Toronto Personal Injury Law Blog

One of our cases recently came to a hard fought motion wherein the two insurance companies defending our client’s lawsuit were arguing over whether there was a duty to defend under the policy of insurance as between the two insurers. This case involved our client who unfortunately was badly hurt after a slip and fall on a Markham city sidewalk, suffering a nasty fractured ankle requiring surgery and extensive hardware: Zhou v. Town of Markham: Zhou v. Town of Markham, 2014 ONSC 435 (CanLII).… Continue Reading

In civil litigation, party litigants must proceed to the question-answer process of an Examination for Discovery, during which time many questions will be asked of a party.

The issue of whether you “must” or “have to” answer a specific question very frequently arises. Specifically, plaintiffs often wonder whether a series of questions improperly inquires about personal / intimate matters or whether the questions are off-base from the subject matter of the lawsuit. For example, many of my clients initially wonder “why are they asking me about that, aren’t we talking about how they caused this car accident?”.… Continue Reading

On June 26, 2009, a 40-year-old man killed three other individuals while operating his vehicle. The deceased included an 81-year-old bicycle rider, a newlywed couple whose vehicle was rear-ended and the couple’s dog. When the motorist was convicted on triple counts of dangerous driving causing death, he received a suspended sentence.

At the time of reporting, the man remained subject to a decade-long driving probation and three years of probation. In the aftermath of the deaths, the victims’ families sued the negligent driver, and a later investigation by the Ontario ombudsman revealed that the man should not have been operating a motor vehicle in the first place.… Continue Reading

The Issue: If you are riding in a friend’s car and are hurt in a car accident, then do you apply to your friend’s car insurer for Accident Benefits or do you apply to your own insurer?

Why This Matters: No one likes to make a claim against their own insurance company, as everyone generally is concerned about their car insurance premiums increasing.

So if your car is sitting at home and your friend gives you a ride, if you are hurt, whose insurance company will pay your Accident Benefits?… Continue Reading

An interesting illustration of the type of process that is to be undertaking in order to have a party litigant, in a civil litigation lawsuit, designated as a ‘party under disability’ against their will: York Condominium Corporation No. 301 v. James, 2014 ONSC 908.

This case involves a condominium corporation seeking certain relief against the defendant, who occupies a unit in the condo. Allegations include that the defendant is unfit to care for herself (i.e. sleeping in stairwell) and may be a danger to herself and others (i.e.… Continue Reading

The Issue: What are some of the problems you face when suing a city / municipality for a slip / trip and fall accident (i.e. uneven sidewalk)?

In Ontario, a trip and fall on a city sidewalk can be a difficult liability situation, so that often only quite serious injuries, resulting in significant loss and damage, are brought to Trial. Here, a married mother of two, employed as a hairdresser, suffered a serious shoulder fracture and rotator cuff tear as a result of stubbing / catching her toe on the lip of a concrete sidewalk slab that was sticking up higher than the adjoining slab: Grayling v.… Continue Reading