Personal Injury Trends in Ottawa

Ottawa is the capital city of the country of Canada. As of 2014, the city has approximately one million people in population. This means that there are a lot of things that go on and have direct relation with the personal injury law. It is important to be properly informed about the current trends in order to know how to take preventive measures to avoid the most common and trending causes of accidents in Ottawa.

With this in mind, it is important to note that over the last few years the number of pedestrian accidents has multiplied. The reasons for this are various. Mostly the drivers are not paying strict attention to the road. This is due to the fact that they get distracted with a lot of things. Talking on the phone or texting is surely what leads the charts. Even though the province of Ontario has clear and transparent legislation in regard with the driving regulations, it needs to be enforced more strictly. Higher compensations are one way to go because this would give people a piece of mind and see that there are actual consequences of their negligence.

Statistics Of Out-Of-Court Settlements

At the same time, recent studies show that over 90% of the cases are settled before they could even get into a courtroom. Now, even though this has a lot of merits for the parties, there are also some drawbacks for the community and for the public as a whole.

The benefits of settling without getting to court are numerous. Right of the bat you won’t be required to pay legal taxes which are necessary to move the case further. Another thing which is greatly beneficial is that settlements take weeks to achieve, while getting a sentence from the court could sometimes take years. This is what makes them so attractive. At the same time the settlement has the same legal effect as the sentence and it is fully enforceable in the event of a breach.

However, there are also certain downsides to the out of court settlement tactic. They are mainly addressed towards the community and to the public. Settling a case can give people a sense of comfort. Even though they are going to provide the victim with the necessary compensation for the damages that they have caused, they won’t feel as if they were required to do so by the law. Just the opposite – they are often starting to believe that they could get out of situations which have derived from breaking the law by simply having good negotiation skills and enough money. This could actually have the exact opposite effect and could in certain occasions encourage behavior of this particular type. Thus, work with an experienced lawyer so that he or she can help you work through such injury cases and find the best solution.