Category: Law Blogs

As a personal injury and medical malpractice lawyer, I work with many doctors. In every one of my cases there is a doctor involved. In my experience over the past 16 years in almost every case a client’s family doctor is the unsung hero. Family doctors in Ontario go over and above the call of duty for their patients. Their primary duty is to care for their patient’s health, which they do with dedication, skill, and expertise. But family doctors

In September 2016, I wrote a blog for the Ontario Trial Lawyers Association in the wake of Edmonton judge, Justice Denny Thomson’s decision to allow television cameras inside the courtroom to broadcast his decision in the Travis Vader murder trial.  You can read that blog here. A year and half later, this issue is once again top of mind and in the news. The murder trial of Gerald Stanley has captured the Country’s attention. For those living under a rock, Stanley, a

$30,000 in damages and $151,045 in costs. $20,414.813 in damages and $237,017.50 in costs. Litigation is expensive. We all know this to be a fact, but a couple of recent Ontario Superior Court decisions drive home the point. While at first blush one might think that awarding costs worth five and ten times the damages is outrageous, in both cases, the costs awards were fair and reasonable in the circumstances of each case. Had the trial judge awarded anything less, injustice

It won’t be long before picking up your phone while driving, even if stopped at a red light, will cost you even more money. On September 20, 2017, Ontario Transportation Minister Steven Del Duca announced that the Liberal government will introduce legislation to increase the fines for distracted driving from a maximum of $1,000 to up to $2,000 on second conviction, and up to $3,000 for a third or subsequent conviction as well as six demerit points for multiple offences. The Dangers of Distracted Driving These

Note: This blog was originally published for the Ontario Trial Lawyers’ Association. Ontario’s minister of Children and Youth Services Michael Couteau was in the news recently for his plea to Toronto city council to lift a ban on road hockey in the city. The by-law in questions states that: “no person shall play or take part in any game or sport upon a roadway and, where there are sidewalks, no person upon roller-skates, in-line skates or a skateboard, or riding in or

On March 9, 2016, Bill 132, Sexual Violence and Harassment Action Plan Act (Supporting Survivors and Challenging Sexual Violence and Harassment) 2016 received royal assent. This means that, as of now, there are no time limits for victims to sue for sexual assault, domestic violence or child abuse. In most cases in Ontario a plaintiff must start a lawsuit within two years of when the act occurred. There is a narrow exception for cases where the plaintiff could not have known about