Hey ppl…first of all, my sympathies…and then my THANX for sharing your experience…I had just strted feeling like the biggest idiot on the planet for being stuck with a lawyer! I am 24 yrs old immigrant to Canada. I support my 2 parents. Mom is 60 yr old and tryin gto find a job as a teacher. She got her license earlier this year and dad is on sick leave- heart surgery this yr. So i am working full time. I had an accident Aug 6, 2009 which left me with whiplash injuries as well as muscle damage in one arm. So i googled and filled some forms online and got this lawyer who gave me a rough idea. VERY SLIGHT EXPLANATIONs. 20% is there compensation after discount JUST FOR ME. Ok, i had no idea what to expect coz they tell u that you dont have to pay anythng unless they get something for u…like a settlement amount. Fair enough, phew. So u wait and u take time off work, u go to therapy (the owner of the clinic is also the owner of the law firm)…and over a period of time u sign multiple times. So, if i am actually earning $2600 ish, then as part of the loss of employment benefit, I get 80% of the amount to the max of $400 per week. I also get $100 / wk for attendant care. And guess what, 20% of both thz amounts go to lawyers! So i loose $600 of monthly income and on top of that another $400 or something goes to lawyer and I am supposed to make do. First of all there is no guarantee that the lawyer will win the case, but by th eend of 18 months, i would have paid him almost $8000 and then some alrdy!!!! (Just bcoz he handled my paperwork and dealt with insurance company politics) I can doa gazillion things with that amount! I am almost in tears as I am writing this. It is so disturbing and I am so upset at the insurance companies as well. What I do know is that they try there best to NOT PAY U OUT and cut out the benefits as soon as possible. As a layman, I dont know how to defend my case so i am at a disadvantage and a systemw hich is supposed to protect me is against me in this time of need! So I need professionals to do it for me at such a high price. Just thinking abt the injustice makes me dizzy and sad. I can’t see beyond a couple of months of my life coz of the miserable situation I am in right now. Even an extra $100 helps a lot and this is a bulk amount which I work so hard to earn…………