Headquarters:
1 Hyperion Ct, Kingston, ON K7K 7G3
Year founded:
1999
Number of partners and employees:
5 partners, 3 associates, 40+ staff members
Phone:
613 384 5886
Email:
injurylaw@bergeronclifford.com
Website:
bergeronclifford.com
LinkedIn:
linkedin.com/company/bergeron-clifford-injury-law
“We are able to deliver on our core values due to our roots in the communities across Eastern Ontario. When it is time for our clients to make decisions that are critical to their future financial security and well-being, it is important that they do so in a safe and familiar setting. For us, this means that they are supported by us and their treatment team in their local community”
Chris Clifford, Bergeron Clifford LLP
Ted (Edward) Bergeron
Founding Partner
Chris Clifford
Founding Partner
Gavin Cosgrove
Partner
Leadership
Ted Bergeron is a Queen’s University graduate with degrees in Physical Education, Arts, Education and Law. His legal career started in insurance defence litigation. He worked at a boutique law firm in Toronto, servicing only insurance companies. He switched to representing only injured clients and their families in 1995. He knows both sides of the system inside and out.
Ted has successfully represented injured clients and their families in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, Ontario Court of Appeal, Financial Services Commission of Ontario, and before the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board. He has successfully managed jury trials in several Ontario counties and cities from Parry Sound to Toronto to Ottawa.
He joined the American Trial Lawyers Association (now the American Association for Justice) and the Ontario Trial Lawyers Association in 1994 and continues to be a member of both. He received a Distinguished Service Award from the Ontario Trial Lawyers Association in 2004.
To know more about Ted, visit https://www.bergeronclifford.com/our-lawyers/edward-bergeron.
Founding Partner
Ted (Edward) Bergeron
Chris Clifford is a Queen’s University graduate and former professional goaltender with the Chicago Blackhawks and Pittsburgh Penguins organizations.
His legal career began with the Toronto firm of Cassels Brock and Blackwell. He then began working for Templeman Menninga, one of Eastern Ontario’s top insurance defence firms. In the fall of 1999, Chris joined forces with Ted Bergeron and since then, they have limited their practice to the representation of injured plaintiffs and their families.
Chris has successfully represented injured clients and their families throughout Ontario and has successfully appeared in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, and before the Financial Services Commission of Ontario, the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board, the Workers’ Compensation Board, Social Benefits Tribunal, and in front of the Canada Pension Appeals tribunal.
Chris has been a proud supporter of the Ontario Trial Lawyers Association, the American Trial Lawyers Association, the Advocates Society, the Ontario Brain Injury Association and the Canadian Paraplegic Association of Ontario. Chris has sat on the board of the Law Foundation of Ontario.
To know more about Chris, visit https://www.bergeronclifford.com/our-lawyers/chris-clifford.
Founding Partner
Chris Clifford
Gavin Cosgrove is a graduate of Holy Cross Catholic Secondary School in Kingston. Upon graduation, he attended Manhattan College (New York, NY) on an athletic scholarship where he competed in track and field. He completed his legal studies at the University of New Brunswick.
Gavin joined Bergeron Clifford in the summer of 2009 and is now a partner at the firm. He is a proud member of the Ontario Trial Lawyers Association, the Frontenac Law Association, the County of Carleton Law Association, The Advocates’ Society, and the County of Lanark Law Association. He represents innocent victims of negligence in auto cases, medical malpractice and negligence cases.
To know more about Gavin, visit https://www.bergeronclifford.com/our-lawyers/gavin-cosgrove.
Partner
Gavin Cosgrove
“We are able to deliver on our core values, due to our roots in the communities across Eastern Ontario. When it is time for our clients to make decisions that are critical to their future financial security and well-being, it is important that they do so in a safe and familiar setting. For us this means that they are supported by us and their treatment team in their local community”
Chris Clifford, Bergeron Clifford LLP
“We continue to see cyber as a key opportunity and will be further developing customer-centric solutions across various geographies and segments in line with our growth aspirations”
Erica Kofie, QBE
Leadership
“We continue to see cyber as a key opportunity and will be further developing customer-centric solutions across various geographies and segments in line with our growth aspirations”
Erica Kofie, QBE
“We are able to deliver on our core values, due to our roots in the communities across Eastern Ontario. When it is time for our clients to make decisions that are critical to their future financial security and well-being, it is important that they do so in a safe and familiar setting. For us this means that they are supported by us and their treatment team in their local community”
Chris Clifford, Bergeron Clifford LLP
Leadership
Joe Dart
Partner
Joseph Dart is a partner at Bergeron Clifford LLP. He graduated from Yale University in New Haven, CT, in 2001, where he played for four years as a defenseman on the varsity hockey team. He graduated from Queen’s University Law School in 2005.
Joe was called to the bar in 2006 and began his legal career as a crown prosecutor in the Crown Attorney’s Office, first in Scarborough and later in Belleville, where he worked on various high-profile criminal cases. During his time with the Crown’s Office, he litigated many cases in both the provincial and superior courts of Ontario.
He joined Bergeron Clifford in 2015 and represents plaintiffs in negligence, medical malpractice, and auto cases. He is a proud member of the Ontario Trial Lawyers Association, the Frontenac Law Association, the Ontario Bar Association, the County of Carleton Law Association, The Advocates’ Society, and the County of Lanark Law Association. He also coaches the moot court trial advocacy team at Queen’s Law in both the Arnup and Sopinka Cup annual competitions.
To know more about Joe, visit https://www.bergeronclifford.com/our-lawyers/joseph-dart.
Partner
Joe Dart
Warren WhiteKnight
Partner
Warren WhiteKnight is a partner at Bergeron Clifford LLP. He is based in the firm’s Kingston office but travels throughout Eastern Ontario each week as clients’ needs require.
Warren is an avid cyclist, rock climber, snowboarder, and soccer player, and is heavily involved in volunteer work. He understands that when a person is injured, the impact runs more than skin deep – an entire family is affected, and people lose their ability to work and play the way they did before.
Warren graduated from Queen’s Law, where he achieved top 10% standing all three years and received numerous course prizes and scholarships. He regularly represents his clients in court and tribunal proceedings and has an excellent track record of achieving results both in court and in out of court settlements.
To know more about Warren, visit https://www.bergeronclifford.com/our-lawyers/warren-whiteknight.
Partner
Warren WhiteKnight
At Bergeron Clifford LLP, excellence, collaboration, and integrity are core values. Bergeron Clifford has deep roots in communities across Eastern Ontario, and their local connections are key in their ability to pursue their client’s legal claims. Today, the firm is consistently ranked among the best injury law firms in Ontario and in Canada. The seeds of this success were sown at the very beginning of this boutique injury law firm's journey.
The firm was founded by Ted Bergeron and Chris Clifford in 1999, and since then it has confined its legal practice solely to representing injured claimants and their families, and never insurance companies or defendants. In the decades since its founding, the firm has grown in stature and size and has added nearly 40 team members of lawyers, paralegals, law clerks, and legal assistants. Despite its growth, the firm remains deeply rooted in the Eastern Ontario communities where they practice.
Bergeron Clifford’s roots in Eastern Ontario enable them to connect clients with the best local treatment team after an injury. Law firms from outside the region that do not have roots in the community use service providers familiar to them, which means non-local service providers, or service providers not well suited to the individual client. The approach of Bergeron Clifford stands out in this regard.
“We continue to see cyber as a key opportunity and will be further developing customer-centric solutions across various geographies and segments in line with our growth aspirations”
Erica Kofie, QBE
Masa Idelbi
Human Resources Manager
Tiffany Van Der Putten
Manager, Culture and Community Involvement
Diana Godfrey (she/her/hers)
Senior Vice President, Human Resources and Corporate Affairs
Simon Williams
Chief Strategy & Distribution Officer, Arch Insurance International
and Active Underwriter, Syndicate 1955
Masa Idelbi is an ambitious, inquisitive, and multi-faceted HR enthusiast who seeks to maximize her existence by getting exposed to new situations and learning as much as she can. She is a proud brand ambassador of Rohit Group and a passionate change agent with genuine interest in people development.
Under her tenure, Rohit Group has been presented with multiple awards, including Canada’s Top Small and Medium Employer, Edmonton’s Home Builder of the Year, Alberta’s Top 70 Employers, and HRDC’s Best Places to Work for two years in a row, in 2022 and 2023.
She is CPHR Alberta’s HR Impact Award Winner for 2022 and Canada’s Top Recruiter award winner for 2019, leading Rohit Group’s substantial growth from 100 to 230 employees over the past seven years, with a focus on enhancing employee experience and retention. She is a mother of two and holds bachelor’s degrees in Human Resources Management and English Literature.
She is involved in supporting international students navigating employment barriers and passionate about supporting women to achieve financial and social independence. She is a member of the Workforce Development and Attraction Committee of the Edmonton Chamber of Commerce.
Human Resources Manager
Masa Idelbi
Tiffany Van Der Putten has been with Rohit Group for over 14 years and has held so many titles that her current business cards simply state her name as title has become irrelevant. Throughout the years, the passion that has always risen to the top is her desire to champion corporate culture through involvement in all charitable initiatives that the company has been a part of. This has led to her most current job title of Manager for Culture and Community Involvement.
Van Der Putten’s first job was as a clown in local parades and mall openings. She has also done non-profit work, which has encouraged her to make people a little happier each day and reminds her to always make time to give back. She holds a Bachelor of Commerce from Simon Fraser University and a Diploma in Travel and Tourism.
Manager, Culture and Community Involvement
Tiffany Van Der Putten
As SVP for HR and corporate affairs, Diana Godfrey oversees industry-leading employee experience, employee benefits, learning, talent development, diversity and inclusion, charitable activities, future of work, communications, and market research functions and programs for the Fidelity Canada organization.
Godfrey has over 27 years of industry experience. She joined FIC’s HR team in 1995. Before joining Fidelity, she was head of HR for a division of Sandvik Canada, a multinational engineering company specializing in industrial cutting tools and metal-cutting technology.
Senior Vice President, Human Resources and Corporate Affairs
Diana Godfrey (she/her/hers)
Kimi Shah leads the Estate Planning and Wealth Protection team and is a member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners. She understands the complex and delicate nature of family estate planning, the technical requirements around probate and estate administration, and the importance of preserving wealth for future generations. Her advice is accurate, commercial, strategic, and tailored to each situation.
Partner
Kimi Shah
Kimi leads the Estate Planning and Wealth Protection team and is a member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners. She understands the complex and delicate nature of family estate planning, the technical requirements around probate and estate administration, and the importance of preserving wealth for future generations. Her advice is accurate, commercial, strategic and tailored to each situation.
Partner
Kimi Shah
Kimi leads the Estate Planning and Wealth Protection team and is a member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners. She understands the complex and delicate nature of family estate planning, the technical requirements around probate and estate administration, and the importance of preserving wealth for future generations. Her advice is accurate, commercial, strategic and tailored to each situation.
Partner
Kimi Shah
“Despite the challenging claims environment, QBE’s coverage and risk appetite have remained consistent. Brokers and customers know and understand our risk appetite and the cover we offer, providing them with certainty for the future,” says Erica Kofie, head of cyber proposition. “We put our customers at the centre of our business, responding to brokers in a proactive and timely manner and working with the customer to understand their unique risk profile and tailor appropriate solutions.”
Kofie adds, “Through 2022, QBE successfully delivered significant growth in the cyber sector, reflecting the depth and strength of our team. We continue to see cyber as a key opportunity and will be further developing customer-centric solutions across various geographies and segments in line with our growth aspirations.”
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Broker communication, training and development
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Brokers’ Pick – Professional liability
Small business
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Broker communication, training and development
BDM support
Turnaround time – claims
Broker's Pick – Personal Accident and Illness Insurance
Brokers’ Pick – Professional liability
Small business
https://www.bergeronclifford.com/our-lawyers/joseph-dart
At Bergeron Clifford, injured claimants and their families are treated like individuals. The lawyers and their teams work hard on each case to get to know the client and understand the life they had before their accident, and how it has changed since.
"Victims of accidents are often overwhelmed with the demands on their physical and mental health. Also, loss of income or loss of the ability to provide and care for our near and dear ones can take a toll on a person," says Ted Bergeron. "The impact of the emotions felt from such outcomes is as real and deep as the physical injuries. Sometimes people forget this when thinking about assisting victims of accidents. Rebuilding quality of life requires a holistic approach. Along with their physical and mental health needs, their sense of pride and dignity must also be intact."
Despite the fact that most cases settle out of court, Bergeron Clifford prepares every case for trial. This approach ensures that defence lawyers and insurance companies know that when they deal with Bergeron Clifford, they’ll be required to pay the actual value of a claim to bring it to a fair and final resolution and if they don’t, the firm will be prepared to go the distance and fight it out in court.
Bergeron Clifford's continued recognition as one of the top firms in Ontario and Canada is due in equal parts to its client- and community-focused ethic, and to the lawyers' skill at trial. In the past decades, the firm and its clients have received repeated successes in court, including numerous precedent-setting cases year after year.
Bergeron Clifford has committed to the region of Eastern Ontario. Every firm wants to work with the most prominent cases, no matter where they are, and they cheat clients. They use service providers familiar to them who are often not based in Eastern Ontario and need to learn the local landscape, the physicians, the therapists, and the service providers. They bring a Toronto-centric solution: a square peg for a round hole.
The lawyers and staff of Bergeron Clifford live, work, and play in Eastern Ontario. The firm's most important strategy has been to become fully integrated into the healthcare and legal landscape of Eastern Ontario, bringing excellence home.
Clients want information. They want their lawyer to refrain from curating the information they’re provided or present nothing but the positive or negative. At Bergeron Clifford, clients can expect transparency. When clients are asked to make decisions critical to their future security and well-being, good decisions require information presented clearly and straightforwardly. Clients hire the firm to provide that strength and guidance.
Doctors, therapists, and other lawyers can expect truth and integrity. The firm aims to ensure its clients leave the claims process with the best possible result. The legal team at Bergeron Clifford can only do that if all participants in the process leave with their dignity intact.
Bergeron Clifford has committed to the region of Eastern Ontario. Every firm wants to work with the most prominent cases, no matter where they are, and they cheat clients. They use service providers familiar to them who are often not based in Eastern Ontario and need to learn the local landscape, the physicians, the therapists, and the service providers. They bring a Toronto-centric solution: a square peg for a round hole.
The lawyers and staff of Bergeron Clifford live, work, and play in Eastern Ontario. Its most important strategy has been to become fully integrated into the healthcare and legal landscape of Eastern Ontario, bringing excellence home.
Clients want information. They want their lawyer to refrain from curating the information they’re provided or present nothing but the positive or negative. At Bergeron Clifford, clients can expect transparency. When clients are asked to make decisions critical to their future security and well-being, good decisions require information presented clearly and straightforwardly. Clients hire the firm to provide that strength and guidance.
Doctors, therapists, and other lawyers can expect truth and integrity. The firm aims to ensure its clients leave the claims process with the best possible result. The legal team at Bergeron Clifford can only do that if all participants in the process leave with their dignity intact.