Here when you need us most.

Note: This blog was originally published for the Ontario Trial Lawyers Association.

supreme court, canada, supreme court of canada, personal injury lawyers, trenton personal injury lawyers, belleville personal injury lawyers, bancroft personal injury lawyers. cobourg personal injury lawyers, motor vehicle accident, car crash lawyer, injury lawyer, bonn law, bonn law office, kris bonn, kristian bonn, george bonn, joelle briggs-sears, ruth roberts, ammar hussein, chris fleuryOn Thursday June 11, 2015, our Supreme Court of Canada ruled that the law limiting medical marijuana to dry leaves infringes on Canadians liberty and security of person protected by section 7 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The Court was unanimous in ruling that medical marijuana can be legally consumed in a range of ways, from cannabis-infused cookies and brownies to cooking oils and teas. The Court stated:

Airbags have been one of the most important safety developments for motor vehicles, saving thousands of lives and preventing catastrophic injuries. But at times airbags can maim and kill.

On the heels of the report that auto insurers are making billions of dollars in Ontario, the Liberal government has announced further massive cuts to benefits guaranteeing that auto insurers will make billions more in insurance premiums! For those most seriously and critically injured, the changes are drastic — a 50% reduction in coverage. There will also be changes to make it more difficult for injured victims to qualify for the enhanced coverage. The reductions include:

Note: This post was originally published on the Ontario Trial Lawyers Association website. Bonn Law’s Kristian Bonn is a director of the Ontario Trial Lawyers Association and a proud contributor to its blog.

In late 2014, the Liberal Ontario government passed Bill 15, the “Fighting Fraud and Reducing Automobile Insurance Rates Act, 2014”. The new law only benefits multi-billion dollar insurance companies while giving auto collision victims in Ontario the shaft when in need of accident benefits. Here are some of the new lows coming from the Bill:

This week, the National Post ran a story with the headline, “Tobogganing under threat in the U.S. and Canada: Cities instituting bans after sledding injuries lead to lawsuits”. The story refers to communities in the U.S. and in Canada that are starting to restrict or, in places, outright ban tobogganing. As expected, the title of the article causes the public to believe that personal injury lawsuits are out of control and need to be restricted or limited. Nothing could be further from the truth.

When the calendar turns over to January 1, many Canadians pack up and head south. Once you are outside of Canada, most provincial healthcare plans will not cover your medical costs and expenses if you need medical help. The results can be devastating.

As a patient seeing a doctor, I would like to know if the doctor has been previously investigated for improper conduct or medical negligence. Unfortunately, this information is generally kept secret from the public. In Ontario, doctors are a self-regulating profession. The College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario (“CPSO”) governs and regulates all medical doctors. CPSO makes public on its website only complaints that end up being referred to CPSO’s discipline committee after an initial investigation has been completed. The registry can be found by clicking here.

In Ontario, before a law graduate can practice law, they must first complete their “articles”, which is on the job training with a practicing lawyer. When I did my articles 12 years ago, we articled for 12 months. The time has now been shortened to 10 months. The law graduate also has to pass the bar admission exams that occur before and after the period of articling.

This past week, the Ontario Liberal government publicly indicated that the government isn’t planning on changing the province’s law on joint and several liability. This is welcome decision for the rule of law in Ontario.