When a person sustains physical, psychological or emotional injury because another person has been careless, our Courts have long recognized that the careless member of our society should compensate the injured person for their injuries and losses.
When a person suffers injury because a health care provider has provided substandard health care then, similarly, our Courts have recognized that these injuries require that the careless health care provider should compensate the injured person for their losses.
When a person suffers a loss of reputation in our community because someone else has published statements (verbally or in writing) that were made intentionally, carelessly or recklessly to lower a person’s standing in the community, then the person who slandered or libeled the person should compensate for the other person’s losses that arise from the defamation.
Each of theses instances provide examples of circumstances where a person has suffered personal loss because someone else has acted carelessly, negligently or intentionally and caused harm. Our Courts recognize that one important way of improving safety and well-being in our community is to hold the person who acts in a careless or intentionally harmful way accountable for their actions so that they will be more careful and considerate next time.
Jeff Lanctot is a partner at LLF who has assisted clients in holding others accountable for their harmful, negligent or intentional acts for more than 30 years. One judge of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice made the following observation about Jeff’s courtroom work on behalf of a client:
Counsel who undertake this type of action on behalf of victims, are to be commended. These matters are emotionally charged and, ultimately, may be undertaken without actual compensation…
The plaintiff in this case was indeed fortunate to have counsel who was prepared to pursue this matter on her behalf with much zeal, professionalism and compassion.
In another case, three judges of the Ontario Court of Appeal described a case where Jeff represented a client in a matter that spanned more than ten years. The Court said this:
The present case stretched out ten years before trial with dozens of pre-trial steps and proceedings. The trial lasted 24 days: many witnesses were called, including three expert witnesses; cross-examinations were lengthy; the issues, as noted by the trial judge, were complicated, involving the difficult are of recovered memory, and the concomitant aspects of credibility and reliability of witnesses with which the trial judge had to grapple.
The Ontario Court of Appeal then concluded that in conducting this case on behalf of his client, Jeff:
“…did so in a measured and proper way. It is commendable that he [Jeff’s client] was able to secure counsel at such a reasonable rate.”
Jeff has represented our clients in cases where compensation was demanded for injuries, disability, losses and damages arising from
Jeff has not only represented clients in Court proceedings to obtain just compensation for our clients’ losses, but also assisted them before various tribunals to obtain financial assistance for criminal injuries or other available compensation.
Please contact Jeff or one of this legal assistants to arrange an appointment if you need help to obtain compensation for any injury, disability, loss or damage you may have suffered from the careless or intentional acts of others or a refusal by an insurance company to pay disability benefits that you should be entitled to receive.
Find out more about the personal injury legal services that we provide.
