After a comprehensive peer review, Lexpert unveils Ontario’s leading personal injury lawyers. The complete roster of lawyers and firms can be viewed in our practice area rankings list.
Personal injury law encompasses all manner of physical and psychological injuries suffered in a wide range of circumstances, including road traffic and street accidents, defective products and workplace injuries. Several lawyers who practice insurance law are also included in the list.
Personal injury lawyers representing plaintiffs
Geoffrey D.E. Adair
Law firm: Adair Goldblatt Bieber LLP
Year called to the Bar: 1969
Geoffrey D.E. Adair is one of Canada’s most experienced trial and appellate lawyers, having tried over 250 jury and non-jury cases to verdict and argued more than 100 appeals in the Ontario Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court of Canada. He devotes his practice to commercial litigation, commercial insurance litigation, directors’ and officers’ liability and major tort cases, including products liability and professional negligence matters. Adair is a partner at Toronto-based Adair Goldblatt Bieber LLP, one of Ontario’s most-experienced civil litigation law firms.
J. Patrick Brown
Law firm: McLeish Orlando LLP
Year called to the Bar: 1993
J. Patrick Brown is a partner and owner of McLeish Orlando LLP, a Toronto-based personal injury law firm. He has been fighting for victims of serious injury or who have been wrongfully killed for more than two decades. Brown is a civil litigation specialist certified by the Law Society of Ontario. He is also a former president of the Ontario Trial Lawyers Association.
Duncan N. Embury
Law firm: Neinstein Personal Injury Lawyers
Year called to the Bar: 1996
Duncan N. Embury is a partner at Neinstein Personal Injury Lawyers, where he also heads the medical malpractice group. He acts on behalf of plaintiffs across Canada in medical negligence cases, including obstetrical negligence, surgical negligence and acquired brain injuries. He also represents plaintiffs in catastrophic personal injury claims, including institutional negligence, occupier’s liability, motor vehicle accidents and product liability matters. Embury handles complex multi-jurisdictional cases to assist Ontario residents in recovering damages for injuries occurring in foreign jurisdictions. He also acts as co-counsel to other lawyers in complex medical negligence cases at both trial and appeal. Embury is a regular speaker in all areas of medical negligence for the Law Society of Ontario and the Ontario Trial Lawyers Association, where he currently sits on the board. His Toronto-based firm provides legal services in serious personal injury claims across Canada.
Richard C. Halpern
Law firm: Gluckstein Lawyers
Year called to Bar: 1984
Richard C. Halpern is a senior lawyer at Toronto-based Gluckstein Lawyers, where he acts exclusively for injured people in medical negligence cases, with a special focus on birth injury cases. He has more than 30 years of experience representing seriously injured people. Halpern has lectured and written extensively on matters concerning obstetrics, the cause of newborn injury, general medical malpractice, and legal and trial strategies.
Alfred Kwinter
Law firm: Singer Kwinter
Year called to the Bar: 1972
Alfred Kwinter is a founding partner at Singer Kwinter, a Toronto-based law firm specializing in personal injury, disability claims and property loss. He has appeared in all levels of court and has achieved some of Canada’s largest jury awards for punitive damages against an insurer. He is a certified civil litigation specialist by the Law Society of Ontario, and a member of the Ontario Trial Lawyers Association, The Advocates’ Society, Canadian Bar Association, American Bar Association and American Association for Justice.
Sloan H. Mandel
Law firm: Thomson Rogers
Year called to the Bar: 1996
Sloan H. Mandel is a senior partner at Thomson Rogers, where he focuses on personal injury and medical malpractice litigation on behalf of plaintiffs. He is a certified civil litigation specialist by the Law Society of Ontario. Mandel boasts a wealth of court and litigation experience, achieving some of Ontario’s largest personal injury and medical malpractice awards. His works has also been published extensively in both medical and legal texts and journals. His firm is among the largest civil litigation firms in Toronto.
Todd J. McCarthy
Law firm: Flaherty McCarthy LLP
Year called to the Bar: 1989
Todd J. McCarthy is senior partner at Whitby-based Flaherty McCarthy LLP (Ontario), one of Canada’s top insurance defence litigation boutique firm. He has appeared in more than 100 jury and non-jury trials, and a multitude of arbitrations and appeals. McCarthy is consistently called upon to deal with challenging and complex litigation and has been at the forefront of seminal legal cases. He was also one of the youngest lawyers in Ontario to have been certified as a specialist in civil litigation. McCarthy has served on a variety of boards, including The Advocates’ Society, and has been a candidate for provincial parliament in the Ontario general elections.
John A. McLeish
Law firm: McLeish Orlando LLP
Year called to the Bar: 1975
John A. McLeish is a founding partner at McLeish Orlando, a Toronto-based personal injury law firm. He lectures and publishes extensively for various continuing legal education programs on trial advocacy and all matters related to actions for personal injury and wrongful death damages. McLeish has also co-authored five texts on personal injury and trial advocacy. He has previously served as president of the Ontario Trial Lawyers Association.
Darcy R. Merkur
Law firm: Thomson Rogers
Year called to the Bar: 2000
Darcy R. Merkur is a trauma lawyer dedicated to helping victims and their families following traumatic events such as serious motor vehicle accidents. He is a certified civil litigation specialist by the Law Society of Ontario. Merkur is the first lawyer in Canada to be qualified as a certified brain injury specialist by the Brain Injury Association of America. He is a partner at Thomson Rogers, one of the largest civil litigation firms in Toronto.
Dale V. Orlando
Law firm: McLeish Orlando LLP
Year called to the Bar: 1996
Dale V. Orlando is a founding partner at McLeish Orlando LLP, one of Canada’s top personal injury law firms. Orlando devotes his practice exclusively to plaintiff’s personal injury litigation. He has represented catastrophically injured people and their family members throughout Ontario and is considered a leader in personal injury law. Orlando is a former president of the Ontario Trial Lawyers Association and currently a member of the American Association for Justice and The Advocates’ Society. He has acted as co-chair and lectured at conferences held by various legal organizations, including Ontario Trial Lawyers Association, Canadian Institute, Law Society of Ontario, Carleton County Law Association and Ontario Bar.
James L. Vigmond
Law firm: Oatley Vigmond Personal Injury Lawyers LLP
Year called to the Bar: 1983
James L. Vigmond has been practising personal injury litigation on behalf of plaintiffs for more than three decades. He is a partner at Oatley Vigmond Personal Injury Lawyers LLP, a Barrie-based firm specializing in personal injury law. Vigmond leads a team of lawyers and support staff with broad expertise in cases involving spinal cord, brain and orthopedic injuries. He is a certified litigation specialist by the Law Society of Ontario and an inducted fellow of the Litigation Counsel of America and American College of Trial Lawyers. Vigmond has appeared as counsel at all levels of courts in Ontario. He has also published several articles and presented in the area of personal injury litigation and trial advocacy for numerous legal associations.
Adam K. Wagman
Law firm: Howie, Sacks & Henry LLP
Year called to the Bar: 1996
Adam K. Wagman is senior partner and former managing partner at Howie, Sacks & Henry LLP. He devotes his practice to personal injury litigation, accident benefits claims, and other disability and insurance litigation. Wagman is a certified specialist in civil litigation by the Law Society of Ontario. He has been a guest lecturer at Osgoode Hall Law School and is a regular speaker at Continuing Legal Education programs. Adam served as president of the Ontario Trial Lawyers Association from 2016 to 2017. His Toronto-based firm specializes in personal injury law.
Personal injury lawyers representing defendants
Chris T.J. Blom
Law firm: Miller Thomson LLP
Year called to the Bar: 1987
Chris T.J. Blom is a partner at Miller Thomson LLP. He devotes his practice to insurance litigation with a focus on insurance defence work in connection with both tort and accident benefits cases. Blom acts on behalf of insurers in Ontario with respect to claims across Canada and in the US regarding all aspects of general insurance. He is well-versed in the areas of personal injury, property damage and economic loss claims. Blom also provides advice in connection with coverage opinions, general liability issues, accidents benefits and bad faith litigation. He represents clients at all levels of the provincial court system, including the Court of Appeal in Ontario, New Brunswick and Newfoundland. Blom is recognized for his extensive experience with mediation and private arbitration and is certified by the Law Society of Ontario as a civil litigation specialist. His firm is among Canada’s biggest national business law and litigation firms.
Read more about Miller Thomson LLP on cannabis sector litigation
Tom Curry
Law firm: Lenczner Slaght Royce Smith Griffin LLP
Year called to the Bar: 1986
Tom Curry is a managing partner at Lenczner Slaght Royce Smith Griffin LLP. He is recognized as one of the most experienced trial and appellate advocates in Canada. Curry has a long record of success in high-profile commercial litigation, class actions, arbitrations, business disputes, administrative law, judicial review, intellectual property, competition and professional liability cases. He is a fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers and the International Academy of Trial Lawyers and is certified as a specialist in civil litigation by the Law Society of Ontario. Curry is a regular speaker on a wide variety of subjects relating to trial practice and substantive law. His Toronto-based firm is one of Canada’s leading litigation firms.
Philippa G. Samworth
Law firm: Dutton Brock LLP
Year called to the Bar: 1979
Philippa G. Samworth is a partner at Dutton Brock LLP. She is a certified specialist in civil litigation by the Law Society of Ontario. Samworth has authored numerous articles in the field of personal injury/motor vehicle accidents and has lectured for the LSO, Canadian Bar Association (Ontario), The Advocates’ Society and other legal bodies. She also is a founding member of The Canadian Defence Lawyers. In 2019, the Canadian Defence Lawyers created The Philippa G. Samworth Award for Advancement of Women in the Legal Profession, recognizing individuals for distinguished service to women in the legal profession in Canada.
Paul Tushinski
Law firm: Dutton Brock LLP
Year called to the Bar: 1985
Paul Tushinski is a senior partner at Dutton Brock LLP. He is a certified specialist in civil litigation by the Law Society of Ontario. Tushinski devotes his practice to defence, with an emphasis on products liability, class proceedings, environmental claims, construction and complex insurance matters, including coverage and property disputes and general liability. He is past president of the Toronto Lawyers Association, a founding member and past president of the Canadian Defence Lawyers Association and a former director of The Advocates’ Society. Tushinski is also a member of the Toronto Lawyers Association, Canadian Bar Association, Medico-Legal Society, The Advocates’ Society, Canadian Defence Lawyers Association and University Club of Toronto.