Laura Hillyer divides her practice between Personal Injury Litigation and Criminal Defence. She strives to help her clients with the challenges they face whether they are injured or disabled and are seeking fair compensation, or are charged with a criminal offence. Laura believes that practising in these two areas of law provides her with a wide breadth of experience and gives her a balanced approach in facing legal problems.
Everyone should wear a helmet when riding a bike, but children especially need protection because of the heightened risk they face. Head injuries are the number one cause of serious injury and death to kids on bicycles. It’s also the law—in Ontario, anyone under the age of 18 must wear a helmet while riding a bicycle on the road or sidewalks. Earlier this spring, we …
The “very unfair” 10-day notice period in the Municipal Act has led to the dismissal of an action against a municipality, leaving an injured plaintiff with no access to justice for her injuries. The notice provision requires that municipalities be provided with notice of a potential claim within 10 days of the injury and that absent a “reasonable excuse,” failure to give notice will be …
Social media and online news sources are providing trial lawyers and victims’ rights activists with new opportunities to ensure that the public is informed and not misled by tort “reform” and big business propaganda. The McDonald’s hot coffee case was actively lauded by tort “reformers” as an example of all that was wrong with the American civil justice system. The actual facts of the case were …
The term “global warming” may seem like a misnomer when the temperature has been dipping to -20 C or lower. But whether you call it a cold snap, a polar vortex or climate change, let’s face it—we Canadians are getting some extreme cold this winter. This deep chill is creating slick conditions for Ontario motorists. And if you think that applying more salt to the …
Image via Flickr user Reigh LeBlanc: http://www.flickr.com/photos/reighleblanc/3854685038/sizes/o/ Brain injuries are often referred to as “invisible injuries” due to the limitations of brain imaging technology. That may be changing with the advent of Diffusion MRI technology. In a study published in a recent issue of Neurology, researchers revealed that abnormalities from a mild concussion can be seen to linger up to four months after the actual …
The Ontario Court of Appeal delivered two decisions on Friday, September 26, 2013, which make it very clear that even holding a cellphone while driving constitutes an offence. The decisions will make enforcement of s.78.1(1)of the Highway Traffic Act much easier for police as the Court found that there is no requirement for the Crown to actually prove the device was being used or was …
