With one of the coldest months on record finally behind us, Ontarians are getting a knack for braving subzero temperatures this winter. Unfortunately, Ontarians will continue to feel the chilling effect of the Minimum Maintenance Standards for Municipal Highways (“MMS”) long after the snow has gone. Recent news about a large chunk of concrete allegedly falling from the Gardiner Expressway Bridge and smashing into the …
The “Inevitable” Accident Defence
The inevitable accident defence can be applied not only in cases of black ice or potholes, but also where accidents are attributed to a medical condition, sudden mechanical failure, or an animal darting onto the roadway.
Reasonable Cost Recovery: How Hospitals Push the Envelope
In Ontario, individuals have the right to access their personal health information contained in a hospital chart. You can request copies of your medical records from a hospital, and for a fee, they will be provided to you. There are a number of reasons why you may wish to access your medical records – when applying for insurance, making a claim for workers compensation, changing …
The Civil Jury
In North America, the jury trial is almost sacrosanct. Even lawyers who have never tried a case before a jury will argue passionately that a jury trial is every litigant’s right and should be preserved at all costs. Over the past several years there is a push by the judiciary to find ways to decide disputes more efficiently and at less cost. One target for …
Top Five Highlights from Moore v. Getahun
It takes an exceptional issue to get both the Ontario Trial Lawyers Association and the Canadian Defence Lawyers reading from the same gospel, however the controversial comments regarding counsel/expert relationships in the trial decision in Moore v. Getahun (2014 ONSC 237) did just that. Following the 2014 trial decision, counsel on both sides of the bar were left confused as to how they ought to …
Standards of Excellence: Defining legal professionalism, ethics and integrity
Toronto lawyer Joseph Groia, the first lawyer convicted for incivility on the basis of submissions made in court on behalf of a client, is taking his long-standing legal battle to Ontario’s top court. From the Toronto Star. Mr. Groia succesfully represented Mr. Felderhof, an officer and director of Bre-X, a Calgary-based mining company that had grown to a multi-billion dollar company largely based on its claim …
