James Page

James Page is a lawyer at Martin & Hillyer Associates who has been practicing personal injury and civil litigation since 2010.
James is a board member of the Ontario Trial Lawyers Association (OTLA) and the Halton County Law Association (HCLA), and a Past President of the Brain Injury Association of Peel & Halton (BIAPH).

The Pains of Living with Chronic Pain: A Canadian Health Crisis

November 3-9, 2024, is National Pain Awareness Week – a week dedicated to drawing attention to chronic pain and the devastating impact it can have on people’s lives. The broader goal is to advocate for early, effective treatment of this condition and promote further education to better understand it. I am astounded by the number of people living with chronic pain in our country. According …

Co-operators Insurance Company v. Bennett, 2024 ONSC 467

Full Decision In Co-operators Insurance Company v. Bennett, 2024 ONSC 467, the applicant, Ms. Bennett, was involved in a car crash.  She applied for accident benefits through her auto insurer, Co-operators. Co-operators determined that she suffered a “minor injury” as defined by the Statutory Accident Benefits Schedule (“SABS”) and placed her in the Minor Injury Guideline (“MIG” or “Guideline”).  In the MIG, Ms. Bennett’s med/rehab …

Desrochers v. McGinnis, 2024 ONCA 63

The plaintiff, Megan Desrochers, suffered a severe injury when the ATV she was driving left the unpaved road she was on and struck a tree.
At the time, Megan was dating Patrick McGinnis. Patrick’s parents owned a farm near the collision site. Patrick’s father, Grant McGinnis, owned the ATV and kept it at his farm.

So What Does “Medical And Any Other Reasons” Really Mean?

Full Decision In Varriano v. Allstate Insurance Company of Canada, the Ontario Court of Appeal (ONCA) addressed whether a medical reason must be included in every denial of statutory accident benefits. The applicant, Nunzio Varriano, was injured in a motor vehicle collision in September 2015. He successfully applied to his auto insurer, Allstate, for income replacement benefits (IRBs). He returned to work two months later, …