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Monthly Archives: September 2010

Recall: Fisher-Price > 10 Million Children’s Items

Widespread reporting of this large recall, including today’s Globe and Mail article.

You can find Mattel’s recall information and a list of the product codes here.… Continue Reading

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Minor Injury Guideline > Accident Benefit Changes in Ontario – Part 5

A significant change in September, 2010 was to introduce a new concept, the “Minor Injury Guideline”, into the lexicon of car accident claims in Ontario.

The actual Minor Injury Guideline is found on the FSCO (Financial Services Commission of Ontario) website here.

The Minor Injury Guideline imposes a $3,500 hard cap on the Accident Benefits insurer’s obligation to fund all treatment and assessments for those injuries that fall within.

Simply put, if you have an injury that falls inside the Minor Injury Guideline, you will then only receive up to $3,500 in treatment in Accident Benefits.… Continue Reading

Slip and Fall on Ice > 5 Months to Notify City is Reasonable

It is generally difficult to pursue the City of Toronto and other Ontario municipalities for failure to clear their sidewalks of ice and snow.

First, you must send a notice letter properly to the City immediately after your accident, within 10 days of your slip and fall accident.  This applies even if you are in the hospital.  The exceptions are limited.

Then, you must prove negligence on the part of the City for failing to maintain their sidewalks, found in s.44(9) of the Municipal Act, 2001, which reads:

Expert in case of gross negligence, a municipality is not liable for a personal injury caused by snow or ice on a sidewalk.… Continue Reading

Suing Your Own Insurance Company for Denying Your Claim > $5,000 in Damages and $75,000 in Legal Costs

Whether on a home insurance policy (i.e. fire loss or theft) or a automobile policy, an insured may claim against their own insurance policy in the event of loss, subject to the rights of the insurer to investigate and adjust the claim.

What happens if your insurer denies your claim on the basis that the alleged theft did not occur as described?  Meaning that the insurer has concerns that the loss was either as a result of your own actions or the actions of people on your behalf – i.e.… Continue Reading

Mediation in Lawsuits > Obligations of Parties To Mediate

You start a lawsuit after being hurt in a car accident. Your lawyer asks the defendant to the lawsuit (i.e. the insurance company of the defendant) to meet and discuss potentially settling your case, with the help of an experienced neutral lawyer who will help facilitate conversation, but the insurance company refuses. They refuse because they say your injuries are minor; that legal case is worth very little in terms of potential damages; and potentially, that you may recover nothing in your lawsuit as a result of the Bill 198 threshold and deductible (see our previous blogs for explanation of Bill 198).… Continue Reading

Being Examined by an Insurance Doctor > Videotaping the Assessment

There has been a shift in Ontario in recent years, in the personal injury field of law, towards plaintiff counsel pushing for certain defence medical assessments of their clients being videotaped.

In Ontario, if you bring a lawsuit seeking damages arising from your injuries, then the defendant(s) in your lawsuit are entitled to generally to require you to submit to at least one medical assessment, by a doctor of their choice, in order to respond properly to your lawsuit. See Ontario Rules of Civil Procedure – Rule 33.Continue Reading

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