Published on:

By

Received a few calls wanting commentary on the recent fatal accident involving a 7 year old. The accident took place at intersection of Millwood Road and McRae Drive, south of Eglinton Avenue in Toronto in an affluent area of the City known as Leaside. The intersection has a baseball diamond nearby, a park and a children’s summer camp as well. Kids play in that area.

The facts of the case are still rather murky. All we know for certainty is that the child was struck by a van trying to make a right hand turn. No charges have been laid. Police continue to investigate this matter. Speed may or may not be an issue in this case. We’re still not certain.

Dignitaries and politicians attended at the child’s funeral including Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Premier Kathleen Wynne. Any funeral attended both by the Prime Minister of Canada and the Premier of Ontario is going to be a big story.

A fund raiser for Sick Kids in memory of the child raised well over $55K.

To say that the accident was a big deal and a big news story is an understatement. This car accident received national media attention.
Continue reading →

Published on:

By

If you’ve consulted with a personal injury lawyer, then you’ve likely heard, or found out that 99% of these sort of claims settle BEFORE trial.

One of the tools which lawyers use to foster settlement is called mediation.

Mediation is an important step in any legal case. In fact, mediation is so important, that in Toronto, Ottawa and Windsor, mediation is actually required BEFORE a matter can be set down for trial. The Financial Services Commission of Ontario (FSCO) requires that all accident benefit disputes get mediated BEFORE they can proceed to Arbitration or to litigation. if you fail to mediate, then you can’t proceed.

Many clients want to know what they can expect at mediation. It’s a very good question considering that it’s such an important step in your case, and at the end of the day, the case might get settled if the mediation is successful. Mediation can be particularly nerve wracking for many because accident victims have never been through the process before.

The purpose of this Toronto Injury Lawyer Blog post is to get you more familiar with the mediation process; what to expect; and how it works.
Continue reading →

Published on:

By

Today I purchased a new car seat for my young one. The amount of safety technology they put in to car seats for little ones is astonishing. I think that an army of engineers and crash collision experts spent years developing the safety technology in the car seat. The safety features of the car seat, combined the the safety features of modern automobiles such as front and side airbags, ABS breaks, re-enforced steel etc. can really give you a sense of security.

Did I mention the sheer selection of car seats on the market? The amount of brands, combined with the amount of options makes your task as a parent a difficult one. If the sales person doesn’t know anything about the brand or safety features, then you’d better hit the internet and hit it hard. The safety of your child isn’t something you want to take for granted.

Which got me thinking. If child car seat and auto manufacturers are putting in so much thought in to child safety; what are the Courts doing to protect the interests of children and minors?

Great question!

Rule 7.08 protects the rights of minors, which are, for the purposes of the Rules of Civil Procedure; “parties under disability” under the law of Ontario. Any person under the age of 18 is a “party under disability” and will need to be represented by an adult for the purposes of the law suit.
Continue reading →

Published on:

By

The idea behind Critical Illness Insurance sounds great.

If you suffer from a particular critical illness, then the insurance company will pay you a lump sum.

What sort of critical illnesses are covered are defined by the policy.

It all sounds great, and sounds like a very lucrative proposition. For many, this sort of insurance bets AGAINST your very own health. People think that if they sustain a heart attack, then they’ll be entitled to a lump sum under the policy. So, eating that hamburger and skipping that workout might actually pay out in the long term if your critical illness policy works the way you think it works.

Unfortunately, many of these policies don’t work they way that you think they work, or the way that the broker who sold you the policy explained it to you.
Continue reading →

Published on:

By

Yesterday, there was a fatal crash on Highway 401 just outside of Whitby. The accident involved 4 vehicles (a Toyota Corolla, a transport truck, a tour bus, and a Pontiac motor vehicle).

The transport truck hit the Corolla at around 10:30AM, so visibility was likely not an issue around that time of day. Police are still uncertain about how the accident happened, but they suspect that the transport truck rear ended the Corolla.

There were 3 passengers in the Corolla. The driver (47 years old) and front seat passenger (29 years old) was taken by ambulance to the hospital with very serious injuries. The third passenger was seated in the back seat. He passed away at the accident scene. At law, this is what we call a fatality claim. Those claims, contrary to popular belief, do not attract as big as settlement as you would think. The pain and suffering for such claims is limited from the time of the accident, to the time of the death. If the death is instantaneous, the damages for pain and suffering will not be significant.

Where the damages can get significant are where there are Family Law Act Claims, along with claims for loss of income to the family.
Continue reading →

Published on:

By

You know what’s fun?

Posting status updates on Facebook.

Posting pictures on Instagram.

Posting videos on Vine.

Posting your day to day thoughts on Twitter.

Posting your new job on LinkedIn.

Social media is FUN.

But just because something is fun or popular, doesn’t mean that it’s right for you, particularly when you’re in the middle of a litigation battle against a large, deep pocketed insurance company.

The purpose of this Toronto Injury Blog Post is to show you how insurers can and WILL use social media against you to defeat your credibility and to defeat your personal injury case.
Continue reading →

Published on:

By

When will my case settle?

When will I get compensation for my injuries?

When will my case close?

These are just a few of the most common questions that our lawyers are asked at our firm. They are very good questions to say the least. It’s entirely understandable when an inncocent, injured accident victim would want to know when their case will close and when they will receive compensation for their injuries. Living with a looming legal case over your head; having to worry about surveillance, medical appointments with insurance doctors; attending at discovery; attending at Court is all very worrying and taxing to one’s psyche.

For you and the insurance company, a closed file is a good file. And for innocent accident victims, settling their case helps bring a sense of closure and finality to the case; so that they can close that chapter of their lives; and move on the next. Our lawyers often see a catharsis and sense of relief; light a large weight/burden is being taken off a client’s shoulders once a case is closed and settled.

So, if there are so many positive elements to closing or settling one’s file; then WHY DOES IT TAKE SO DARN LONG TO DO SO?!?!?!
Continue reading →

Published on:

By

So; you’ve been involved in a serious car accident. You were taken by ambulance to hosptial. They did a few x-rays, scans, gave you some pills, and told you to follow up with your family doctor.

Or, the injuries were more serious, and you were an in-patient at the hospital for a few days or weeks, and discharged home or to a long term health car facility (and then home afterwards).

Many people ask me where is the BEST place to recieve treatment following their respective car accident.

The right answer is that there is no single BEST place for treatment. At the end of the day, it’s important that you attend a doctor or rehabiliation facilty that’s right for you; and that you’re most comfortable with.

Rule of thumb: much like going to the gym to excercise; the closer the rehabiliation facility, the greater the likelihood that you will be diligent with your treatment. The longer the commute, the great chance tha you will miss out on appointments. That’s not good for your treatment, and certainly not good for your case.
Continue reading →

Published on:

By

Our law firm sees some very seriously injured accident victims and disability claimants. Many of our long term disability clients who have cases against large multi national insurers such as Manulife, SunLife, Great West Life, Standard Life, Desjardins, Industrial Alliance, SSQ, Equitable Life etc; want to know how an insurer can place a dollar figure on their disability and inability to work for the rest of their lives.

For a disability claimant, the answer to this question can be very simple. If I can’t work for the rest of my life, then naturally, I should be entitled to MILLIONS of dollars worth of compensation. Afterall, my pain and suffering is immeasurable.

One of the most common misconceptions in long term disability cases is that claimants are entitled to damages to compensate them for their pain and suffering. This is NOT true. At our Law Firm, we refer to LTD cases as “four corner” cases. That means that your damages, or benefits, are limited to what the four corners of the policy provide for. If you have a bad policy, which, based on the wording of the policy will not properly compensate you in disability benefits; then your award will reflect that.

There are some situations where awards in long term disability cases can fall outside of the four corners of the policy.
Continue reading →

Published on:

By

How does an insurer, judge or jury assess one’s pain level? If their pain is not showing up on any x-ray, scan, or test result, then how does a Court truly know that the claimant is in pain; and in fact telling the truth?

What’s stopping somebody from simply making a claim that they’re disabled, and lying to their doctor and to the Court alike?

How do we know that somebody is telling the truth about their subjective pain, fatigue or other cognitive difficulties (loss of memory, sadness, fatigue, loss of concentration etc.)?

These are all very good questions. Believe it or not, our the way that personal injury claims and long term disability claims work in Ontario make it pretty clear who’s faking, and who’s not.

First, we have to draw a distinction between an objective injury vs a subjective injury. An objective injury is one that will show up on an xray, scan or test. A factured ankle. A broken femur. A cranial facture. A hematoma on the brain. All of these are injuries which will show up on a test, which any doctor, or non-medical person can likely see. It’s pretty hard for an insurer to refute an ankle fracture injury when the x-ray clearly shows that the ankle is fractured.
Continue reading →

OTLA American Association for Justice Lexpert Ranked Lawyer
Contact Information
Toronto Office
167 Sheppard Ave W
Toronto, ON M2N 1M9
Phone: (416) 730-1777 Toll Free: (877) 730-1777 Fax: (416) 730-0955
London Meeting Office
341 Talbot St
London, ON N6A 2R5
Toll Free: (877) 730-1777
Peterborough Meeting Office
420 George St N #313
Peterborough, ON K9H 3R5
Toll Free: (877) 730-1777
Kitchener Meeting Office
290 King St E
Kitchener, ON N2G 2L3
Toll Free: (877) 730-1777
Owen Sound Meeting Office
1051 2nd Ave E
Owen Sound, ON N4K 2H8
Toll Free: (877) 730-1777

Past results are not indicative of future results.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Please do not include any confidential or sensitive information in a contact form, text message, or voicemail. The contact form sends information by non-encrypted email, which is not secure. Submitting a contact form, sending a text message, making a phone call, or leaving a voicemail does not create an attorney-client relationship.

Copyright © 2025, Goldfinger Law
JUSTIA Law Firm Blog Design