Michael Robertson
186 Albert Street, Suite 105 N6A 1M1 London, ON, Canada

Property insurers, particularly those who insure residential premises, are routinely limiting, in fact narrowing, coverage for water damage and flood claims. What you may have once had water damage coverage for may no longer be the case. Every homeowner, every tenant, is well advised to review their policy of residential insurance, particularly the definition and description sections wherein the extent of coverage for water loss or flood are set out, limited or excluded and should you have any questions, any concerns, regarding the coverage offered by your policy you address those issues with your insurance agent, broker or the insurer itself. Changes in policy wording may often be subtle but can be significant so better you know your policy and its limitations before you need rely upon it.

Be Careful If You Are Denied or Cut Off Long Term Disability Benefits If you make a claim for, or are receiving, long term disability benefits, either from your own private carrier or through your employment, you must be vigilant. You must look after your own self. The insurer may not necessarily do so and may not be required to by our law. While a disability insurer has a duty at law to act in good faith and treat its insured person/claimant with the utmost of good faith,... that duty attaches only to the manner by which the claim is handled and considered. In terms of time limits within which formal legal action must be commenced by a claimant, there is no duty on the insurer to inform, and our Courts have held that such duty goes beyond that of good faith and is therefore not required. The bottom line is that if you are receiving long term disability benefits and such benefits are terminated, for whatever reason, it is incumbent upon you to check both the policy, and provisions of both the Insurance Act and the Limitations Act, 2004 (both provincial statutes) and determine what the limitation period is. In other words, by which time a formal lawsuit must be commenced after long term disability benefits are terminated. See more

BEST TO ALL FOR THIS WONDERFUL SEASON For years we have favoured our revered clients, friends and legal colleagues with cards at this holiday season. This year we have chosen not to distribute individual cards and trust that this holiday post shall suffice. Rest assured however that you are all in our thoughts and that we shall be directing those funds that we have traditionally dedicated to cards, gifts, postage and the like to those facilities in both the Philippines and T...anzania that we have, for many years, been partners with and who are dear to our hearts. Warm greetings to all from my assistant, Lisa Vaughan, and myself.

For better or for worse Winter shall no doubt shortly be upon us. With Winter will come the usual issues with snow and ice. Be careful! In the unfortunate event that you do find yourself injured as a result of ice and snow on a sidewalk, you suffer significant injury and intend to advance a claim there are things you ought do, and in some circumstances must do. Take a photo of the spot, and the scene, where you slipped and fell demonstrating, as clearly and as accuratel...y as possible the precise condition of the location of your fall. Record the weather and light conditions. Preserve the footwear you were wearing at the time and if possible, put those boots/shoes away so the tread remains as it was at the time of your calamity. If there are witnesses at the scene, get the names and contact information for same and ensure that any witnesses take a careful look at the fall sight. Take careful note of whether you fell on a municipal sidewalk or on private property. If you have fallen on, or even near, the municipal sidewalk you are required to give written notice to the Clerk of the Municipality within ten days after the occurrence, failing which you may not be entitled to make a claim. That notice must provide, as best you can, the date and time of the incident and the location as well as the nature, albeit preliminary, of the injuries and damages you may have suffered. Once notice is given to the Municipality you have two years from the date of the fall to commence formal legal proceedings. This is the same timeframe within which you must sue the owner and/or occupier of a private property. However, if the injury is a significant one, do not hesitate to call a litigation lawyer, the sooner a lawyer may be involved, particularly in an ice and snow case, generally the better. Stay tuned. Our next post shall be how you, as a home or property owner/occupier, ought deal with Winter conditions and best protect yourself from liability for others falling on or near your property.

Be Careful If You Are Denied or Cut Off Long Term Disability Benefits If you make a claim for, or are receiving, long term disability benefits, either from your own private carrier or through your employment, you must be vigilant. You must look after your own self. The insurer may not necessarily do so and may not be required to by our law. While a disability insurer has a duty at law to act in good faith and treat its insured person/claimant with the utmost of good faith,... that duty attaches only to the manner by which the claim is handled and considered. In terms of time limits within which formal legal action must be commenced by a claimant, there is no duty on the insurer to inform, and our Courts have held that such duty goes beyond that of good faith and is therefore not required. The bottom line is that if you are receiving long term disability benefits and such benefits are terminated, for whatever reason, it is incumbent upon you to check both the policy, and provisions of both the Insurance Act and the Limitations Act, 2004 (both provincial statutes) and determine what the limitation period is. In other words, by which time a formal lawsuit must be commenced after long term disability benefits are terminated. See more

BEST TO ALL FOR THIS WONDERFUL SEASON For years we have favoured our revered clients, friends and legal colleagues with cards at this holiday season. This year we have chosen not to distribute individual cards and trust that this holiday post shall suffice. Rest assured however that you are all in our thoughts and that we shall be directing those funds that we have traditionally dedicated to cards, gifts, postage and the like to those facilities in both the Philippines and T...anzania that we have, for many years, been partners with and who are dear to our hearts. Warm greetings to all from my assistant, Lisa Vaughan, and myself.

In our last post I addressed briefly the situation of the person who slips and falls on ice/snow on municipal or private property. I will now address, again briefly, the situation from the perspective of the property owner or occupier. While a Municipality enjoys statutory protection from liability, except in the case of gross negligence, a private property owner/occupier has no such protection. That person is held to a standard of ordinary negligence, essentially what the... ordinary and reasonable owner/occupier would do in like circumstances, given like weather and surface conditions. That obviously includes eradicating any obvious hazard; but it goes further and requires the owner/occupier to take reasonable steps which may include the clearing of snow, the removal of ice or the neutralizing of that ice by way of abrasives such as sand, salt or other chemical products. Again, so as to protect one’s self the owner/occupier ought take photographs of the scene immediately upon notice of a slip and fall calamity and do what can be done to record weather, precipitation, lighting conditions and the like. No doubt the property liability insurer will be appreciative of any and all efforts to assist it in evaluating, defending or resolving any claim that is brought against the owner/occupier. Speaking of the liability insurer, it will no doubt take a better view of the defence of a claim against the owner/occupier, and the representation of their interests when no admission against interest no apology has been made.

For better or for worse Winter shall no doubt shortly be upon us. With Winter will come the usual issues with snow and ice. Be careful! In the unfortunate event that you do find yourself injured as a result of ice and snow on a sidewalk, you suffer significant injury and intend to advance a claim there are things you ought do, and in some circumstances must do. Take a photo of the spot, and the scene, where you slipped and fell demonstrating, as clearly and as accuratel...y as possible the precise condition of the location of your fall. Record the weather and light conditions. Preserve the footwear you were wearing at the time and if possible, put those boots/shoes away so the tread remains as it was at the time of your calamity. If there are witnesses at the scene, get the names and contact information for same and ensure that any witnesses take a careful look at the fall sight. Take careful note of whether you fell on a municipal sidewalk or on private property. If you have fallen on, or even near, the municipal sidewalk you are required to give written notice to the Clerk of the Municipality within ten days after the occurrence, failing which you may not be entitled to make a claim. That notice must provide, as best you can, the date and time of the incident and the location as well as the nature, albeit preliminary, of the injuries and damages you may have suffered. Once notice is given to the Municipality you have two years from the date of the fall to commence formal legal proceedings. This is the same timeframe within which you must sue the owner and/or occupier of a private property. However, if the injury is a significant one, do not hesitate to call a litigation lawyer, the sooner a lawyer may be involved, particularly in an ice and snow case, generally the better. Stay tuned. Our next post shall be how you, as a home or property owner/occupier, ought deal with Winter conditions and best protect yourself from liability for others falling on or near your property.

With the legislation the Province passed Sunday, November 19th, the teachers and instructors at Fanshawe College and all Colleges in the Province of Ontario were ordered back to work pending binding arbitration. Classes resumed yesterday. The Province has required the Colleges make available a fund to students to apply for reimbursement of undue or exceptional expenses incurred as a result of the strike. An application form shall be available to be completed and submitted ...by the student after which a determination shall be made as to whether any individual student shall be compensated. The limit of compensation is $500.00 per student. A class action upon behalf of Ontario College students is apparently being commenced and no doubt an Application for Certification will be heard in due course. Any student applying for compensation out of this fund ought be very careful and ought review carefully any documentation that need be completed and signed to receive any payment. If a Release of Claims (a Full and Final Release) need be signed by the student in order to be paid this compensation that could well preclude and prevent the student from joining and being a part of that class action and being entitled to any compensation that that class action may realize. Know what you are signing. Know the implications of that. If you, the student, are unsure seek the guidance of your parents, your friends or better still, perhaps a lawyer. Be aware that by accepting this compensation you may not be entitled to join or share in any success the potential class action might someday realize.