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Most people are familiar with the term "statute of limitations", but what does it mean? The concept is that after a certain period of time following an event, incident, breach of contract, medical malpractice, injury, accident or collision there is a limited period of time within which a person can bring a legal claim. Civil claims are provincial matters. In Ontario, the deadline to bring a legal action is governed by the Limitations Act, 2002. The basic limitation period in Ontario is two years. This means that a person must file a claim with the civil court within 2 years of the event.

Two stories in the news last week highlight the broken nature of the automobile insurance system in Ontario.

The first story was about Intact Financial, the second largest provider of auto insurance in Ontario. Intact Financial reported an increase in operating income for Q4 in 2020 of 54 percent. This translates to a rise in operating income to the tune of $467 million. For the entire year of 2020, Intact reported profits of more than $1 billion – that is with a “B” as in billion.

That is a lot of money.

I have no problem with a business making money. The problem I have is how auto insurers, like Intact, treat those that are injured in car crashes and how the insurance industry cries poor to the government forcing them to slash benefits and impose limitations on those innocently injured in car collisions.

On January 18, 2021, our Supreme Court of Canada in the case of Armstrong v. Royal Victoria Hospital, 2019 ONCA 963 granted the plaintiff’s appeal and restored the trial judge’s verdict in her medical malpractice case against her treating surgeon. This is a critically important decision in how a court will consider the standard of care for medical professionals in medical malpractice legal actions.

We have all been dealing with COVID-19 for what feels like forever. Here in Ontario we just entered into our second state of emergency. Our frontline doctors, nurses and support staff have worked tirelessly throughout the COVID-19 pandemic to not only treat seriously ill coronavirus patients but also to continue providing care for patients affected by non-COVID-19 health conditions. The reality is that as the pandemic continues, the challenges faced by our healthcare professionals are increasing as does the potential harm to non-emergent patients caused by delayed treatment and procedures due to an overburdened healthcare system. 

Bill 118 Amends The Occupier's Liability Act In Ontario. 

We are in the midst of a global pandemic that is disrupting everyone’s lives. Quietly and without a lot of public discussion or debate, the Ontario Government recently passed Bill 118. The Bill is an amendment to the Occupier’s Liability Act which now prohibits a person who suffers a personal injury caused by snow or ice from making a claim against an occupier or an independent contractor employed by the occupier unless, within 60 days after the occurrence of the injury, written notice of the claim is served.

Bill 118 received Royal Assent on December 8, 2020. This is the law in Ontario.

Auto insurance in Ontario is big business. The law requires that every vehicle have auto insurance and this creates a readymade market for insurance companies. In 2017 and 2018 auto insurance companies in Ontario made pre-tax profits estimated at $2.3 billion. That is a lot of money. When an industry is making that much money from a government regulated and mandated business, there must be transparency to hold the private, multi-national insurance companies accountable.

If you are highly motivated and want to develop your legal skills we are looking for you. The ideal candidate will have at least 3+ years of civil litigation experience, communicate well with others and be comfortable working in a fast-paced office environment and take pride in exceeding expectations.

“It is better to light a candle than to curse the darkness.”

 This blog was going to be about a fight for human rights; for the rights of prisoners to be treated humanely; for the rights to access to justice. And next month there will be a blog about precisely those issues. But something happened on Saturday to change my direction, to focus my mind on all the small candles that need to be lit in these times of darkness.

Last week the Ontario government introduced legislation that would unfairly protect negligent businesses that fail to take proper measures to protect people from Covid-19. Bill 218, dubiously named, Supporting Ontario’s Recovery Act, will protect long-term care homes where thousands of Ontarians died or became very ill from Covid-19. A copy of the bill can be reviewed here.

As the COVID19 pandemic drags on and we approach six months since the last time Ontario courthouses were open to the general public, it is worth reflecting on what the lasting effects of the pandemic will be on the justice system.  In previous posts, the Bonn Law blog has addressed the technological changes that COVID19 has forced upon the justice system. Physical distancing measures have forced lawyers and to embrace video conferencing, digital document exchange and other much needed reforms.

Another lesson that we can learn from the COVID19 pandemic is the necessity of releasing nonviolent offenders prior to trial.