Toronto Personal Injury Law Blog

The murder case of 14 year old Stefanie Rengel, the daughter of Toronto police officers, will soon draw to a close.  The sentencing of the teenaged murderers, a boy and a girl, is expected to take place in the next few weeks.

Excellent reporting appears within the Globe and Mail and the Toronto Star of this case, which has been reported on extensively.

A senseless death, the immature killers were stuck in a jealously-filled boyfriend/girlfriend relationship.  Stefanie was unwittingly used as a pawn by the murderers to prove their love to each other: if you love me, then kill Stefanie.… Continue Reading

Our thanks to the Toronto Star’s Eric Lai for inviting our Firm to respond to one of their reader’s questions this past weekend – you’ll find the article here.  The original Toronto Star’s article here. (PDF file).

In that article, you’ll find the following reference links here:

Case Comment – Walsh v. Kapusin (2009 Ontario Superior Court)

The right to a jury trial is reviewed here, pursuant to both s.108 of the Ontario Courts of Justice Act and also Rule 47.02 of the OntarioRules of Civil Procedure.

As is well established, a trial by jury is a substantial right available to litigants.  Jury notices are only struck out for specific reasons, included those factors listed in s.108(2) of the Ontario Courts of Justice Act.

Here, the plaintiff sought to strike the jury notice filed by the defendant, based on incorrect statements of law by defendant’s counsel in the opening (in addition to being argumentative); and improper cross-examination of the plaintiff and plaintiff’s expert.… Continue Reading

In Ontario, the Bill 198 regime is the current system governing motor vehicle accidents.  It was effective starting October 1, 2003 and remains today.

As part of the Ontario government’s five year review plan, the Financial Services Commission of Ontario (“FSCO”) has given their March 31, 2009 report to the government for further consideration.

There are 39 recommendations, many of which deal with revision of the Accident Benefits regime.

Various reporting has been done, including the Toronto Star, Canadian Underwriter and other organizations. … Continue Reading

Case Comment – Alfano v. Piersanti (2009 Ontario Superior Court)

Prior to Trial, the defendant’s accounting expert file was provided.  The plaintiff sought further production of the expert’s file, however, on the eve of Trial.

In an earlier ruling, the accounting expert’s time dockets were ordered to be produced not to calculate his fees charged on the file, but to reveal his narrative within those dockets for the purposes of a fuller disclosure of that expert’s file.

Within the time dockets kept by the defendant’s expert, there were 162 docket entries referring to emails exchanged by that expert with the defendant company. … Continue Reading

A great question found in the helpful pages of the Toronto Star’s Wheels section this past weekend:

Who is responsible for the accident when a left-turning vehicle at a lighted
intersection hits a cyclist proceeding in the opposite direction on the green?

Contrary to some other opinions expressed, my view is that liability for this accident is not clear cut.

Keep in mind that there is a significant difference between the function of a police officer attending at the scene of a motor vehicle accident and the eventual determination of liability in a civil lawsuit (i.e.… Continue Reading