What's New at Bougadis, Chang LLP
PDF Version - Fall 2010 E-Newsletter - November
Visit our blog for the latest updates. Here’s a sample of what we’ve been writing about lately:
- Our Firm's participation in the Toronto Star;
- Our Firm's participation in the Canadian Insurance Top Broker;
- Our ongoing blog series on the changes to Ontario's Accident Benefits system - Parts 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9;
- Families of people who die as a result of car accidents will no receive more compensation, with the elimination of the tort deductible for fatality claims, per s. 276.5 (8.1.1) of the Insurance Act; and
- The ongoing debate over the role of experts in personal injury lawsuits, including:
Getting Ready for Winter
Winter in Ontario is a busy time for insurance and personal injury lawyers, as accidents tend to increase with harsh weather. The main culprits are slip and fall accidents and car accidents.
Slip and fall accidents on ice and snow are common. What is not as well known, however, is that if you slip on a city sidewalk, that you have to act very quickly if you wish to sue to recover damages for your injury or loss.
For example, you have 10 days to notify the City in writing of your accident and injury. Part of the policy concern is to allow cities an opportunity to respond in a timely manner to complains, including checking the condition of the area complained of in terms of ice/snow removal.
In that regard, our blog commented recently on an interesting new case from the Ontario Court of Appeal which allowed a plaintiff to maintain a lawsuit even though he first gave notice approximately 5 months after the slip and fall accident.
Car accidents also tend to spike with inclement weather.
One factor which sometimes arises in personal injury litigation is the presence of snow tires on cars involved in the accident. In this regard, it is of interest to monitor what the Ontario government publishes as part of its information campaign for safe driving during the winter: (1) winter tires information pamphlet; and (2) winter driving information pamphlet.
For more background information, you can review our blogs on slip and fall accidents or our extensive database on car accidents, including Accident Benefits issues.
Looking Ahead
Facebook's Growing Presence in Personal Injury Lawsuits
Plaintiffs in personal injury lawsuits should be aware that an ongoing trend in the Court to allow for production of the plaintiff’s Facebook pages to the defendant in their lawsuit.
This is, your pictures and comments, posted by yourself or your “friends”, may be produced in a lawsuit.
Generally the reason for an order to produce is to allow the defendant to evaluate how the plaintiff’s complained of injuries have affected his/her life.
See our Feb27/2009 blog about a Facebook production Order and our May 14, 2009 blog about the role of Facebook as evidence as Trial as background on this issue.
We will update the current law on this issue in the weeks ahead.