Hamilton Personal Injury Lawyer

Talking to a Hamilton personal injury lawyer should always be free. Lalande Personal Injury Lawyer NEVER charges anhyone to talk about their potential case. We understand that the last thing you need right now is a legal bill.

Yes, we are. We are located downtown at the corner of King and James, in the CIBC tower.

We think so. We think it’s important that you can visit, sit and talk with your lawyer without having to drive long distances and more importantly, you personally know the lawyer working on your case. When hiring oursite of the city, you might never meet your lawyer – especially if there are younger lawyer actually handing your case behind the scenes.

Matt Lalande is a Hamilton personal injury lawyer who has been representing Hamitlon accident victims since 2003. He comes from a family of Judges and lawyers and has spent his entire career to date tirelessly advocating for the right of people who are seriously hurt and disabled.

Matt Lalande has been practicing law since 2003.

Too many to count. Since 2003, we’ve helped hundreds of families secure  over $50M in compensation for people that need it most.  Every case is unique. Our experience negotiating with insurance companies and government agencies guides every decision we make in handling your case.

This is a very common question – and the answer is yes, Matt will handle or personally oversee your case.

Of course. Matt was lucky enough to be trained by several well known and very successful trial lawyers growing up – and had conducted many bench and jury trials. Even better – he spent a lot of his years as a kid with his father (who was a judge) hanging around in the Courtroom. It is a familiar place for him.

Never – although our experienced staff will help on your case, Matt Lalande will always oversee your case personally.

We are paid at the end of your case – and only if we recover money for  you. The fee will be pre-determined by percentage. The insurance company for the person at-fault who caused your injuries will contribute to your legal bill.

The usual fees vary between 20% to 30% of your settlement – BUT – it’s important to understand that if successful in a settlement or Court verdict, the insurance company will contribute to a good portion of your legal fees.

In most cases, yes, particularly when children are involved. We represent quite a large number of hurt kids and we always negotiate the fees in these case in order to ensure the best interest of the child is always taken into consideration.

We often have clients who decide to change lawyers and bring their case to us. It is not uncommon at all.

For two reasons: You need to hire a personal injury lawyer that has experience dealing with insurance companies to make sure that you and your family are taken care of financially. The second reason is because of compassion and likability. You will work closely with Matt as your lawyer – and he will spend as much time on your case with you no matter if the case is worth $20,000 or $2,000,000.00. Remember, insurance companies make a profit by minimizing the amounts they payout on personal injury claims. They are NOT your friend. You need experience and commpassion.

Insurance companies and the lawyers of the liable party do not work for you and do not have your best interests in mind. You might think that if you have a valid claim, the insurance process should be fairly straightforward, though this is rarely the case. Insurance companies benefit by paying you as little as possible, as quickly as possible, to minimize the amount paid out and maximize profits.

Insurance companies have experienced and trained adjusters and investigators on their side, and if you are attempting to collect your damages on your own, you are naturally at a distinct disadvantage. A personal injury lawyer is an advocate for your best interests who knows how the insurance companies handle injury claims, so having the right representation gives you leverage against the insurer.

Some ways our lawyers help during the claim process include:

• Determining all liable parties and filing all of the necessary insurance claims
• Gathering and presenting the evidence needed to support your claim
• Reviewing settlement offers and negotiating for a higher settlement, which is usually necessary
• Taking your case to court if the insurance company does not make a fair offer

Beyond helping you to make the most of your compensation, a personal injury lawyer also eases your stress during this process. We focus on negotiating your settlement and handling every aspect of the claim, which allows you to focus on your recovery and getting on with your life.

Your personal injury lawyer steps into your shoes in terms of all negotiations, phone calls, emails, other communications, and evidence collection. The filing of your claim can require extensive paperwork and investigation, and a personal injury lawyer knows how to handle this process to best support your case and how to process your claim as efficiently and effectively as possible.

With our Hamilton personal injury lawyers on your side, you rest assured that we are working for you while you attend all of your treatment appointments, take the recovery time you need, and attend to your mental recovery.

If you suffered injuries in any type of accident, whether you have a sprained wrist or a catastrophic brain injury, you deserve full compensation from any party responsible for your accident. Moreover, you deserve to have legal representation by a team that always has your back, and you can trust we are always working for the best possible outcome in your case.

It’s important that you hire a personal injury lawyer as soon as possible. Early on, your lawyer can make sure that all your costs and needs are paid for upon your return home – such as modifying your home, equipment, caregiving, transportation, attendant care, help managing your medications, physical therapy, speech therapy, skin bladder and bowel care or other required therapies that you may need. If you hire a lawyer too late, your case can be delayed and much time can be spent unravelling mistakes and complicated insurance issues.

When hiring a personal injury lawyer, it’s not easy making the right choice – but choosing the wrong lawyer can be devastating, since you only have once shot at advancing your case. Consider asking the following:

1. How many trials have you done?
2. What is your record of success?
3. What is your fee agreement?
4. Do I need to go to Court?
5. How long does a typical case take?
6. Will you be personally handling my case?
7. Will this case cost me anything?
8. How many cases like mine have you handled?

Unless your have suffered devastating injuries, such as paraplegia or quaderiplegia, odds are that it is too soon to tell. If any personal injury lawyer provides you a promise to recover a certain amount of money, we would recommend getting a second opinion. We need to know the absolute extent of your maximum medical recovery since the extent of injuries tend to change over time.

It is not possible to determine early on whether or not you will need to go to Court. While most serious personal injury cases do settle so that everyone can avoid the shockingly high costs of trials, trial do happen if there are issues that need to be determined. We will keep you updated as we progress, but it is simply not possible for a lawyer to rightly know so early on in the case.

There is a cap in Canada – which currently for 2023 is about $450,000.00. But then you can additionally claim income loss and other claims to help you in the future.

Every personal injury case is different so the amount of time it takes to get to the end of a case can vary. Some personal injury cases can go to trial while some are settled out of court. We always tell our clients that the reason personal injury cases take so long is because we are combining busy systems together – i.e. legal, judicial, medical and insurance. If you have suffered serious injuries, your lawyer should never settle your personal injury case prior to the one year mark under any circumstances. Most cases take from 1 to 3 years.

Of course, we have clients all over southern Ontario, and as far North as Sudbury. If you have suffered a life changing injury, a loved one has lost their life unecessarily or you have been denied disability benefits, we will always be gald to help.

Think of in terms of different categories – which we call heads of damages. If you have suffered a serious injury, you can normally claim compensation for pain and suffering, loss of enjoyment of life, loss of amenities, loss of past wages, loss of future wages, loss of housekeeping capacity, claims for future health care expenses outside of what OHIP covers, as well as claims for rehabilitation expenses such as for rehab expenses, care workers, assistive and hygienic devices, home and vehicle modifications ect.

A good personal injury settlement depends on many factors, including the range of damages negotiated for your pain and suffering, loss of enjoyment of life, loss of amenities, past and future wage losses, the amount of future care you require, the amount housekeeping assistance you require and the losses suffered by your family members.