A passenger injured on a Sea-Doo or jet ski in Ontario can bring a claim if unsafe operation caused the injury. The passenger does not control the speed, turns, route or decision to cross a boat wake. When the person driving the personal watercraft ignores those risks, a short recreational ride can result in a serious injury claim. Passengers can be thrown from a Sea-Doo during a sudden turn, rapid acceleration or impact with a wake. Others are injured when the watercraft col

By Lane Foster, Personal Injury Lawyer Updated May 2026 A CT scan and an MRI can identify serious traumatic brain injuries, but they do not answer the same questions. A CT scan is often performed shortly after significant head trauma to look for urgent injuries such as bleeding, swelling or skull fractures. An MRI provides more detailed images of brain tissue and can become important where neurological symptoms continue after the immediate emergency has passed. Neither scan r

A pre-trial conference is a settlement conference held before a judge or associate judge in an Ontario personal injury lawsuit. It gives the parties an opportunity to discuss the claim with input from the court and to address what happens next if the lawsuit does not settle. For the plaintiff, pre-trial can be a significant point in the case. An insurer that has maintained the same position through negotiations or mediation now has to defend that position before a judge. The

A free personal injury consultation gives you a chance to speak with a lawyer about an injury, what happened and what should be done next. At Foster Injury Law, the initial consultation is free. You are not required to hire the firm simply because you called or spoke with us. You can speak with an Ontario personal injury lawyer before treatment is complete, before you have gathered medical records and before an insurance company has made any decision about your claim. Most pe

Examination for discovery is usually the first time the injured person is questioned directly by the defence lawyer in an Ontario personal injury lawsuit. The answers are provided under oath A court reporter records the evidence. A transcript can be ordered afterward. The answers can affect how the insurance company will assess the value of the lawsuit, what documents are requested, whether expert reports are needed, how mediation unfolds, and how the case is prepared if it

Motorcycle accidents in York Region often happen on wide arterial roads, left-turn intersections, commercial plaza entrances, highway access routes, and multi-lane corridors in Vaughan, Markham, and Richmond Hill. These crashes are often disputed because drivers say they did not see the motorcycle, misjudged its speed, or believed they had enough time to turn or merge. For riders, the danger is not just heavy traffic. It is the way vehicles move between lanes, turn through ga

After a serious truck accident in Ontario, there may be more than one insurance company involved. The injured person needs accident benefits for treatment, income replacement or attendant care. At the same time, a separate insurer may be defending the truck driver, trucking company, vehicle owner, trailer owner, warehouse, manufacturer, shipper, loading company, maintenance contractor or another business connected to the collision. Commercial trucking claims can often become

By Lane Foster, Personal Injury Lawyer Most Ontario personal injury lawsuits settle before trial. Mediation is often the first excellent opportunity at settlement. In an Ontario personal injury mediation, the injured person, the defendant or insurer, the lawyers, and a neutral mediator attend a private settlement meeting. The mediator does not decide the case. The purpose is to help the parties communicate, test their positions, and see whether the lawsuit can resolve before

Ontario drivers are required to leave at least one metre of space when passing a cyclist. Close-passing cases often involve quick decisions, narrow roads, parked cars, bike lanes, passing vehicles, and conflicting accounts of what happened. The driver may say there was enough room. The cyclist have been clipped, squeezed toward the curb, or forced to swerve to avoid being hit. The one-metre rule matters because it gives a concrete starting point for the liability analysis. It

By Lane Foster, Personal Injury Lawyer The vast majority of Ontario personal injury lawsuits settle. However does not make settlement simple. In many cases, the hardest decision in the lawsuit is whether to accept an offer, reject it, or make a counteroffer. In Ontario personal injury claims, an offer to settle is a proposal to resolve the lawsuit before trial. Formal offers are pursuant to Rule 49 of the Rules of Civil Procedure. Rule 49 allows a party to serve an offer to s

Yes. A cyclist injured in an accident involving a motor vehicle can claim accident benefits in Ontario. That is true even when the cyclist was not driving, did not own a car, and was at fault for the crash. Accident benefits are part of Ontario’s auto insurance system and are separate from a lawsuit against an at-fault driver. FSRA describes accident benefits as benefits available regardless of fault after an auto accident, and the Statutory Accident Benefits Schedule governs

By Lane Foster, Personal Injury Lawyer ATV, dirt bike, and snowmobile crashes are common in Ontario, but the insurance issues are often counterintuitive.. A serious injury could happen at a cottage, on a farm, on a trail, at a road crossing, across a frozen lake, or on private land where no one at the scene knows whether accident benefits apply or what insurance should respond. That early confusion can hurt the claim. The vehicle should be identified, the insurance should be

A spinal cord injury is one of the best examples of why Ontario’s catastrophic impairment system exists. When a collision causes paraplegia, tetraplegia, major loss of mobility, bowel or bladder impairment, or lasting neurological damage, the ordinary accident benefits limits may be nowhere close to enough. A serious spinal cord injury can involve rehabilitation, attendant care, accessible housing changes, mobility equipment, bladder and bowel management, psychological suppor

When someone is seriously injured in a boating accident, the case involves issues such as the Marine Liability Act, federal maritime law, insurance coverage, liability limits, and evidence that is very different from other types of personal injury cases. This matters because boating accidents in Ontario cause life-changing injuries. A collision between vessels, a passenger being thrown from a boat, a propeller injury, a drowning or near-drowning, or an impact involving a pers

After a serious dog bite in Ontario, compensation usually comes from the dog owner or an insurance policy that responds on the owner’s behalf. In many cases, that may be the dog owner’s homeowner’s insurance, tenant insurance, or another liability policy. This is one of the first questions people have after a dog attack. They may know the dog owner. The dog owner could be a neighbour, friend, landlord, tenant, relative, or someone in the community. The injured person may be u

A dooring accident happens when someone opens a vehicle door into the path of a cyclist. These crashes often happen with almost no warning. A cyclist may have only a moment to brake, steer away, or avoid being pushed into traffic. In an Ontario bicycle accident claim, the issue is not complicated in theory. The person opening the door is expected to check first. The harder questions are factual: when was the door opened? where was the cyclist positioned? how much time did the

A personal injury lawsuit is the formal court process used when an injured person seeks compensation from another person, business, municipality, insurer, property owner, driver, or other defendant. Not every personal injury claim becomes a lawsuit. Some claims are investigated, documented, and resolved through insurance negotiations before formal court steps are needed. Other claims require litigation because fault is disputed, the injuries are serious, the insurer is taking

By Lane Foster, Personal Injury Lawyer A pedestrian accident is not handled like a simple vehicle damage claim. The injured person may need treatment funding immediately, while the driver’s insurer may already be looking for a way to blame the pedestrian. Ontario law provides pedestrians with a legal advantage. A driver who hits someone walking on the road does not get to end the case by saying, “I didn’t see them.” Under section 193 of Ontario’s Highway Traffic Act, the driv

The four things required to prove negligence claims in Ontario are duty of care, breach of duty, causation, and damages. In a personal injury claim, this means the injured person must prove the defendant had a legal duty to act reasonably, failed to meet that duty, caused the injury, and caused losses that can be compensated. For an injured person, the issue is proving what happened, why the other person was legally at fault, how the accident caused the injury, and how the in

Rule 76 in the Ontario Rules of Civil Procedure (R.R.O. 1990, Reg. 194) is the rule that governs the simplified procedure for certain civil lawsuits in the Superior Court of Justice. In personal injury cases, Rule 76 affects how quickly a lawsuit moves, discovery rights, how expert evidence is presented, whether the case is tried by a judge or jury, and how settlement pressure can develop. Rule 76 applies where the plaintiff’s claim is for money, real property, or personal p