Can You Switch Personal Injury Lawyers in Ontario?

Yes. A personal injury client in Ontario can change lawyers.

That is not a loophole or an unusual exception. It is a basic client choice. In contingency-fee cases, Ontario’s standard materials are designed to make sure clients understand their rights and obligations before signing an agreement.

The Law Society of Ontario requires lawyers and paralegals to provide clients with the Law Society’s Contingency fees: What you need to know consumer guide before entering into a contingency fee agreement. The LSO also requires a standard form contingency fee agreement in contingency-fee matters, with disclosure requirements intended to improve transparency for clients. The rationale for these requirements is to ensure potential clients clearly understand all of the implications of contingency arrangements.

The LSO consumer guide addresses the issue of whether one can switch lawyers directly. Under the heading “Can we end the agreement after it is signed?”, the guide states: “You have the right to end the agreement at any time.” The same section explains that no matter who ends the agreement, the client may still owe the lawyer or paralegal for their “work and expenses so far, plus HST.” 

Often, the new law firm taking over the case will pay the disbursements outstanding on the file to the new firm and agree to protect the prior firm's claim to legal fees incurred. This is usually dealt with at time of settlement.

Why the LSO contingency-fee materials are relevant

The vast majority of Ontario personal injury claims are handled under a contingency fee agreement. Generally speaking, this means the lawyer’s fee depends on the result of the case, rather than being paid through hourly bills as the case moves forward.

The Law Society’s contingency-fee materials are intended to help clients understand their rights, ask important questions, compare what different lawyers and paralegals are offering, and decide whether contingency fees are right for them. The guide says it should be read carefully before entering into any agreement about contingency fees.

Aclient should understand more than the percentage being charged. They should also understand what legal services are covered, how fees are calculated, how disbursements are handled, what happens if the case is unsuccessful, what happens if the client ends the agreement, and what information the client is entitled to regarding deductions from a settlement.

Understanding contingency fee agreements is part of choosing a personal injury lawyer in the first place. Clients may want to understand how the lawyer communicates, who will handle the file, what experience the lawyer has with similar injuries, how disbursements are paid, and how fees are calculated if the case resolves. For more general information about that decision, see our guide to how to choose a personal injury lawyer in Ontario and our explanation of how much personal injury lawyers cost in Ontario.

Changing lawyers does not mean the first lawyer did anything wrong

A client may become concerned about their case for many reasons. Some concerns may be serious. Others may come from misunderstanding how long litigation is currently taking in Ontario.

Ontario personal injury lawsuits can sometimes move slowly because of backlogs in Ontario's civil justice system. While sometimes the case may not being pushed quickly enough, delay can be caused by other issues - often the lack of availability of pre-trials in Ontario.

Sometimes a client may not have been updated because there is simply no update to provide, while other times there are genuine communication issues.

Clients are entitled to understand the status of their case. If the client does not know what is happening, what is being waited on, what deadlines exist, or what the lawyer’s strategy is, it is reasonable to ask for a clear update.

Questions a client may want to ask first

Before changing Ontario personal injury lawyers, a client may want to ask the current lawyer:

What stage is my case at?

What steps have already been completed?

What steps still need to be completed?

Are there any upcoming deadlines?

Are we waiting for medical records, expert reports, insurer documents, or a court date?

Have any settlement offers been made?

What is your assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of the case?

What disbursements have been incurred?

How would legal fees and disbursements be dealt with if the file is transferred?

Who is responsible for day-to-day communication on the file?

These questions are not hostile. Lawyers are used to discussing these questions with clients on a daily basis. They are ordinary questions about the status of the claim and the contingency-fee relationship.

The same kinds of questions are useful when someone is hiring a personal injury lawyer at the beginning of a case. A client should understand the fee arrangement, the lawyer’s role, who will communicate with them, what types of injuries or claims the lawyer commonly handles, and what costs may be deducted at the end of the case.

They should also pay attention to whether they connect well personally with the lawyer as they will be having many conversations, often over a period of years. Comfort communicating is key to a good working relationship since personal injuries are inherently "personal" in nature.

Sometimes, the answers to these questions resolve the concern. A client could learn that the file is waiting for medical stabilization, an expert report, an insurer response, mediation scheduling, or productions from another party. Other times, the answers, or lack of answers may confirm that the relationship is no longer working.

What happens to the file if a client changes lawyers?

If a client changes lawyers, the file usually has to be transferred. A personal injury file includes the retainer agreement, accident benefits documents, pleadings, medical records, hospital records, expert reports, income loss documents, insurance correspondence, settlement offers, mediation materials, disbursement records, and correspondence with other parties, and more.

A careful file transfer is important. The new lawyer has to know what has happened, which deadlines exist, what evidence has been gathered, what settlement positions have been exchanged, and what remains outstanding.

What happens to legal fees and disbursements?

Fees and disbursements are often the primary concern if a client changes personal injury lawyers.

The LSO consumer guide explains that if a contingency fee agreement ends before the case concludes, the client may still owe the lawyer or paralegal for work already done, expenses incurred, and HST. Ontario’s contingency-fee regulation also requires a contingency fee agreement to outline when and how the client or solicitor may terminate the agreement and the consequences of termination.

In an Ontario personal injury case, the practical handling of those amounts depends on the file, the lawyers involved, and the terms of the retainer agreement. Often, the new firm will pay the disbursements on the file to the former firm so the file can be transferred. The new firm may also agree to protect the former firm’s claim for hourly legal fees until the case is resolved. That means the former firm’s fee claim may not have to be paid by the client immediately, but it still has to be addressed.

Sometimes, lawyers can agree on the amount of the former firm’s legal fees at the time of the transfer. In other cases, the amount is not resolved until the case itself settles or reaches judgment. This is common because the overall recovery, the work completed by each firm, and the final legal fees may all need to be considered together.

Disbursements are different from legal fees. They are case expenses, such as medical records, expert reports, court filing fees, investigation expenses, transcripts, process servers, and medical-legal reports. The LSO guide describes disbursements as expenses paid on the client’s behalf to third parties for items and services needed to support the case, including examples such as court filing fees, transcripts, and expert witnesses.

In some cases, the firm taking over the file will be willing to pay the legal fees incurred by the prior firm out of their legal fees from settlement. In other cases they will not be willing to do so. The client should always be sure to ask about how the previously incurred legal fees will be handled in this situation so there is no ambiguity or disagreement later on.

Can changing lawyers delay a personal injury case?

Sometimes, it is possible changing lawyers can delay a case. Sometimes a new lawyer will have a different strategy or will need to postpone an upcoming event due to requiring time to read the file. In other cases, there may be no delay.

What if the concern is communication?

Communication is one of the most common reasons clients become concerned about a personal injury file.

A client may reasonably want to know what is happening, what is being waited on, what deadlines exist, who is handling the file, whether settlement is being discussed, and whether the case is still moving forward.

There are sometimes long periods in a personal injury case where there is no major development. That can happen even when the file is being handled properly.

A practical first step may be to ask for a written status update. A useful update often identifies the current stage of the file, the next expected step, what documents or reports are outstanding, and whether any deadlines are approaching.

What if the concern is a proposed settlement?

Settlement recommendations can be stressful. Clients with no experience in an Ontario personal injury lawsuit may wonder whether an offer is fair, whether the case is being settled too early, or whether more evidence should be gathered before a decision is made.

Before making a settlement decision, the client should understand what claims are being settled, whether the settlement includes accident benefits, the tort claim, or both, what fees and disbursements will be deducted, what amount the client is expected to receive after deductions, whether future treatment or income loss has been addressed, and what risks exist if the offer is rejected.

The LSO consumer guide says a lawyer or paralegal has an obligation to ask for the client’s instructions about critical decisions, including accepting a settlement or having a hearing.

Special issues in car accident claims

Changing lawyers in an Ontario car accident claim can be nuanced since there is an accident benefits claim and the tort claim against an at-fault driver.

The accident benefits claim may involve medical and rehabilitation benefits, income replacement benefits, attendant care issues, MIG disputes, treatment plans, insurer examinations, and limitation periods.

Usually people will transfer both components of the claim at once, this is typically advisable since the claims are heavily intertwined.

Serious injury cases require particular care

Changing lawyers may be more worth considering, but also more nuanced in serious injury cases. Cases involving a brain injury, fractures, spinal cord injuries such as paraplegia, amputation, and catastrophic impairment criteria, often require multiple medical expert reports and may contain a long and detailed history.

That does not mean serious injury clients cannot change lawyers. It means the transfer should be handled carefully so that the case history is not lost or misunderstood.

What if the client decides not to change lawyers?

Often, after asking questions and reviewing the file status, a client may decide to stay with the current lawyer.

The client may receive a clearer explanation of the litigation timeline, the medical evidence, the settlement strategy, or the next procedural step. The lawyer-client relationship may improve once expectations are clarified.

If the client remains with the current lawyer, it can sometimes help to agree on a communication plan, such as when updates will be provided, who will respond to routine questions, and what events should trigger a further discussion.

What if the client decides to change lawyers?

If a client decides to change lawyers, the client should understand whether another lawyer has agreed to act, what documents are needed, whether court steps are required, whether deadlines are approaching, how the file will be transferred, how disbursements will be addressed, and whether the former lawyer claims fees for work already performed.

In in most personal injury file transfers, the switchover is handled through correspondence between the former firm and the new firm. It is better to deal with those issues clearly at the time of transfer than to discover them later.

Key takeaways

A personal injury client in Ontario can change lawyers.

The LSO consumer guide says: “You have the right to end the agreement at any time.” 

Ending a contingency fee agreement may still leave the client responsible for work already performed, expenses, and HST, depending on the agreement.

In practice, the new firm often pays the disbursements owing to the former firm and protects the former firm’s claim for legal fees until the case is resolved.

Before making a decision, a client may want to ask for a clear file update and attempt to resolve issues.

Changing lawyers can sometimes cause delay, but not always.

The best decision is made with a clear understanding of the file status, the contingency-fee agreement, the timing of the case, and the practical consequences of a transfer.