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Earlier this week, parts of south western Ontario experienced a rather large storm. The storm unleashed around 20 to over 130mm of torrential rain which triggered widespread flash flooding. Destructive wind gusts topped 100km/hr along sized golf ball sized hail; which knocked out power for more than 155,000 customers. Branches and entire trees came crumbling down. Basements flooded. Fences, sheds and other structures were seriously damaged. Windows shattered causing extensive water damage. Skylights got damaged. It wasn’t pretty and the clean up job continues.

What do you do when you’ve been impacted by this storm, or another storm or property damage claim like it?

First and foremost, we’re sorry. It’s really hard dealing with property damage claims. But, look at the bright side. Hopefully, nobody was hurt and the property which was damaged can be repaired. We know that the repair job is a major headache, but things could be worse. The repairs (or replacement), will get done, one way or another. It just takes time.

Here are a few tips on what to do after you’ve experienced property damage:

  1. Take photos/videos of the source of the damage, and of the damage/destruction right away. This is very important which is why it’s #1 on this list. The insurance company will want to see this so that they authenticate your claim. The insurance company wants to know that you aren’t trying to pull a fast one on them. They also want to know that the damages are covered under your policy of insurance. Some policies will cover claims for rain damage, but NOT for sewer overflow. This means that if the water in your house is coming from a broken window or skylight, then it will be covered under the policy. But, if the water in your house is coming from underground (like a sewer or sump pump that’s been backlogged), then it might not be covered under your policy unless a specific rider has been purchased for this sort of coverage. The photos and video of the source of the damage will help the insurer understand where the problem is coming from, and whether or not it will be covered under the policy.
  2. Don’t wait to report your claim to the insurance company. Do this right away. Waiting will hurt your claim. You are expected to do so almost immediately. If you wait to report your claim, there had better be a good reason for this. There isn’t really any excuse for waiting to report claims anymore given that most insurers offer online reporting, or they have an app on your phone which can instantaneously make a claim. The app will be connected to your phone, and you can easily upload the photos/video of the damage which you shot in step #1 above. This makes things very easy. It’s also another example of how people who don’t have a smartphone; or who are tech illiterate will have greater problems functioning in 2026; than they would have in 1986. If you aren’t keeping up with the tech, then the world will leave you behind. But that’s a story for another day.
  3. Get your own quote, from your own contractor(s) as soon as possible. Don’t rely on the insurance company and their contractor(s) for a quote. The insurance company will send over a remediation team and an adjuster to inspect the damage. But, you shouldn’t wait to get a quote from the insurance company’s team of experts. Do you own due diligence and get some quotes from people who aren’t associated with the insurance company. If you have a person who your trust, reach out to them. If you have a preferred contractor who you have worked with before, or who has a good reputation in your community, don’t hesitate to reach out to them. The reason for this is at some point, the work will need to get done. If the claim is approved, the insurance company will offer you one of three options:

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People are interested in what makes people great at the things they do. It makes no difference if it’s a baseball player, a bread maker, a chef, and artist, or even a personal injury lawyer. It’s why we love biographies, biopics, and documentaries about what it takes to be “great“. In my line of work, people ask me what’s the secret of being a great personal injury lawyer. I’ve had over 2 decades to reflect on this. What does it take to be a great personal injury lawyer. Here are some of my insights of over 20 years in the industry:

  1. Being great isn’t all about the law. It’s about all of the other things outside of the law. In 2026, AI can teach you a lot there is to know about the law; which is crazy when you think about it long and hard. But, people don’t want a robot as their personal injury lawyer. They’re hiring you, and putting their trust in you in some of their darkest times. While they will be impressed with your legal knowledge and experience; what really sets a great lawyer apart is his/her kindness, compassion, decency and above all else; authenticity. You can’t teach these qualities.
  2. But being great is also about the law! There is no substitute for knowing your stuff. It’s a powerful legal weapon which clients, opposing lawyers and insurers will know and will respect. Knowing the law isn’t easy. It’s constantly changing, and very nuanced. The practice of the law is about splitting hairs, and it’s about those fine details which are time consuming to breakdown and analyze. There are no shortcuts, even with AI.Brian-Goldfinger-03-200x300
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The biggest story in the NBA this summer hasn’t had anything to do with the really BIG Superstars like LeBron James, Steph Curry, Nichola Jokic, or Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.

The biggest story in the NBA might be the sale of the Lakers for a whopping $12.5 Billion Dollars under the pressure from a Federal Investigation into the former Lakers owner regarding the financing of his team along with other ventures.

But for me, the biggest story of the NBA season has to do with the alleged salary cap circumvention of the Clippers and their superstar player, Kawhi Leonard; and how on earth the Toronto Raptors got involved into this hot mess.

The Toronto Raptors could have watched this all play out on the sidelines.

But they didn’t.

Instead, they walked in eyes wide open into the biggest pre-litigation sports mess I’ve seen unfold in the NBA in years. Instead of having no skin the game; the Toronto Raptors never wanting to feel left out; joined the party and signed up for a ride nobody should want. The Raptors are actors in the real time events unfolding in this investigation, in the hopes of landing Kawhi Leonard without any encumbrances on his freedom to play.

Unfortunately, “real time” when it comes to a investigation conducted by a law firm plays out very slowly.

Personal injury lawyers are accustomed to these slow turnarounds. People who work outside of the legal field all seem to think that lawyers and the law works quickly. This could not be further from the truth. The wheels of justice turn slowly. Personal injury cases take years to settle, or to be tried in Court.

Here are some noted similarities I’ve seen in the process of the Kawhi Leonard/Clippers salary cap investigation and personal injury cases in Ontario.

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My thoughts about dog bite cases, oddly enough, often begin with my thoughts about car accident cases. There are good reasons for this.

In a car accident case, there are mechanisms which help a Plaintiff identify the wrongdoer; along with mechanisms for having a neutral third party (the police), investigate what happened at the scene of the accident.

After a car accident, the parties are supposed to exchange insurance information, and other personal information to help identify themselves after the accident happened. This is codified under the law. Section 200 of the Highway Traffic Act states:

200 (1) Where an accident occurs on a highway, every person in charge of a vehicle or street car that is directly or indirectly involved in the accident shall,

(a)  remain at or immediately return to the scene of the accident;

(b)  render all possible assistance; and

(c)  upon request, give in writing to anyone sustaining loss or injury or to any police officer or to any witness his or her name, address, driver’s licence number and jurisdiction of issuance, motor vehicle liability insurance policy insurer and policy number, name and address of the registered owner of the vehicle and the vehicle permit number. 

Section 320.16(1) of the Criminal Code of Canada states:

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Justice delayed, is Justice Denied.

Slow Courts, or a slow march towards a Plaintiff’s day in Court is the equivalent to a Plaintiff not receiving any justice at all.

Why do personal injury cases take a back seat to other cases in Ontario Courts?

It’s not like the Defendant at fault driver will be punished for having caused a car accident in civil court? The Defendant at fault driver is not going to jail for having caused a car accident. The Judge won’t order “eye for an eye” justice like you might have seen in ancient times; not that we are advocating for a return to such justice. Nor will the Judge order that the at fault Defendant driver perform tasks for the injured Plaintiff to make him/her  whole (like the Defendant serve as the Plaintiff’s butler for a period of time). These sort of remedies are unheard of in Canadian Courts.

Instead, the only thing which a Judge can award in a personal injury case is money. That’s it. The money is intended to make the Plaintiff whole for the Plaintiff’s damages, and to compensate the Plaintiff for their losses.

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Kawhi Leonard: Where do I begin?

I suppose with a heartfelt “Thank You” from Raptor Fans coast to coast. But, this thank you is just for your work in 2018/2019 with the Raptors. That’s it.

Thank you for reluctantly coming to Toronto and doing your job. When you were traded here from San Antonio in 2018, you didn’t complain (or at least publicly complain).

We knew Toronto wasn’t your first choice, or your second choice, or your tenth choice for that matter.

But, as a true professional, you put your head down, got to work, and performed at the highest level. Your on court professionalism was exceptional. This is remarkable, because it could have gone pear shaped rather quickly. But, you didn’t let it get to that. Instead, you led the greatest single Toronto Raptor season of all time cumulating with an NBA Championship, a Finals MVP, a First Team All NBA Selection; and you were by the time the season ended the consensus best basketball player on then planet…and you were a Raptor!!!  I can’t think of another Toronto pro sports athlete who had a high as great as the one you ended on in 2019.

And then you left for Los Angeles.

While it was sad to see you go, we accepted it. You owed Toronto nothing. You had delivered for Toronto as a true professional and now it was time for you to go. You had a choice as a free agent to work and live where you wanted, and you chose to be close to home and your family in California. You earned that right. No hard feelings.

But fast forward to 2026. You’ve been a Los Angeles Clipper for 7 years with nothing to show for it. Just 3 Playoff Series wins in 7 years, having never advanced beyond round 2. You’ve played in 59.7% of regular season Clipper games. That means that fans don’t get to see you play 40% of the time (which is a lot when you think about it). You’ve missed 15 playoff games in 7 years. Yikes!

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On July 1st, 2026, the Ontario Government allowed all car insurers to change what benefits were benefits came standard under an ordinary car insurance policy. These changes did not benefit your average consumer. These changes benefited car insurers because they could ask for the same amount of money in premiums, yet be on the hook to pay out far less in benefits under that same policy.

Here are some of the benefits which used to exist under a standard car insurance policy before July 1st 2026, but were eliminated thereafter:

$185/week Non Earner Benefit x 104 weeks = $19,240 eliminated under standard policy

$400/week Income Replacement Benefit x 104 weeks = $41,600 eliminated under standard police

$3,000/month x 24 months = $72,000 eliminated under standard policy

Cost of Funeral = $6,000 Max Benefit eliminated under standard policy

Death Coverage for Surviving Spouse = $25,000 eliminated under standard policy

Death Coverage for Dependant Children = $10,000 per child eliminated under standard policy

These are some serious savings for Ontario Car Insurance Companies! These benefits were standard under a run of the mill car insurance policy. These benefits were available to people who didn’t have their own car insurance, but who were involved in car accidents themselves. Think of people like:

  • Pedestrians who were hit by a car through no fault of their own
  • Seat Belted Passengers who were involved in a car accident through no fault of their own
  • Cyclists who were hit by a car through no fault of their own

Before July 1st, 2026, all of the benefits detailed above were available to these people, whether or not they had car insurance, or not, under a standard auto policy.

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Everyone has a person in their lives who thinks that they know it all. I’ve met some very smart people in my life. But I’ve never met someone who knows everything, about everything. In fact, the smartest, most brilliant people I’ve met know exactly when they’re outside of their depth of understanding or knowledge. When that happens, they defer to the experts and surround themselves with people who are more knowledgeable than they are.

The concept of seeking out an expert for comment isn’t novel. It’s a practice that’s used in all sorts of fields.

We see developers engage in experts to help them build large construction projects. The developer will retain an architect, a structural engineer, a traffic engineer, an environmental engineer, an arborist, a planner, a lawyer and the list goes on, all to ensure that the development gets built to standard.

A professional sports team will hire a nutritionist, a psychologist, a strength and conditioning coach, specialist physicians, all to make sure that their team performs as best it can.

In a personal injury case, your lawyer will engage with, and retain experts to make sure that your case is optimized for success and is presented in the best way possible before a Judge and Jury should the matter proceed to trial.

Your personal injury lawyer alone sometimes isn’t enough to “win” a personal injury case. It takes an entire team to get the job done. Here are a few “experts” who your lawyer might engage with or retain in order to maximize the success of your case:

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Some of the most interesting cases we see are sports injury cases. But, these are also some of the most difficult cases which Goldfinger Injury Lawyers sees as well.

Every little factual detail in these cases matters. Splitting hairs is what these cases are all about.

Often, in these sport cases, the nature of the injuries takes a back seat to liability (who is at fault and how the accident happened). The circumstances leading up to the accident, and the accident itself are very important. It’s not uncommon for the parties to agree on damages; but to disagree on almost every point dealing with liability.

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This edition of the Toronto Injury Lawyer Blog addresses the viability of a civil tort claim against the OPP and/or the Crown arising from a poorly done police investigation into a fatal car crash.

The Tort of Public Misfeasance

What the Tort Requires

The leading case is the Supreme Court of Canada decision in Odhavji Estate v. Woodhouse (2003). That case arose after police officers fatally shot a young man during an attempted arrest. The shooting triggered an investigation by the Special Investigations Unit, and the officers involved were required by statute to cooperate by, among other things, remaining separated, making themselves available for interviews, and producing their notes. The victim’s family alleged that the officers deliberately failed to comply with those obligations and that senior police officials knowingly failed to ensure they did.

The Supreme Court of Canada held that those allegations, if proven, were capable of establishing the tort of misfeasance in public office. The Court explained that public misfeasance is a narrow tort intended to protect citizens from the deliberate misuse of governmental authority. It is not enough to show that a public official made a mistake, exercised poor judgment, or carried out public duties incompetently.

The Court identified two essential elements of the tort.

  • First, the public official must deliberately engage in unlawful conduct while exercising public powers or performing public duties. the Court confirmed that “unlawful conduct” can include the deliberate failure to perform a mandatory statutory duty.
  • Second, the plaintiff must establish the required mental element. The public official must know that the conduct is unlawful and know that it is likely to harm the plaintiff, or be recklessly indifferent to both the unlawfulness of the conduct and the likelihood of harm.

That distinction is important. Mere negligence, carelessness, poor judgment, or a misunderstanding in the course of police conduct is not enough.

How Courts Have Applied Odhavji

Subsequent decisions demonstrate that courts have applied Odhavji (2003) cautiously. The mental element remains the main difficulty, and courts are reluctant to let allegations of negligence be reframed as bad faith without concrete supporting evidence.

Manoharan v. Taylor (2025) illustrates the kind of allegations that may satisfy that requirement. The plaintiffs alleged that an OPP officer investigating their eligibility for cannabis retail licences approached the investigation with the predetermined intention of ensuring that the licences would be refused. Rather than conducting an independent investigation, the officer allegedly repeated serious organized-crime allegations supplied by another officer without attempting to verify them, despite the absence of corroborating evidence. Those allegations later unravelled before the Licence Appeal Tribunal, which found in the plaintiffs’ favour.

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