Category: In the News

Author: Kris Bonn Long-term disability benefits. We buy coverage to protect us and our families when we become injured or sick and cannot work. They are “peace of mind” contracts. This past week there were two legal decisions of note in long-term disability cases. One is a reminder for all claimants to not sit back, when benefits are terminated, and rely on your insurer to do what is right. If the insurer denies or terminates your benefits, you need to

Author: Christopher Fleury In Ontario, an employee does not have the right to employment. This means that an employer may dismiss an employee without legal cause, so long as the dismissal is not for a reason which violates provincial or federal human rights legislation. Fortunately, when an employee is dismissed without cause, the employee is entitled to reasonable notice of the dismissal, or pay in lieu of such notice (commonly termed severance). The calculation of a reasonable notice period is

Author: Kris Bonn Many people in Ontario are covered by long-term disability insurance benefits. We buy long-term disability benefits insurance to protect us and our families if we become disabled through an accident, car collision or other serious health condition. Typically, if you qualify for the long-term disability benefit, the disability insurer will pay you a monthly benefit that is usually between 60 to 70% of you monthly earnings. The amount is specified in the contract of insurance or the

Author: Ryan Alkenbrack In my previous blog, I discussed tort law and two new categories of torts that the courts in Ontario recently recognized (internet harassment & family violence). In this blog, I will focus on damages in personal injury actions. As a quick reminder, tort law, in general, involves an act or omission that causes injury or harm to another person. For a plaintiff to be successful in their tort action against a defendant, they must prove two main components

Author: Fatema Tokhy Although rare, given that driving without insurance is illegal in Canada, its infrequency should not lessen its importance. Please note that the rules governing auto insurance are complex and beyond the scope of this blog. I was hit by an uninsured/unidentified driver, but I have insurance. Now what? Generally speaking, you would apply to accident benefits through your own insurance company1 and commence a lawsuit against the at-fault driver for damages. However if the at-fault driver cannot be

Author: Kris Bonn There is no question that the Canadian healthcare system provides excellent medical care to most people. However, according to the Canadian Patient Safety Institute, in our Canadian healthcare system there is a death from preventable patient harm every 13 minutes and 14 seconds. One out of 18 hospital visits result in preventable harm. These incidents generate an additional $2.75 billion in healthcare treatment costs very year.[1] In Canada, patients who are harmed in hospitals and/or medical care