Category: Law Blogs

As a civil litigator it is occasionally my duty to advise potential clients that, while they may have had a viable legal claim at some point in the past, because they waited to contact a lawyer and take action, they are no longer able to bring their claim.  Popular vernacular has termed this issue the “Statute of Limitations”, a nod to the influence of American legal dramas. In Ontario, we are bound by the Limitations Act. Although there are a few

This article written by Kris Bonn originally appeared on the Lawyers Daily on Monday, July 29, 2019. Over the past 10 years, adverse costs insurance has become more prevalent in Ontario, particularly in the field of personal injury law. For those not familiar with adverse costs insurance, it provides insurance if a party’s legal action fails and the party is ordered to pay costs to the other side of the litigation. Adverse costs insurance is commonly referred to as “after the

Insurance companies know how to make money. If you haven’t seen Rick Mercer’s take on insurance companies, it is a funny spoof that is starting to be the reality. Our current Ford Conservative Government has introduced a Bill to amend the Occupiers’ Liability Act that clearly puts profits over safety.  The amendment protects negligent occupiers from any liability for their negligence in causing injuries if the injured person does not provide written notice to the occupier within 10 days of the injury. This

This past week Quinte Healthcare (QHC) fired a nurse for the unauthorized accessing of hundreds of patient records. As reported by the Intelligencer and Quinte News the nurse was at Belleville General Hospital (BGH). As QHC’s President and CEO Mary Clare Egberts told reporters, QHC’s privacy office in September detected the nurse’s activity at BGH. As recognized by Ms. Egberts, “You only have the right to access a chart if you are providing care directly to that patient.” She said that the nurse in

I’ve practiced law now for nearly 17 years. For most of those years I’ve represented injured victims – these are the plaintiffs in legal actions. Over these years I’ve come to realize that there are several myths that pervade our system. One of the most pervasive is the myth of the named defendant. In most personal injury cases, the named defendant does NOT pay the costs in defending a legal action and does NOT pay any amount of a judgment.

A recent case Isacov v. Schwartzberg, 2018 ONSC 5933, destroys an injured plaintiff’s privacy in his or her social media accounts. Master Short ordered the plaintiff to produce electronic or paper copies of photographs on any of the plaintiff’s Facebook and Instagram accounts. This case is a warning to anyone who has been injured in a motor vehicle crash, from medical malpractice, slip or trip and fall or fighting an insurance company for disability benefits – what you post on Facebook