Toronto Personal Injury Law Blog

If you are injured in a car accident in Ontario, you will likely have access to Ontario’s no-fault insurance benefits plan, which is the Statutory Accident Benefits Regime (SABS) or more commonly referred to as “Accident Benefits”.

When you claim Accident Benefits, you likely will be asked to undergo a medical assessment by a doctor or medical practitioner to evaluate your condition and provide an opinion as to your entitlement to Accident Benefits.

If you are assessed by a medical doctor at the request of the Accident Benefits insurer, is that doctor an expert or a fact witness?… Continue Reading

The recent case Ontario Deputy Judges Association v. Ontario (2009 Ontario Superior Court – Divisional Court) deals with the rate of pay appropriate for Deputy Judges in Ontario.

Deputy Judges work in Ontario’s Small Claims Court, which is the busiest Court in the province.  Over 25 years ago, the jurisdictional limit of Small Claims Court was to hear matters involving no more than $1,000 in dispute.  In 2001, the jurisdictional limit increased to $10,000.  It is anticipated that in a few months, in January, 2010, that Ontario’s Small Claims Court will have jurisdiction over matters up to $25,000 – you can see our March 11, 2009 blog for further details.… Continue Reading

Long terms disability insurance applications are reviewed and assessed by the long term disability carrier based on the wording of the policy, along with the medical evidence of impairment presented, to determine whether the insured applicant qualifies for long term disability benefits.

Usually the medical evidence considered includes the insured’s historical medical file, medical specialist or expert opinion presented by the insured and medical specialist or expert opinion commissioned by the long term disability carrier.

Although long term disability insurance policies in Canada are generally similar, it is necessary to review the specific insurance policy for each insured applicant’s claim.… Continue Reading

On Tuesday, September 8, 2009, we were honoured to host an interesting and productive meeting with Mr. Pingli Tian, Vice President of the Higher People’s Court of Shaanxi Province and the delegation from Shaanxi Province for an exchange of information about the respective legal systems of Canada and China.

Photos of the meeting are found here.

The delegation from China included:

• Mr. Yingbo Wang, President of the Railway Intermediate People’s Court of Xi’an City, Shaanxi Province;
• Mr. Anxiang Qin,  Director of the Research Office of the Shaanxi Higher People’s Court of Shaanxi Province;
• Mr.… Continue Reading

In civil lawsuits, there are times when one party can ask the Court for early relief and an Order stopping the other party (to the lawsuit) from doing something or acting in a certain fashion.  For example, a party can ask the Court to order an interim injunction, preventing the other party from carrying out certain business practices.

In the interesting case of Pacific Express Travel Ltd. v. Expedia Canada Corp., (2009 Ontario Superior Court), a new and small travel agency (Pacific Express) was apparently using the Expedia website to book plane tickets primarily from Canada to China. … Continue Reading

Our thanks to Mr. Eric Lai and the Toronto Star Wheels section for allowing us to provide a response to one of their reader’s questions last Saturday, August 22, 2009.  The article is hereand also in PDF format.

The legislation referred to in the article can be found here:

• federal Competition Act;
• Ontario’s Consumer Protection Act, 2002; and
• Ontario’s Motor Vehicle Dealers Act, 2002 (“MVDA 2002”).

New regulations to the MVDA 2002 are coming into effect in January, 2010 which will also add to the advertising requirements.… Continue Reading