Car Accident Lawyer in Clarington
Ontario’s “no-fault” insurance system is designed to provide compensation to everyone involved in an accident – even those deemed ultimately responsible. Nevertheless, everyone involved in a motor vehicle accident should always consider legal consultation from a car accident lawyer because Ontario’s no-fault system often fails to compensate for all mental, physical and monetary impacts that result from the accident. While no-fault accident benefits typically cover most expenses – vehicle repair/replacement, personal effects damages, rental car costs, some medical/rehabilitation treatments, and caregiving – it rarely provides full compensation for all damages. And this lack of full compensation is often compounded when the claims process includes more than one insurer, as the insured party inevitably ends up shortchanged whenever insurers argue over who should pay for what.
A car accident lawyer in Clarington can assess whether your case deserves additional indemnification, and if it merits possible restitution through court action to seek uncovered damages for pain and suffering, soft-tissue injuries, or other claims left uncovered by the no-fault insurance system. Numerous factors, including timely filings, dictate the ultimate success of motor vehicle accident litigation. Therefore, if involved in one, consult with a car accident lawyer as soon as reasonably possible. And never discuss the accident with an insurance company or anyone representing other parties involved in the accident, because anything discussed could become part of the case.
Ontario’s car accident and no-fault insurance laws cover passengers and pedestrians, who should also seek legal counsel if involved in a car accident. These laws are also applicable to accidents involving motorcycles, snowmobiles, ATVs, and bicycles.
Steven M. Polak has provided his substantial expertise to both motor vehicle accident victims and insurance companies. Steven’s broad-based experience with insurance law and intimate familiarity with the Ontario government’s regulatory regime helps him secure just compensation for his clients that covers immediate and long-term injuries and damages caused by a car accident.
Steven Polak is listed in Best Lawyers in Canada and Lexpert, identified by his peers as recommended, for Personal Injury Litigation.
Personal Injury Lawyers in Clarington
A personal injury results in negative impacts that go far beyond just pain and debilitation, and can easily include uncovered medical expenses, emotional distress, lost wages, and other unexpected costs to one’s finances and overall physical and mental health. Thus, you or your loved ones should contact a personal injury lawyer in Clarington as soon as possible if impacted by a personal injury. Your personal injury lawyer will cover all bases to ensure that every legal remedy relating to compensation for the accident is addressed. And a timely consultation helps make sure all deadlines are met, while allowing your lawyer sufficient time to collect important information and evidence before it becomes unavailable.
Accident liability is not always clear cut. In some cases, more than one person or entity may have played a role, or the ultimate cause of an accident was something seemingly unrelated. Thus, your personal injury lawyer can be instrumental in determining the correct party to sue. And, if you are like most people and reluctant to seek potential legal action against people you might know, your lawyer will strive to make sure that the insurance company bears the costs. In fact, Ontario law allows a spouse to recover damages from their significant other via their insurance carrier.
Steven M. Polak, a partner with Lerners LLP, has been successfully practising personal injury law for more than 16 years. He has extensive experience working both sides of personal injury law, giving him intricate knowledge about all the vagaries that can arise in such cases, and an edge in successfully securing reasonable and just compensation for his clients. For top-of-the-line, detailed guidance from Ontario personal injury lawyers in Clarington, contact Steven as soon as possible if you are involved in any of these situations:
- Bike accident
- Slip and fall
- Dog bites
- Pedestrian accident
Disability Lawyer in Clarington
Disability benefits denial by an insurance company typically revolves around contract law and the insurance company’s efforts to manoeuver around it. Thus, if you have been unfairly denied disability benefits, you should consult with a disability lawyer who is attuned to contract law, the laws dictating the handling of disability claims, and the likely strategizing going on behind the scenes at the insurance company.
If your disability benefits are denied timeliness becomes a key factor due to a limitation period deadline that prohibits legal claim filing after expiration. Therefore, if you are using the company’s dispute resolution process to appeal or otherwise dispute the initial denial, the deadline has already been set on how much time you have to file suit. If you have any intentions to appeal be sure to take specific note of the initial denial date in order to establish the limitation period expiration date, so that you do not forfeit your right to take legal action in court. With the help of an experienced disability lawyer, you can make sure that you don’t miss the limitation period and set your own internal deadline appropriate for giving up on the appeal in favor of a lawsuit.
Steven M. Polak serves as Lerner LLP’s primary disability denial lawyer in Clarington and surrounding Durham region. Steven has addressed the legal aspects of disability denial claims from all perspectives and is a member of the Ontario Trial Lawyers Long-Term Disability Litigation section, which gives him a keen insight into the nuances of contract law and the legal basis for any denial of benefits. Steven’s specialized experience covering all angles of contract and disability law is instrumental in his successful resolution of bad faith claims, through both settlement and court action.
Specialized Focus on Personal Injury Law
With extensive and dedicated legal expertise in assisting injured and disabled clients with motor vehicle accident lawsuits, accident benefits cases, disability benefit cases, slip and falls, and other personal injury cases, Steven M. Polak has been an associate with Lerners LLP since 2002, and partner since 2008. Steven’s legal expertise and specialized focus on personal injury and disability claims provides him with an intimate knowledge of all parameters of the law and keeps him up to date on all legal developments within the field. Steven’s “whole picture” approach to working on personal injury cases helps him gain reasonable and just compensation for his clients through settlements that leave all parties with their respect intact and has earned him a stellar record of success in the courtroom.
Contact Steven today for your free, no-obligation consultation, and to learn more about his flexible fee structures and contingency fee arrangements.
What people in Clarington are not told
Three deadlines and one number decide most injury claims in Durham Region, and almost nobody hears about them in time.
Ontario takes nearly $48,000 out of pain and suffering awards
For 2026 the statutory deductible is $47,913.01, and it disappears only if the award exceeds $159,708.71. An award of $100,000 for pain and suffering puts roughly $52,000 in the injured person’s hands. The at-fault driver pays nothing extra. A family member bringing a claim under the Family Law Act faces a separate deductible of $23,956.52.
A fall on ice may give you sixty days, and a fall on a sidewalk ten
For an injury caused by snow or ice, written notice must go to the occupier of the property and to whoever was responsible for clearing it. Not two years. Sixty days. If you have already passed it, call anyway, because there are exceptions.
If the fall was on a municipal sidewalk or road, a much shorter notice period applies, which can be ten days in some circumstances. Exceptions may apply – legal advice is strongly recommended for your particular situation.
Appealing a disability denial does not stop the clock
The internal appeal is run by the insurer and has no fixed timetable. Your limitation period keeps running throughout. Treat the date of your first denial as the start of it.
Where a Clarington case is actually handled
Claims from Clarington are litigated at the Durham Region Courthouse, 150 Bond Street East in Oshawa. Steven Polak appears there regularly. Examinations for discovery in Durham matters are typically held at Durham Court Reporting, 12 Stanley Court, Whitby.
Our main office is at 123 Athol Street, Whitby. Home and hospital appointments are available anywhere in Durham Region.
What it costs
Consultations are free and carry no obligation. Cases are taken on contingency, so fees are payable out of what is recovered, under a written agreement using the Law Society’s mandated template. Fees range from 0% where a benefit is approved without a claim being filed, through 20% to 25% for early settlements, to a maximum of 33%. Lerners funds the disbursements, including expert reports. In most cases we arrange insurance that covers those disbursements if the claim is unsuccessful. Your contingency fee agreement sets out how disbursements are handled in your case, and we go through it with you before you sign.
Speak to a lawyer
If you have been injured in Clarington or anywhere in Durham Region, or your disability benefits have been denied, the consultation costs nothing.
Call 905-409-2438.
Further reading: car accident claims, long term disability denials, slip and fall injuries, and areas we serve.
What a Clarington claim actually involves
Civil claims from across Durham Region are heard at the Superior Court of Justice in Oshawa, in the Lieutenant-Colonel Samuel S. Sharpe Courthouse at 150 Bond Street East. That is where a Durham personal injury action is issued and, if it does not settle, where it is tried. It is a twenty minute drive from our Whitby office.
Where your medical records will come from
Most Clarington injury claims rest on records from Bowmanville Hospital at 47 Liberty Street South, together with your family doctor, any walk-in clinic you attended, and the physiotherapy, chiropractic or occupational therapy providers you were referred to afterwards. Gathering those records properly is a large part of what we do, and we pay for them as the case runs rather than asking you to.
Clarington is the east end of the region, and we travel to clients who cannot easily travel to us.
Speak to a lawyer in Clarington
Initial consultations are free. Our fee schedule is published in full, by stage of the case, on our Fair Fees page. Call 905-409-2438, send a text, message us on WhatsApp, or use the contact form.
Steven Polak is licensed as a lawyer in Ontario and practises with Lerners LLP at 123 Athol Street, Whitby.