Victoria is an associate in Siskinds’ Personal Injury Law Group. She provides top-quality legal services to her client by prioritizing clarity and accessibility when explaining legal options to her clients. Her practice includes motor vehicle litigation, short/long term disability claims, slips/trips and falls, and dog bite cases.
Victoria attended Western Law, where she worked and volunteered in the legal clinic. In addition to her academics and advocacy, Victoria competed as a varsity fencer for the Western Fencing Team.
Full Decision Overview In Trebell v. Canada Life Assurance Company, the Ontario Court of Appeal addressed whether a life insurer can rely on s. 180(1)(c) of the Insurance Act to deny coverage years after a policy was issued because of a change in the insured’s insurability between the application and delivery of the policy. The court held that it can. Section 180(1)(c) is not subject …
Full Decision Background The Ontario Court of Appeal dismissed an appeal of an Occupiers’ Liability case. The underlying action arose when the plaintiff, Janet Pederson, slipped at the top of a wooden staircase and suffered personal injuries. Liability was hotly contested between the parties. Pederson alleged that the stairs were dangerously slippery due to the application of cleaning products, while the defendants, the Forgets, denied …
Full Decision Background The plaintiff (Aylmer Meat Packers) hired a lawyer to represent it on a contingency fee basis. The terms of the agreement were such that the lawyer would be paid only if they won at trial or if there was a settlement. The lawyer, at Harrison Pensa LLP, represented the plaintiff through an 18-day trial. The plaintiff lost at trial – see Aylmer …
Full Decision A plaintiff failed to discharge her burden of proving her case in an uncontested trial. Her appeal was dismissed as the trial judge’s analysis of the evidence presented and conclusions reached were sound. Background The appellant provided attendant care services to the respondents, who had been injured in a 2011 motor vehicle accident in the United States of America. They had an oral …
Full decision In Barry v. Anantharajah, the Ontario Court of Appeal upheld a trial judge’s decision to award $300,000 in costs to a plaintiff who recovered just over $16,000 in damages. Background On December 9, 2014, Jacqueline Barry was struck by a vehicle while crossing a pedestrian street. She sued the driver, Punithavathi Anantharajah, seeking over $1 million in damages for physical and psychological injuries. The …
Full Decision In a recent Ontario Court of Appeal decision, J.A. Lauwers granted an extension to move for leave to appeal to the Court of Appeal despite significant deficiencies in the filed matter because the ground of appeal was not without merit and it was in the interests of justice that the matter be heard. Background The appellants, who were self represented throughout this litigation, …