Full Decision Court of Appeal Confirms No Vicarious Liability on Hospital for Sexual Abuse at Alternative School The recent Court of Appeal decision in Dunford v. Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board, 2025 ONCA 438 confirmed the trial judge’s finding that the Hamilton Health Sciences Corporation was not vicariously liable for sexual abuse perpetrated on the plaintiff when he attended an alternative school operated by a doctor …

Full Decision Background facts On November 22, 2017, the applicant, Ms. Davis, slipped on black ice in a parking lot while approaching her vehicle. She was holding her key fob and was close enough to the vehicle that her leg came to rest under the driver’s side wheel. She applied for statutory accident benefits from her insurer, Aviva General Insurance Company (Aviva). After three years …

Full Decision In Sprowl v. First Capital, 2025 ONSC 3628, the action arose from a slip-and-fall accident involving an 80-year-old woman who slipped on a patch of ice in the parking lot of a commercial plaza in Waterloo in January 2020.  The trial, conducted under the simplified procedure in Kitchener, was limited to the issue of liability. The issue before the court was whether the …

Full Decision In Trieu v. Aubin, 2025 ONSC 1141, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice dismissed a plaintiff’s personal injury claim arising from a 2015 motor vehicle collision, finding that although the plaintiff suffered a permanent impairment, it did not meet the statutory threshold of seriousness under the Insurance Act. This decision highlights the evidentiary burden plaintiffs face when pursuing damages for chronic but non-catastrophic …