23 July

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Are Accident Victims Getting A Fair Hearing Before The LAT?

When deciding whether an adjudicative proceeding like a trial or a tribunal hearing has been conducted fairly, appellate judges will often cite a fundamental judicial principle: “that justice must not only be done but must be seen to be done”. This principle stands for the fact that the public needs to have confidence that any such hearings are decided by the judge or adjudicator based on the evidence presented by the parties at the hearing in a fair and open forum. Part of this process means that the judge or adjudicator allows the parties to make submissions on points to...

09 July

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Do You Have A Claim For Your Slip & Fall Injury?

Posted by Michael Kelly & Sabrina Singh

in Personal Injury

Whether it’s an icy patch in the mall parking lot, or a slip in the grocery store on a fallen grape or spilled liquid detergent, falls can have serious consequences, resulting in serious injuries and even death. Seniors and young children are the most vulnerable, but falls can significantly affect someone at any age. With an aging demographic in Ontario, these kinds of falls can result in serious hip injuries, broken bones and a loss of mobility and costs the health care system significant money. According to a new report by the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) unintentional falls...

18 June

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Ontario Set To Expand The Scope Of Distracted Driving Offences

Posted by Michael Kelly & Sabrina Singh

in Personal Injury

Effective January 1, 2019, local enforcement officers will have greater powers to crack down on any behavior that can be characterized as distracted driving. The list will be expanded to include behavior that goes beyond the usual “driving while using a hand-held device” infractions that are common now and have been for some years. So what else can constitute distracted driving? As per the Ontario government’s website, anything that causes a driver to be less focused on the road constitutes distracted driving. This will be a discretionary call to be made by enforcement officers, but distracted driving can include eating or...

21 March

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The Truth About Fraud Allegations In Personal Injury Claims

Posted by Michael Kelly & Sabrina Singh

in Personal Injury

With a provincial election ramping up in Ontario, a campaign issue that seems to percolate to the surface every election year is high auto insurance premiums. As you may recall the current Ontario government had previously promised a rate reduction in premiums of up to 15% - this reduction never materialized. Instead what Ontarians received was a drastic reduction in the benefits they get for their premiums. Now Ontarians actually have to pay more, not less, to get the same coverages they used to get before. Insurer's will have the public believe that the high premiums are because of fraud....

09 February

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Predicting Jury Outcomes In A Trial

Posted by Michael Kelly & Sabrina Singh

in Litigation Advice, Personal Injury

We’ve all seen famous television shows like Suits, Law and Order or The Good Wife where on occasion an episode showcases an entire field of study dedicated to reading the jury. In some States of the United States, members of the public who serve on a jury are not prohibited from discussing the case with the media or in public after the fact. Often jury members will go on a media tour or be interviewed extensively by the media or by field experts to get insight on what went on in the jury room during deliberations. In some U.S. jurisdictions,...

08 December

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There’s Nothing Fair About Ontario’s “Fair Auto Insurance Plan” For Accident Victims

Posted by Michael Kelly & Sabrina Singh

in Personal Injury

Earlier this week the Ontario Government announced new proposed legislation to address auto insurance called "Ontario’s Fair Auto Insurance Plan”. This newly proposed legislation – the government claims - will once and for all tackle high insurance premiums. You have heard that promise before, repeatedly. It’s perhaps no surprise that the Insurance Bureau of Canada, a national lobby group for insurance companies welcomes the latest changes. Previous government changes to the Insurance Act have reduced benefit amounts that accident victims can claim to minimal sums. The Government very proudly announced that their plan means millions of tax payer dollars will be...

17 October

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Marijuana Legalization – Good or Bad For Accident Victims?

Posted by Michael Kelly & Sabrina Singh

in Personal Injury

Marijuana Legalization in Ontario and Personal Injury

This Blog was written with contributions from Kirsten O’Brien, Patient Services Educator at Medical Marijuana Consulting. The forthcoming legalization of marijuana in the summer of 2018 will have wide ranging implications for the law in several areas, including personal injury law. In this blog we consider marijuana legalization and its potential impact on roadway safety and personal injury victims. A major cause of motor vehicle accidents and serious injury is impaired driving. The legalization of marijuana will create new challenges for the government and police authorities. They will have to work quickly to ensure provisions are in place to identify and prevent...

04 October

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Auto Insurance Industry Reaps Profits As Accident Victims Pay The Price Of Reforms

Posted by Michael Kelly & Sabrina Singh

in Personal Injury

Insurers Reap Profits while Accident Victims Pay

Starting in 1990, successive Ontario governments under pressure to reduce the rising costs of automobile insurance engaged in a long history of changing and amending the way that victims of car accidents would be compensated for their losses and obtain treatment on a timely basis. The emphasis now was on “no-fault” or “accident benefits where the injured person’s own insurer would cover much of the treatment and economic losses suffered. The right to sue negligent motorists still existed (“tort”), but in a very limited form. (Check out our blog on Five common myths About Making a Claim After a Car...

11 September

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Five Things To Know About Proving Chronic Pain In Personal Injury Cases

Posted by Michael Kelly & Sabrina Singh

in Personal Injury

1) Chronic Pain Is A Long Term Pain Disorder That Can Arise After A Car Accident Or Personal Injury In many cases involving personal injury – whether it be a motor vehicle accident, a work accident or an insurance claim – the diagnosis of chronic pain syndrome or fibromyalgia may come up. Generally, we are talking about an individual who suffers significant and disabling pain, yet the test reports (MRIs, CT scans etc.) don’t reveal a cause for the pain. While chronic pain syndrome typically refers to a localized pain in particular areas of the body, such as one’s neck, back or...

04 June

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Supreme Court of Canada Weighs In On Proving A Mental Injury

Posted by Michael Kelly & Sabrina Singh

in Litigation Advice, Making a Difference, Personal Injury

Just this week the Supreme Court of Canada released a landmark decision on the issue of mental harm and mental injury caused by negligence. The Honourable Supreme Court Justice Brown, for a unanimous court, delivered the decision. The appeal arose from a motor vehicle accident claim in British Columbia. At trial the Plaintiff was awarded damages for mental injury based exclusively on the testimony of lay witnesses. In other words, no medical professional was called to support the Plaintiff’s claim for damages arising from mental injury. The British Columbia Court of Appeal reversed the ruling, holding that in order to recover damages...