Why do I need an Ottawa personal injury lawyer?

At our law firm we are regularly reminded why it is vitally important to get legal help early after an Ottawa motor vehicle accident. When you don’t, valuable evidence can be lost or forgotten.

Recently we were preparing our client for examination for discovery. That is the step in the lawsuit when the other side’s lawyer gets to ask you questions about your accident and injuries. Our client was intelligent and sophisticated. However, he had been through so much in the aftermath of the accident, that the precise details of the accident itself had started to slip his mind.

Extensive accident notes

Fortunately, we had interviewed him shortly after the accident and had taken extensive notes about:

the route he took before the accident;
how he approached the intersection;
how long he waited for the light to turn green;
what position he was facing as he advanced;
whether or not he was drinking coffee at the time of the accident;
how long it was between the time he saw the vehicle that struck him and the impact itself;
what happened to his body inside the car on impact;
where his vehicle stopped;
what he did after the accident;
who was present at the scene and what they said; and
what pain or discomfort he felt at the scene.

These are small details that can make a difference both to liability (ie who was responsible for the crash) and damages (ie the extent of your injuries). Having a personal injury lawyer record your earliest recollections for you can save a lot of heart ache as time passes and life fills your head with details other than these.

Contact a Personal Injury Lawyer

Do yourself a favour. After a serious accident, have a legal consultation to determine what your options are. For more info or to contact a personal injury lawyer, call 613 233-4529.

About the Author: Brenda Hollingsworth

Brenda Hollingsworth co-founded Ottawa’s Auger Hollingsworth in 2005 with her husband Richard Auger. Together, their mission was to create a personal injury law firm for Eastern Ontario that is unrivalled in the province for customer service and legal expertise. Brenda was named an Ottawa Business Journal Forty Under 40 award recipient and took home the Women’s Business Network’s Businesswoman of the Year award in the Professional category. She was also recognized as one of Ottawa Life Magazine’s “Top 50 People in the Capital.” She is often quoted as an expert and has appeared in media outlets such as CTV, The Globe and Mail, National Post, Ottawa Citizen, Sun Media, CBC, Toronto Star, Montreal Gazette, CFRA and many legal publications.

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