How Long Does A Personal Injury Claim Take In Ontario?

In general, complicated cases involving several parties or complex legal issues will take longer to resolve than cases against only one defendant where liability is clear.

The length of time will also depend on the willingness of both parties to settle a case and the availability of court dates for trial.

There is a rule requiring plaintiffs to set their matters down for trial within five years of commencing an action against a defendant. However, this does not mean that a case will be finished in five years. Setting down a case for trial is a formal process whereby a plaintiff signifies to the court that a case is trial ready and requests a trial date from the court. Typically, trial dates are set two or three years in advance. If a plaintiff waits until the fifth anniversary of a claim to request a trial date, it could be another two or three years before the case is heard at trial. This works out to seven or eight years from the anniversary of starting the