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rs Legal By Sandy Zaitzeff An Accident - What should I do? This is a question that is often asked by someone who is involved in an accident, whether it be in a motor vehicle accident or any other type of accident that involves per- sonal injury to a person. The types of accidents and list of people that can be sued by a person for injuries they receive are too numerous to mention here. The average person believes that they can recover damages for personal injuries and other dam- ages that they suffer as a result of motor vehicle collisions, since vir- tually everyone knows that insur- ance is somehow involved in a motor vehicle collision. What the average person usually doesn't appreciate is. that there are Situations where insurance cover- age will cover many, many other Situations. This area of our lives and law is difficult and time consuming. One should be very careful if involved Kim Imbeault, left, presents Evan Rochon with his winning tickets to Winnipeg. Evan won the Terrace Bay's Minor Hockey Association draw in advice in any sort of accident that causes you personal injury and damages. It is most important to contact a lawyer who is familiar with the ini- tial investigation, preparation and trial of such personal injury law- Suits. The initial investigation can be very simple or very complex, depending upon the actual accident itself. A lawyer can usually tell you what is necessary. You should con- tact the lawyer virtually immediate- ly after the accident, as in many cases there are strict time limits for firstly notifying the potential defen- dants of the action and secondly, actually starting your court action. Time limit to notify These time limits in certain cases are as short as seven (7) and ten (10) days. You must therefore be very careful and try to immedi- ately consult a lawyer who is knowledgeable in these areas of the which he won air tickets to Winnipeg and tickets to two Winnipeg N.H.L. games vs Pittsburgh and Toronto. Evan takes his trip March 10 and says he'll cheer for Pittsburgh and Toronto. Photo by Dave Chmara "Greetings" From the staff of the LCBO Schreiber & Terrace Bay Extended Hours December 22 & 23 -- 9:30 a.m. - 9:00 p.m. for acc In particular, if you wish to sue a municipality or a governmental authority, the time limits are strictly adhered to and very limited. Specific time limits You have one year within which to sue a physician or a hospital, two years to sue a defendant motorist in a motor vehicle collision and that most time limits give them longer than days within which to notify the defendant. Do not rely on off hand advice from friends and relatives, but con- tact a lawyer and do not be afraid to ask this lawyer what types of cases he has been involved with before and what sorts of settlements and trial awards have been achieved for his clients. The most important thing that you can do when something has happened to a loved one, such as a personal injury is to immediately Page 9, News, Wednesday, December 7 , 1988 contact the law office and allow them to at least begin the prelimi- nary investigation and to put the various defendants on notice. That is something that is abso- lutely critical to the case and in many situations, people have been locked out of the court room, sim- ply because they were too slow or tardy in getting to the lawyer's Office. The next most important thing is' for the lawyer to begin the evalua- tion of your case, both from a lia- bility viewpoint and damages viewpoint. The liability viewpoint will be thoroughly reviewed and researched by the lawyer based upon meetings with yourself, inde- pendent investigation, interview of various witnesses, police reports and investigation, after which the lawyer would be in a position to give you a fairly good review of the potential liability of the various defendants. ; The review of the damages and your personal injuries, would be something that would necessarily ident victims take more time, as in many cases, the full extent of the injuries is not known for many months and years following the initial date of the accident. It is in many cases for this rea- son that people do not think of call-. ing their lawyer immediately fol- lowing an accident and this can be a critical mistake as firstly, proper defendants may not be put on notice and secondly, evidence may be lost or destroyed and not capa- ble of being put together at a later date. In conclusion then, the most important thing that you can do if a loved one is injured is to notify a lawyer who has worked in this per- sonal injury field for some time and to allow that lawyer to firstly place on notice all of the proper defen- dants and secondly begin the inves- tigation of the case. This will be a regular legal col- umn written by Sandy Zaitzeff and Gregg Cancade of the firm Zaitzeff - Cancade. ae (afb he fimo: "Plus tax where applicable. c 1988 A&W Food Services of Canada Ltd. Go for the flavour, but don't leave without - the great gift bear. These cute 4" miniatures are great in a stocking, on the tree or under it. Get yours now while supplies last. A Christmas without these little heart warmers would simply be unbearable. ®