Brampton personal injury lawyers need to inform their clients that After The Event (ATE) insurance is now available in Canada. This can be purchased by a claimant after an accident occurs in order to offset legal and other costs in automobile or non-automobile personal injury cases.

What Is ATE?

ATE is a legal expenses insurance policy that fully protects our clients against the at-fault party’s adverse costs, their own disbursements etc in the event that the case fails or is abandoned for some reason.

It can be used by both claimant and defendant but in practice, it is mostly used by claimants. It is generally purchased by lawyers/law-firms on behalf of their clients. Brampton slip and fall injury lawyers and Brampton car accident lawyers can provide more information on this.

ATE covers legal costs that claimant  has to pay to defendant when the claim is unsuccessful. The claim may be lost in a trial, it may be abandoned or settled after the defendant has incurred certain costs that the claimant is liable to pay. It may also cover costs that the lawyer/law-firm has to incur in the course of the personal injury case. These may include accessing police and medical reports, payment of court fees, getting expert opinions etc. Though some experts feel that ATE encourages less-than-efficient litigation since it offsets costs onto insurers, in fact ATE allows our clients to get the best services, since we can afford to secure our disbursements

Typically, an ATE policy costs below $1500 and provides coverage for $100,000 for:

• Defense and disbursement
• Claimant disbursements
• Interlocutory costs
• Coverage for failing to beat settlement offer
• Claimant disbursements in case of claim abandonment

Time of Purchase

ATE insurance is purchased after the accident (event) has occurred and before any major legal costs and disbursements have been incurred. Hence, ATE is usually purchased at the point at which the lawyer begins pursuing the claim. Some lawyers/firms tend to leave the purchase of ATE a bit later, when the court proceedings are well on the way. However, this could be counter-productive as by then, significant expenditure would have been incurred and there are no guarantees about the outcome of the claim.

Important Aspects

ATE is an incentive for reasonable settlement and the elimination of frivolous litigation. In many cases, when claims have lower chances of success in court, defendants may make an offer in exchange for waiver of costs. Also, in some instances, claimants may refuse a reasonable offer and go on to win at trial, but the award may be a lesser amount. Court may use its discretion and order that the claimant pay defense costs from date of offer to trial. Often, plaintiffs are left with almost nothing or may owe money to defendants. In such cases, ATE provides for coverage of adverse costs.

ATE could be mandatory in some jurisdictions and it is important to discover early on whether the claimant is insured against costs consequences. This can significantly impact the settlement process.

Our experienced brampton personal injury lawyers stay well-informed on all the latest rulings regarding ATE policies so that your interests are fully protected.