416-703-2402 Local
1-888-378-3388 Toll Free

Posts Categorized: personal injury

Bicycling Collisions While Riding on the Sidewalk

Ming Pao’s helpful article on May 30, 2009 regarding the issue of bicycling in the City of Toronto and the responsibilities of cyclists in relation to pedestrians walking on city sidewalks.  An English version of this article is found here.

See our related blog entry on the issue of an accident between a bicyclist and a car.

Our thanks to Mr. Kwan Luk and Ming Pao newspaper for allowing us to comment on the issue.

Gregory Chang
Toronto Insurance Litigation Lawyer… Continue Reading

Tags: , ,

SARS Lawsuits Struck > No Claim Allowed Against Province of Ontario

SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) was an issue in Toronto in 2003.  The disease was largely contained to hospital and health care workers and further information from the WHO (World Health Organization) is found here.

A number of lawsuits were brought as a result of SARS and recently, five cases were decided together by the Ontario Court of Appeal.  All five cases dealt found that the Province of Ontario could not be found to have a private law duty of care to any of the plaintiffs; each of the Statements of Claim were struck as against the Province of Ontario.… Continue Reading

Tags: ,

5cm Crack in Roadway is Not Dangerous > Municipal Maintenance Standards Reviewed

In 2001, Ontario enacted the Municipal Act, 2001 and by Regulation introduced the Minimum Maintenance Standards for Municipal Highways.  The Minimum Maintenance Standards sets out responsibilities for municipalities regarding snow clearing, pothole maintenance, sidewalk maintenance and other issues.

When should a crack in the roadway be fixed?

Is a 5 cm wide crack (which is also 1 cm deep) dangerous?  What if that road had no sidewalks and no crosswalk available?  If the roadway was commonly used by university students to cross the street after classes ended?… Continue Reading

Tags: , ,

Facebook Defence Strikes Again – Lawsuit Claims Defeated

In personal injury lawsuits, the internet is being checked for personal information about plaintiffs in order to test allegations of impairment.  See our previous blog entry for a recent Ontario case involving a Facebook defence.

In the Newfoundland case of Terry v. Mullowney, (2009 Newfoundland Trial Division), the plaintiff was a 28 year old male mechanic, single, who suffered soft tissue injuries from two car accidents.  He complained of neck, shoulder and back pain, along with pain radiating into arms and legs.… Continue Reading

Mary Carter Agreement Pitfalls > Principles Reviewed

In a lawsuit where the plaintiff is suing two or more defendants, there exists the possibility that the plaintiff may choose to enter into a partial settlement prior to the completion of Trial.  A Mary Carter agreement is one type of partial settlement whereby the plaintiff settles against some (but not all) of the defendants and then continues the lawsuit against the remaining defendants.

In Laudon v. Roberts (2009 Ontario Court of Appeal), the plaintiff suffered personal injuries in a boating accident and sued two defendants. … Continue Reading

Tags: , ,

Death of a Spouse by Car Accident > Can Surviving Spouse Receive a “Dependent Benefit” and also the Spousal Death Benefit?

If your spouse dies in an Ontario car accident, you may be entitled to the $25,000 Spousal Death Benefits pursuant to Section 25 of theStatutory Accident Benefits Schedule (“SABS”),

If you receive the spousal death benefit, can you also receive a $10,000 “dependent benefit” pursuant to Section 25(2)2 of the SABS?

We think the answer is “yes”, if you can prove that you were dependent on your deceased spouse.

There do not appear to be any decisions at the Financial Services Commission of Ontario (“FSCO”) or case law dealing with the current wording of the legislation. … Continue Reading

Tags: , ,