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First FSCO Decision on the Minor Injury Guideline
by Matthew Dugas
October 09, 2013

A recent FSCO decision has found that a claimant is not precluded from claiming housekeeping, attendant care as well as medical and rehabilitation expenses beyond the $3,500 limit within the Minor Injury Guideline. In Lenworth Scarlett and Belair Insurance Company Inc. (FSCO A12-001079), Mr. Scarlett was a passenger in a vehicle involved in a motor vehicle accident and applied for statutory accident benefits. His disability certificate indicated that he sustained various sprains and strains to the joints and ligaments of the lumbar and cervical spine as well as headaches and acute stress reaction.... Arbitrator John Wilson notes...


Unraveling the Mystery of Priority Disputes
October 07, 2013

Since 1995, and the enactment of Ontario Regulation 283/95—Disputes Between Insurers (the “Regulation”), insurers have been obliged to continue payment of Statutory Accident Benefits (SABs) to injured persons even where entitlement to these benefits is disputed. However, priority disputes also present insurers with an opportunity to shift payment of SABs, which may end up saving a savvy insurer a significant amount of money...


The Top 5 Tort Cases of the Preceding Year and Ever Increasing Damage Awards and the Future Care Case Law
by Martin Smith
September 13, 2013

There have been a number of interesting tort decisions over the last twelve months, some providing much needed clarification to the existing common law and some creating brand new law. As has been a trend in the past few years, damage awards have also seen an increase, primarily as a result of rising future care costs damages.

This paper examines five interesting tort decisions that were released over the course of the past year and have received substantial attention. It also examines the state of increasing future care costs awards and provides some helpful case law to consider when facing a significant future care costs claim.


Executive Officers are Employees: The "Gap" Between Workers' Compensation and General Liability Policies
September 12, 2013

Insurance brokers must be cautious when dealing with corporations that opt their executive officers out of Ontario's workers' compensation scheme. A failure to appreciate the relationship between statutory and private coverage risks inadvertent exposure to significant liability.

Unfortunately for one insurance brokerage, this is exactly what happened in the recent Ontario Court of Appeal decision of Sam's Auto Wrecking Co Ltd (Wentworth Metal) v Lombard General Insurance Company of Canada. The unforeseen gap between workers' compensation coverage and general liability insurance coverage ended up costing Dalton Timmis Insurance Group ("Dalton Timmis") hundreds of thousands of dollars.


Sports Recreation & Sports Liability: Litigating Cases Involving Injuries to Minors
by James Tomlinson
September 11, 2013

Unintentional injuries are the leading cause of death among Canadian minors. Between 1990 and 2007, over 1.6 million children and youth received emergency room treatment for unintentional injuries at hospitals across Canada. Sports and other recreational activities are common precipitating events of serious injury among minors. The ramifications of these injuries to a child can be profound, particularly in cases involving even “mild” trauma to the brain. In the context of litigation, the costs associated with the loss of future earnings and future care can be significant, with damages in some cases being assessed in the millions.

While the spectre of eight figure exposure may seem daunting enough, several factors conspire to make cases involving injuries to minors particularly difficult to navigate from the defence perspective. With this in mind, the following paper will address common legal and strategic elements to be considered when attempting to settle cases involving injuries to minors.


The Unpredictability of Children and Sporting Goods: Product Liability and the Child Plaintiff
September 11, 2013

Product liability claims by minor plaintiffs with respect to injuries sustained while using sports equipment are very prevalent. These claims can range from sports equipment malfunctioning to equipment failing to perform as expected.

This paper will first discuss to whom the manufacturer owes a duty of care, and what a plaintiff must establish to demonstrate that the defendant owed them a duty of care. The paper will then discuss to what standard of care the defendant will be held, and what evidence a plaintiff must lead to show that the defendant fell below the standard. This paper will discuss the difference between child and adult plaintiffs, and the standard of reasonableness the child plaintiff is held to. This paper will also discuss recent cases involving child plaintiffs and product liability and their trends and implications for manufacturers. Finally, the paper will detail available defences, as well as risk management strategies for manufacturers.


Kids May Be Kids, but Adults Oversee: The Liability of Adult Supervisors for Child Injuries
by James Tomlinson
September 11, 2013

The general test for determining whether one person has acted negligently towards another in Canada is contained in the dual concepts of duty of care and standard of care – that is, the hurt party has to show that the party they think is responsible for their harm was under a legal obligation to protect them from or prevent that harm. The Supreme Court of Canada recently looked at the different categories of duty of care in its decision Childs v Desormeaux. The language the court used to describe duty of care is as follows: “A positive duty of care may exist if foreseeability of harm is present and if other aspects of the relationship between the plaintiff and the defendant establish a special link or proximity.”1 Once that link has been established, the standard of care kicks in, dictating how much the individual is required to step in and prevent an injury from occurring.

Where does this leave adult supervisors when the children they are overseeing hurt themselves? This paper will focus on the liability different types of supervisors – teachers, coaches, referees, even parents – may face when supervising children, and how they can effectively protect themselves and the children they are caring for from liability and harm.


Mother May I? The Effectiveness of Waivers and Permission Forms in Cases of Injured Minor Plaintiffs
by James Tomlinson
September 11, 2013

The emphasis on holistic learning has led to an increase in field trips and physical activities that are both further from students’ schools and are inherently more dangerous than traditional school activities. This has greatly increased the potential for student accidents and injuries. Many schools attempt to shield themselves from liability by forcing students, and students’ parents, to sign permission forms and/or waivers of liability. However, the content of these forms, and the difference in their purposes, has a tremendous impact on whether or not the Courts will accept these documents as a barrier to potential liability.


Expecting the Unexpected: Occupiers’ Liability and Minor Plaintiffs
by James Tomlinson
September 11, 2013

Exposure for occupiers’ liability is not a novel topic of discussion in the world of tort and insurance law. However, the application of occupiers’ liability to minor plaintiffs is an area of law that has been evolving in recent years. The most dynamic change has been that Courts are more readily finding that occupiers whose premises are geared towards children should expect minors who enter their property to be, to a certain extent, reckless and unpredictable by virtue of their youth and inexperience, and accordingly, ensure their premises are that much safer.


Appropriate Limitation Periods Clarified for All-Risk Business Insurance Policy
August 02, 2013

In Boyce v. Co-Operators General Insurance, 2013 ONCA 298, the Boyces owned and operated a women's fashion boutique. One day, Ms. Boyce entered the boutique to discover a foul odour, and contacted the boutique's insurer the Co-Operators to report the claim. The business was closed for a time because substantial clean-up costs were incurred and a great deal of inventory could not be salvaged. Co-Operators took the position that the smell was caused by a skunk and that the damage was not covered by the policy. The Boyces claimed the business had been vandalized, a peril covered by the policy.

The Boyces issued a Statement of Claim against Co-Operators more than one year after they discovered the foul odour, but less than two years after the incident. Co-Operators moved for summary judgment claiming that the action was time-barred by a one-year limitation period. The judge dismissed Co-Operators' motion. Co-Operators' appealed the decision to the Ontario Court of Appeal.


When it comes to the calculation of the attendant care benefits payable, the Form 1 remains king
July 19, 2013

In the recent decision of the Court of Appeal in Henry v. Gore Mutual Insurance Company, the Court upheld a decision of the lower Court that the amount “incurred” for attendant care benefits is not limited to the amount of the “economic loss” sustained by the caregiver. 


When Does 'Complete' mean 'Less than Everything'?
May 10, 2013
In the recent FSCO arbitration decision Hensworth v. State Farm (March 18, 2013) Arbitrator Joyce Miller awards post-104 week IRBs to a woman who returned to work and earned post-accident income comparable with her pre-accident income.

The impact of social media on hiring and firing decisions
April 09, 2013

The rise of social media has dramatically changed the way in which information is acquired and used in the workplace. Social media includes forms of electronic communication through which users create online communities to share information, ideas, personal messages, and other content. This includes Facebook, blogs, LinkedIn, and Twitter. These sites can be used to develop social and professional contacts, among other things.

While users of social media can adjust the privacy settings for their profiles on social media sites like Facebook so that only certain other users can access the content, this does not mean that the content is necessarily 'private'. In fact, the courts have noted that Facebook users enjoy a relatively low expectation of privacy when they post material on the site. 


Anti-Spam Law Update: 10 million reasons not to ignore it
April 09, 2013

New Anti-Spam Legislation will likely come into force by the end of 2013. Canadian businesses should become familiar with this law and the impact it will have on the conduct of their employees, who act as agents of their organization. Read up on what the law will prohibit, maximum fines, and what it means for your business.


Privacy and Employer-Issued Computers in the Workplace: A Review of R v Cole (2012 SCC 53)
April 09, 2013

The Supreme Court of Canada (“SCC”) recently considered the extent to which employees have a reasonable expectation of privacy over personal files kept on employer-issued laptops. What is a reasonable expectation of privacy and what are the implications for private employers?