04 June

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Supreme Court of Canada Weighs In On Proving A Mental Injury

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...

19 May

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Chronic Stress From Workplace Bullying Now Recognised By The WSIB

Posted by Michael Kelly & Sabrina Singh

in Employment Law, Personal Injury, WSIB

1) Bullying Is No Joke - It Can Have Serious Detrimental Health Effects It has become clear from the flood of media reports in recent times that harassment and bullying is not just a grade school problem, but something that can infect workplaces everywhere. This kind of conduct can inflict serious mental stress and psychological problems upon victims of workplace abuse. 2) WSIB Could Not Be Claimed For Chronic Mental Stress Caused By Workplace Bullying - In Fact The WSIB Specifically Excluded It For years Ontario’s workplace compensation would not allow such individuals to make claims for compensation, even though it was a...

04 May

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Car Insurance System Failing According To Former Head Of WSIB

Posted by Michael Kelly & Sabrina Singh

in Personal Injury

Recently, the Ontario government quietly released a report called "Fair Benefits Fairly Delivered: A Review of the Auto Insurance System in Ontario". It’s the latest inquiry into Ontario’s car insurance regime. As lawyers practicing personal injury law for many years, we’ve become intimately familiar with the complicated mess successive governments have created in their pursuit of balancing compensation for those who are injured, with keeping premiums affordable in a mandatory car insurance system. Some of the statistics in the report, authored by the former CEO of the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB), Mr. David Marshall, are staggering. Ontario insurance companies...

25 March

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Is Your Car Insurance Company Violating Your Privacy Rights?

Posted by Michael Kelly & Sabrina Singh

in Making a Difference, Personal Injury

If you are seriously injured in a car accident, there are two types of claims that can be made. One is the no fault claim from your own insurance company for accident benefits, and the other is a lawsuit or court claim, against the at fault driver. In Ontario, there are a number of very large insurance companies that sell car insurance, because of this sometimes your car insurance company may also be the same company that insures the person at fault for your injuries. Even though you can make two separate claims, it is the same insurance company behind the...

27 February

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Truth In Legal Advertising – Cutting Through The Confusion To Find A Good Lawyer

Posted by Michael Kelly & Sabrina Singh

in Personal Injury

In a world of increasing information and decreasing trust it is more important than ever to be critical when confronted with advertising in any industry - law is no different. Stricter government legislation and more stringent insurance industry policies, has made personal injury law practice an increasingly competitive market. As a result, many law firms use a variety of means to promote themselves to prospective clients. While there has been a lot of discussion in the media about legal advertising, and the Law Society has recently announced they will be introducing new advertising rules for lawyers, we thought a few useful tips...

16 February

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What You Need To Know About Personal Injury Retainers

Posted by Michael Kelly & Sabrina Singh

in Personal Injury

Although most people have heard the “No Fee Unless We Win” mantra that is regularly promoted in personal injury advertising, the details of how personal injury retainers usually work, are not well known. These retainers, usually referred to as “contingency fee retainers”, govern the fee arrangement between clients and their lawyers who decide to take the case on at no upfront hourly fees, but who are instead compensated by taking a percentage of any successful damage award or settlement obtained in the case on the client’s behalf. There are important details that everyone should understand about personal injury retainers and how they...

23 December

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Busting Five Common Myths About Making a Claim After a Car Accident

Posted by Michael Kelly & Sabrina Singh

in Personal Injury

In Ontario, we all know that driving a car without automobile insurance is against the law. The penalty for driving uninsured is hefty and the insurance slip is one of the very first things a police officer asks for if a motorist is ever pulled over. Consequently, most Ontario drivers have insurance, but premiums in Ontario, and particularly in the GTA, are extremely high. Most people spend significant time annually rate shopping for the best price to be able to afford insurance. If you are a young driver under the age of 25, or live in a high risk area...

30 November

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How Social Media Can Impact Your Case

Posted by Michael Kelly & Sabrina Singh

in Litigation Advice, Personal Injury

Interacting with friends and family through social media has become a normal part of everyday life for most people. People usually post pictures, comments, and videos – without realizing that everything that is posted could possibly become relevant and be used in a lawsuit, and ultimately harm your case. Below are three things you need to know about how social media can impact your claim: How do my social media postings get used in the lawsuit? Before the advent of social media, insurance companies who are defending against a personal injury claim would often hire a private investigator to conduct surveillance...

15 August

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Understanding CPP Disability

Posted by Michael Kelly & Sabrina Singh

in Personal Injury

As an employee in the Canadian job market, every time your employer cuts you a pay cheque, certain deductions contribute towards the Canadian Pension Plan. The contributions made to this plan do not just provide a retirement pension. The plan offers a “disability benefit” for those who have not yet reached retirement age, if they suffer a severe and prolonged disability through injury or disease. This protection is called "CPP Disability". It is only available to those who have paid into the plan for the prescribed number of years. Someone who just entered the workforce a couple of years before the injury,...

15 July

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Litigation Financing

Posted by Michael Kelly & Sabrina Singh

in Personal Injury

If you are involved in a lawsuit, or are contemplating pursuing a case, you may have come across advertisements for "litigation financing" or "litigation loans". What are they? This is a relatively new phenomena. There are a number of companies - some in Canada, others in the U.S. that may be willing to advance money to a person who has a lawsuit pending in court. This can be very enticing to people such as plaintiffs in personal injury cases who are struggling financially while they wait for their case to work through the system. A lot of these companies offer "non-recourse" loans,...