We’re pleased to welcome you to Bergel Magence LLP’s new look! We invite you to have a look around our updated website, subscribe to our various social media pages including Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube. While we may look a little different, we will continue to provide you with the stellar legal expertise that we have been demonstrating for nearly 50 years. We live by our motto that we treat all of our clients as if they’re family, and through our new website, blog and social media channels, we will endeavour to bring you important information regarding personal injury law, helpful safety tips, as well [...]

Bergel Magence LLP is pleased to be listed on the Canadian Lawyer annual survey of the top personal injury law firms in Canada. After over 40 years in the field of personal injury law, we continue to advocate for our clients and their families, and achieve the best results possible. We would be honoured if you would help recognize the firm by voting in the Canadian Lawyer survey by clicking here and acknowledging Bergel Magence as the top personal injury law firm in Canada. We sincerely appreciate your consideration and look forward to seeing the results

Unfortunately, working with victims of motor vehicle accidents for close to 45 years, we have pretty much seen it all. But every now and then, a car accident is so bizarre that it even causes our collective eyebrows to raise a little. Such was the case last week in Los Angeles, California when a Lexus ended up on a roof. Luckily, neither the homeowner nor the driver was injured too badly. If bizarre accidents are your thing, you can read more about it here:https://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/lexus-ends-roof-los-angeles-home-crash-article-1.2519835?barcprox=true If there is anything we can learn from this incident is that you can never know [...]

You may remember (way back to early September) when Canadian tennis star Eugenie Bouchard had to pull out of the US Open—due to a concussion—after she slipped and slammed her head in a darkened training room at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. The details of the story, at least from her perspective, are that she went back to the locker room to take an ice bath. Once she got there, she was a little disoriented as the lights were off and the floor was slick; subsequently, she slipped and fell backward. Athlete or not, she did what [...]

It is undeniable: the Jays are good. So good that this past Saturday fans threw their hats on the field to celebrate Encarnacion’s hat trick. This is Canada, and Edwin Encarnacion did launch his third home run of the game — a grand slam — in the seventh inning against the Tigers. Hat trick it is, even if it isn’t on the ice. But throwing things at things always puts up red flags for us (after all, we are personal injury lawyers). In fact, many people do get hurt at sporting events. In order to deny liability, owners and operators of [...]

TORONTO, Ont.—Feb. 19, 2015—Canada’s favourite NBA stars and BALLnROLL teamed up for an online charity auction whose success scored more than 90 sets of winter clothing for youth in need. All the memorabilia sold out, providing enough money to stock up on winter jackets, snow pants, gloves, hats and more for children of all ages across Toronto. BALLnROLL publisher Gad Elmaleh personally handed the garments off to members of the Toronto District School Board (TDSB) Tuesday. The TDSB’s trained child and youth counselors will now distribute the winter gear to the school kids who need them most. “It was a [...]

In our last blog, we introduced spinal cord injuries in general. This week we discuss spinal cord injuries that result in quadriplegia and paraplegia.  As defined bySpinal Cord Injury Ontario: Quadriplegia is paralysis of all four limbs (from the neck down) resulting from injury to the neck.  Fractures or compression of the vertebrae, which cause permanent damage to the spinal cord may lead to loss of sensation, movement, pain management, bladder and bowel control, as well as affecting sexual function. Paraplegia is the loss of sensation and movement in legs and in part or all of the trunk, usually resulting [...]

Too often we see clients who have unfortunately experienced spinal cord injuries due to a bad fall or a motor vehicle accident. With a spinal cord injury, there are two major factors that will affect a person’s mobility: the place of the injury along the spinal cord and the severity of injury to the spinal cord. The severity of the spinal cord injury is classified as either of the following: Complete: If almost all feeling (sensory) and all ability to control movement (motor function) are lost below the spinal cord injury, the injury is called complete. Incomplete: If there is some motor [...]

You can already smell the summer. After the brutal weather we had in Toronto this past winter, we can’t get enough sniffs. But although it may surprise you, summer driving is as dangerous, if not more so, than winter driving. That is bad news. Here are some reasons why summer driving could be dangerous: No school means there are more teen drivers on the road during the summer months. Due to the lack of experience, teens tend to be involved in more motor vehicle accidents than any other age group; Also, there is usually much more construction in the summer [...]

If you were raised with siblings then you know the concept of shared fault. Whether you started the fight or you were just the innocent victim, you would probably hear the same thing I don’t care who started it. Seemingly, in the eyes of our parents our mere existence warranted at least some blame. At some point in our legal history, courts started to take cues from parents and adopted- albeit in a slightly different fashion- a shared fault system known as contributory negligence. In a nutshell, contributory negligence means that you, the injured party, may have contributed to your injuries because [...]

We hate to say this, but our “busy season” is winter. For some people, the first snowfall of the season means hiding in a cave and hibernating; for others it means a mad dash to grab the ski equipment. Regardless of your feelings towards the cold white stuff, however, the winter season brings with it many more motor vehicle accidents. At risk of making our busy season slightly boring, we provide you with the following tips in case of inclement weather: The general idea is to be chivalrous. While you are driving remember to be sensitive and gentle. In return, [...]

Mental Impairment under Ontario’s SABS Under Ontario’s Statutory Accident Benefits Schedule (SABS) an injury can fall into one of three categories: 1. a minor injury; 2. Non-minor injury; or 3. Catastrophic injury or impairment. The type of category your injury is placed in will impact the extent of your benefits under the SABS. Minor injuries, which are defined by the SABS, include cuts, bruises, strains, sprains. Catastrophic injuries, also defined by the SABS, include amputated limbs, spinal cord injuries, or serious brain damage. The Non-minor injury is the in-between category. Insurance companies tend to place most people in the minor [...]

We are all familiar with slapstick comedy; that is Hollywood’s portrayal of a slip and fall. It’s probably a black and white show, and some guy in a really fancy suit carrying an unimaginably large cake slips on a banana. Laughter and applause ensues. This sort of comedy might work in making us cheerful on a long winter night, but it also ensures our jobs as lawyers. What is funny in Hollywood can actually be a serious legal matter known as premises or occupier’s liability. In any negligence claim, it is important to realize that one of the factors necessary [...]