Bill 165 explained in plain English
Personal Injury and Accident Victims Protection Act, 2017
Ontario legislature bill summary, status, timeline, sponsor, votes, and official sources.
At a glance
Official Legislative Assembly of Ontario snapshot for 41st Parliament, 2nd Session. Representative vote breakdowns appear when the Assembly publishes an Ayes and Nays page for the bill.
Our plain-language take, written for civic education.
Source: By PoliticalData.ca
Bill 165, the Personal Injury and Accident Victims Protection Act, 2017, aims to protect personal injury claimants by regulating lawyer advertising, referral fees, and contingency fee agreements.
This bill, titled the Personal Injury and Accident Victims Protection Act, 2017, proposes changes to how lawyers handle personal injury claims in Ontario. It aims to protect individuals involved in these claims by setting new rules for lawyer advertising, referral fees, and how legal fees are calculated and disclosed in contingency fee agreements. The bill also introduces a limit on the total amount a lawyer can charge in contingency fee agreements for personal injury cases.
- Amends the Law Society Act to add a definition for 'personal injury claim'.
- Prohibits lawyers from soliciting or accepting referral fees for personal injury claims.
- Prohibits lawyers from referring clients with personal injury claims without the client's written consent and maintaining confidentiality.
- Requires advertisements for legal representation in personal injury claims to be approved by the Law Society of Upper Canada.
- Establishes that contravening these new rules regarding referral fees, client consent, or advertising can result in a fine of up to $100,000.
- Amends the Solicitors Act to require that fee agreements clearly disclose how the lawyer's remuneration is calculated.
- Introduces a limit of 25 per cent on the total amount a solicitor can charge in a contingency fee agreement for personal injury cases, requiring reimbursement of any excess amount.
- States that the changes to contingency fee agreements apply to agreements made on or after the date the bill receives Royal Assent.
- Specifies that the Act comes into force on the day it receives Royal Assent.
- Lawyers (licensees) in Ontario.
- Individuals with personal injury claims in Ontario.
- The Law Society of Upper Canada.
- Lawyers are prohibited from soliciting, accepting, or paying referral fees for personal injury claims.
- Lawyers must obtain written consent from clients before referring them for personal injury claims and maintain confidentiality.
- Advertisements for personal injury legal services must be approved by the Law Society of Upper Canada.
- Fee agreements must clearly disclose how legal fees are calculated.
- Contingency fee agreements for personal injury cases are limited to a maximum of 25 per cent of the recovered amount, with a requirement for reimbursement of excess payments.
- Clients have the right to have their contingency fee agreements clearly explained and to receive reimbursement if the lawyer exceeds the 25% limit.
- The Act comes into force on the day it receives Royal Assent.
- The changes to contingency fee agreements apply to agreements entered into on or after the day the Act receives Royal Assent.
- Contingency fees in personal injury cases are capped at 25% of the recovered amount.
- Lawyers may have to reimburse clients if they exceed the 25% contingency fee limit.
- Contravention of new provisions regarding referral fees, client consent, and advertising related to personal injury claims can lead to a fine of up to $100,000.
- The bill does not specify the process or timeline for the Law Society of Upper Canada's approval of advertisements.
- The exact scope of 'advertising' and what constitutes 'misleading statements' in advertisements is not detailed.
- While a definition for 'personal injury claim' is provided, the bill does not elaborate on specific types of proceedings or damages covered beyond loss or damage from bodily injury or death.
Adds a definition for 'personal injury claim', prohibits soliciting or accepting referral fees for such claims, requires written client consent for referrals, mandates confidentiality, and requires pre-approval of advertisements for personal injury claims by the Law Society of Upper Canada. It also establishes penalties for contravening these provisions.
Source: Sections 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
Requires that all fee agreements clearly and prominently disclose how the solicitor's fees are calculated. It also sets a maximum of 25 per cent for contingency fees in personal injury cases and requires solicitors to reimburse clients for any amounts paid above this limit, applying to agreements made on or after the bill receives Royal Assent.
Source: Sections 6, 7
Generated using AI from official bill text. Not legal advice. It is written by PoliticalData.ca for civic education, automatically checked and spot-reviewed before publishing.
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Vote Summary
This bill is still active. We only show vote counts after the legislature publishes a recorded division.
No published representative vote breakdown
This bill is still moving through the process. When a recorded division is published, representative positions can be listed here.
Official sources
Status, sponsor, votes, and timeline on this page are drawn from these official legislative sources and public records. Each summary above is attributed to its own source.
How this data is sourced