rogers with two assessments indicating catastrophic impairment. Mr. Mandel accepted my case which resulted in a fair settlement from the insurance company, roughly ten times their previous best offer.
H. Fraser
I suffered a devastating personal injury and had exhausted every avenue possible in attempting to receive any compensation from the company responsible for it. I was literally at my wit’s end and that’s when I found Thomson Rogers and more specifically I found Stephen Birman
[show_more more=”Read More” less=”Show Less”]From our initial meeting, his personal demeanour and professionalism were instantly calming. He was also able to concisely give me the facts and options available to me with a firm guarantee that should I choose, he would do everything possible to fight for my rights and ensure that I acquired just and fair indemnity for my personal suffering and loss.
I placed my full trust in him to aid and guide me through the entire litigation process. It was the best decision I have ever made.
His capacity in obtaining competent opinions from surgeons, forensic experts as well as numerous other evidentiary sources was a fine example of his skill and qualification. On a personal level, having him by my side during the face to face meetings gave me a greater confidence by watching his negotiation and arbitration experience and dexterity.
Ultimately, it was his proficiency and expertise that manoeuvred us through a very complicated campaign. It was with his support that I was finally able to obtain equitable reparation and validation for my pain and bereavement.
It is my hope for anyone in a similar situation that they too may have the privilege of having Stephen Birman and Thomson Rogers represent them.
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M. Sharpe
Thank you so much Wendy Moore Mandel for all your help. You made navigating this whole crazy mess so much easier. From the moment you walked into my hospital room and first spoke to me I had a good feeling that I had picked the right lawyer. I will be happy to recommend you to anyone who needs a great personal injury lawyer. Please pass on my thanks to Rosemarie and Vicky Lynn who were so great and helpful.
Geri D.
I do not remember the exact date that Darcy Merkur from Thomson Rogers came into our lives. I believe it was in June 2010 . . . We interviewed three different lawyers representing three different firms in Toronto. We felt very comfortable and also comforted by Darcy. He was a dad too. His children were one year younger and one year older than our Zoe. He showed care and compassion. We felt that he truly cared about our family and was the right lawyer to represent our daughter for all the right reasons. Ridiculously smart too, but please do not tell him I said that!
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This would be another long, tedious, emotional roller coaster. It will take ‘years’ to go through this legal battle he stated . . . he was very precise on instructions and how difficult this would be for my entire family.
My lawyer Leonard Kunka and his legal team at Thomson Rogers took control of my case from the beginning and assisted us through the entire process of building, recording and detailing every aspect with great detail and added professional case testimonies and opinions offered by a wide variety of healthcare and legal professionals.
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In March 2010, six years after our accident and 23 surgeries later, our complicated legal case was settled and the monies we received in our settlement help me every day to continue the process of rebuilding my body, my mind, and our life.
When I look back now 12 years later, I am amazed at where I came from, what I overcame just to be here, alive each day, yet with many challenges that still exist and I need to overcome. I realize that the decisions we made through our legal team at Thomson Rogers, gave us the proper compensation that we needed and in a plan we receive through monthly pensions and registered annuities that keep us going so that I can continue my journey of dealing with these injuries and current health needs.
