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 …
Tomorrow is Election Day in Ontario and many of us will be off to the polls to cast our votes. On June 3, 2014, we saw the election debate between the three major party leaders. While a number of issues were addressed, including scandal, the deficit, and job creation, auto insurance reform was not one of them. It is unfortunate that the topic did not …
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 …
If you drive a vehicle in Ontario, the law requires that you insure your vehicle. Every auto insurance policy includes mandatory no-fault benefits. We pay for these benefits with our premium dollars. While premiums have continued to climb year after year, the no-fault accident benefits for injured victims continue to erode. While benefits have been steadily declining for many years, the changes that were imposed …
With Ontarians heading to the ballot boxes in less than a month, people are paying heightened attention to what the parties and candidates have to say on issues they care about. For many people, that means education, health care, jobs and environmental issues. Unfortunately, tort rights, thresholds and deductibles are probably not even on the radar, and understandably so. The reality is that most people …
Image credit: Darren Calabrese / THE CANADIAN PRESS On March 4, 2014, the Ontario Liberals tabled Bill 171, which proposed a number of amendments to the Insurance Act, the Financial Services Commission of Ontario Act, the Licence Appeal Tribunal Act, the Motor Vehicle Accident Claims Act and the Repair and Storage Liens Act. At the time of tabling Bill 171, Fair Association of Victims for Accident …
