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No Causation, No Accident
Two recent decisions from the Financial Services Commission of Ontario (FSCO) have dealt with determining whether or not the Applicants were involved in an “accident” as defined in section 3(1) of the Statutory Accident Benefits Schedule – Effective September 1,...
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Ontario SABs Insurers Do Not Have to Justify EUO Reason
The Ontario Court of Appeal, in Aviva Insurance Company of Canada v. McKeown, 2017 ONCA 563 (CanLII) determined an insurer is not required to provide a “justification” to compel an applicant for benefits to attend an examination under oath pursuant...
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Case Comment: Cannon v. Cemcor Apartments Inc., 2017 ONCA 378
Recently, the Ontario Court of Appeal considered a landlord’s winter maintenance obligations in an action arising out of a tenant’s slip and fall in a parking lot in Cannon v. Cemcor Apartments Inc., 2017 ONCA 378. Under its lease with...
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The Licence Appeal Tribunal Isn’t Unconstitutional
The Licence Appeal Tribunal isn’t going anywhere. In 2014, the Ontario government passed the Fighting Fraud and Reducing Automobile Insurance Rates Act. Prior to this legislation, accident benefits claimants could contest a denial of benefits by filing an Application for...
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No Diagnosis – No Problem
The Supreme Court of Canada has found an injured claimant does not need to have a diagnosed psychological/psychiatric injury in order to recover for a mental injury sustained in an accident. In Saadati v. Moorhead, 2017 SCC 28, the claimant...
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Case Comment: Duty of Care Under the Occupiers’ Liability Act
Recently, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice considered the duty owed to a volunteer under the Occupiers’ Liability Act in Baltadjian v. Roman Catholic Episcopal Corporation for the Diocese of Alexandria, 2017 ONSC 61 (“Baltadjian”). In this case, the plaintiff,...
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No Vested Rights in SABS
One of the more confusing aspects of adjusting an accident benefits claim is dealing with the numerous amendments to the Statutory Accident Benefits Schedule (SABS). Not surprisingly, during the life of an accident benefits claim, the SABS may be amended...
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How to Investigate Liability in Cases Involving Self-Driving Cars
Cars with varying degrees of autonomy are already part of our reality. In the fourth quarter of 2016, Tesla alone delivered 12,700 of its flagship Model S and 9,500 of the Model X vehicles. According to the U.S. Insurance Institute...
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Disclosure of Expert Retainer Letters
The issue of whether a party must produce a lawyer’s ‘instructional letter’ when retaining an expert was considered by the Ontario Superior Court in Nikolakakos v. Hoque, 2015 ONSC 4738. This case involved an action for damages arising from personal...
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Are jury trials in motor vehicle accident claims inherently unfair?
This is the very question that will be before the Court in the case of Kapoor v. Kuzmanovski, a motor vehicle accident action that was scheduled for a trial by jury in January 2017. Prior to trial, the Plaintiff brought...
