Blog – Neinstein Personal Injury Lawyers
Toronto safety advocates warn of dangerous construction zones
Busy downtown streets are risky for vulnerable road users – pedestrians and cyclists – at the best of times; when construction zones are involved they can be downright dangerous. Nowhere in Canada is the threat greater than in Toronto, the nation’s biggest city and currently the site of more than 700 construction zones according to the local CBC. To Toronto car accident lawyers, the lack of safety measures around the city’s construction sites is an urgent issue that must be addressed.
“Projects are monitored and adjustments are made to the road set up to address issues that may arise during construction,” said Eric Jensen, Toronto’s traffic operations manager, to the CBC. “In every case, safety is of paramount importance and every effort is made to ensure the maximum level of that safety for all road users, particularly the most vulnerable, while also protecting the workers on the site.”
Toronto’s construction zones must adhere to several pieces of legislation, including the Occupational Health and Safety Act, but many safety advocates and Toronto car accident lawyers believe more can be done. Adam Cohoon of Walk Toronto suggested to the CBC that reduced speed limits would improve safety, and Pamela Fuselli of Parachute suggested collecting more data.
Currently, the provincial Ministry of Labour is responsible for tracking injuries around construction sites, but their data is imprecise. The CBC reports that 50 non-workers were injured over the past five years, but couldn’t identify between pedestrians, cyclists, drivers, or others. Fifteen injuries were reported in 2018, the most of any year.
Every day, Toronto car accident lawyers talk to injured pedestrians, cyclists, and motorists about their accidents. Eventually, trends begin to emerge, including elevated risks for vulnerable road users and concerns about safety in construction zones. With the mayoral election around the corner, Toronto personal injury lawyers, law enforcement officials, and all manner of safety advocates are optimistic that road safety issues will become a priority at City Hall. Initiatives like Vision Zero have identified opportunities to improve safety for all road users but without political impetus, deaths and serious injuries will continue to occur on Toronto’s streets.
If you or a member of your family have been injured in an automotive accident at or near a construction site, contact Neinstein Personal Injury Lawyers today to learn how we can help. Our experienced group of Toronto car accident lawyers can provide guidance and assistance as you navigate the legal system and work towards your recovery.
Image credit: Loozrboy/Wikimedia Commons
Motorcycle fatalities surge in BC and Ontario
September has arrived, but motorcycle season is far from over in Ontario – in the province’s south region, fall foliage makes October one of the best months of the year to enjoy a long weekend ride. Unfortunately, as every Ontario motorcycle accident lawyer knows, motorcycle riding comes with inherent risks.
Last month, the British Columbia Coroners Service announced that 30 motorcyclists had died so far in 2018, twice as many as the year before. Eighteen of those deaths came in July, alone. Several months earlier, in May, the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) released data showing that fatal Ontario motorcycle accidents had reached a 10-year high in 2017.
“Over and above marking a 10-year high, what made last year’s 48 motorcyclist deaths particularly tragic was the fact that almost half (22) of the motorcycle drivers were not the at-fault driver,” the police service said in a release.
In British Columbia, speed and impairment are the most common causes of fatal motorcycle crashes.
“Speed is the leading factor for motorcycle crashes,” said Lindsay Matthews, ICBC interim vice-president responsible for road safety, in a release. “It makes it difficult to respond to unexpected events, or to correct for errors. ICBC strongly encourage motorcyclists to keep within posted speed limits at all times, and to wear full protective gear to protect themselves in the event of a crash.”
Environmental factors also contributed to about a quarter of the deaths in BC.
Safety Tips
Any Ontario motorcycle accident lawyer can tell you to wear your helmet and reduce your speed, but what else can Ontario motorcyclists do to avoid accidents this fall?
- Wear full riding gear: protective apparel can mean the difference between a mild and serious injury
- Ride defensively: assume other drivers can’t see you; keep your headlights on and avoid drivers’ blind spots
- Never drive while inebriated
- Inspect your motorcycle prior to your ride: check tires for cracks, bulges, and wear; look for oil or gas leaks; make sure your headlights are working; keep tabs on hydraulic and coolant fluid levels; ensure the clutch and throttle are working smoothly; adjust mirrors as necessary; test the horn; test the brakes at a low speed.
If you or someone you love has been injured in a motorcycle accident, contact Neinstein Personal Injury Lawyers as soon as possible to speak with an experienced Ontario motorcycle accident lawyer. Our team can help you understand your legal options and provide guidance as you take the first steps on your road to recovery.
Image credit: Mikey O./Wikimedia Commons
Can Toronto’s mayoral candidates improve road safety?
“Too many people are dying on our streets,” said former Chief City Planner and current mayoral candidate Jennifer Keesmaat as she unveiled her ambitious road safety plan this September. The statement, though inflammatory, is one with which most Toronto personal injury lawyers would agree: according to the Toronto Star, 26 pedestrians and four cyclists have already been killed in the city in 2018.
This year’s mayoral race, which pits Keesmaat against incumbent John Tory, has been defined by a diverse slate of issues, including affordable housing, transit investment, and gun violence. Road safety has also been a persistent talking point: as the city grows, proactive measures must be taken to reduce death and serious injuries, particularly among vulnerable road users.
Mayor Tory has pledged to preserve the city’s existing Vision Zero strategy, for which council recently approved an additional $22-million in funding, bringing total funding to $105-million over five years. But Keesmaat and various road safety advocates have accused Tory of inaction and political cowardice.
“He keeps failing to reduce death and injury on Toronto’s streets. And when he’s called on it he gets into his avuncular mode, reassuring voters that something will be done to make it all better before long,” Graham Larkin, executive director for Vision Zero Canada, told the CBC. “But too often these are timid and pointless measures, like posting Slow Down for Kids signs.”
Keesmaat’s road safety strategy includes transforming 100 of Toronto’s most dangerous intersections, redesigning streets and sidewalks near schools, adopting Vision Zero standards when rebuilding infrastructure, and reducing speed limits to 30 kilometres per hour on residential streets.
“These are big moves, focusing on essential, failsafe measures like traffic calming and intersection design,” said Larkin. “This would require serious investment of time and money in the short term, but there would be savings of money as well as lives in the future.”
For Toronto personal injury lawyers who work with car accident victims on a daily basis, road safety is a critical election issue. Infrastructure investment and reduced speed limits aren’t sexy proposals, but their efficacy in reducing road violence is proven and well worth their political risks.
If you or a member of your family has been injured in a motor vehicle collision, contact a car accident lawyer at Neinstein Personal Injury Lawyers today to learn how we can help. Our experienced team of Toronto personal injury lawyers can assess the viability of your claim and provide guidance and advice as you pursue compensation.
Image credit: The City of Toronto/Flickr
CDC releases guideline for handling childhood concussion
The United States’ Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has released the ‘first broad evidence-based recommendations for diagnosing and treating children’s concussions,’ according to the Associated Press. The release comes just months after Rowan’s Law, an initiative heralded by some brain injury lawyers as a blueprint for other Canadian provinces, came into effect in Ontario.
The CDC guideline’s broad focus sets it apart from previous efforts in this area. Rowan’s Law and directives from the American Academy of Neurology and the American Academy of Pediatrics concentrate on sports injuries; the CDC publication also addresses slip-and-fall injuries and injuries from motor vehicle accidents.
Of course, sports remain a focus. As CDC brain injury specialist Matthew Breiding, one of the guideline’s co-authors, told the Associated Press: “Some children and teens think concussions aren’t serious or worry that if they report a concussion they will lose their position on the team or look weak. Remind them that it’s better to miss one game than the whole season.”
The guideline is based on a comprehensive evaluation of 25 years of scientific research and includes only procedures with the strongest evidence of success. For instance, the CDC reminds parents not to rely on X-rays or CT scans to diagnose concussions and warns that blood tests aren’t reliable, either. When a concussion is diagnosed, it recommends three days of rest from physical and mental activity (school; sports) and assures parents that symptoms will fade within three months in most cases.
As the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) notes in the abstract for the guideline, “mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), or concussion, in children is a rapidly growing public health concern because epidemiologic data indicate a marked increase in the number of emergency department visits for mTBI over the past decade.” Indeed, some estimates suggest as many as 1-million American children experience concussions each year. In Canada, concussions and possible concussions account for almost 65 per cent of all sports-related head injuries among children and youth. Childhood concussions are a serious issue across North America, and brain injury lawyers are encouraged to see lawmakers and governmental bodies invest in education and awareness.
If you or a member of your family has suffered a brain injury of any severity – from a concussion to a TBI – don’t hesitate to contact Neinstein Personal Injury Lawyers today to learn how we can help. Our experienced team of brain injury lawyers can assess the viability of your claim and provide guidance and advice as you seek compensation.
Large vehicles make our roads less safe
Ontario’s highways are filled with large vehicles, from hulking pick-ups to sleek, family-friendly SUVs. Consumers are attracted to these vehicles because they’re tough – they excel in Canadian winters and keep families safe.
But what about families in other vehicles? What about the occupants of thousands of smaller cars that share the road with bulky Dodge Rams and GMC Yukons? As Ontario car accident lawyers have come to understand, large vehicles make Ontario’s road less safe, even as they protect their occupants.
In a 2015 article for the National Post, columnist Tristan Hopper cited several studies that confirmed the danger large vehicles pose to other drivers. According to researchers at the University of Buffalo, for example, in collisions between SUVs and smaller vehicles, the driver of the smaller vehicle is four times more likely to be killed than the driver of the SUV.
A team of Montreal scientists scoured data on millions of Canadian crashes and found that SUV drivers were 224 per cent more likely to cause a fatal accident than drivers of smaller vehicles.
And at the University of California, San Diego, researchers estimate that for every life saved by driving a large vehicle, 4.3 pedestrians, motorcyclists, and car drivers are killed.
Large vehicles are safer for a number of reasons: their height means occupants are elevated above collisions; their stiff frames make them less likely to succumb to external pressure; and perhaps most importantly, they are much heavier than station wagons and sedans.
However, these factors are also what makes large vehicles so dangerous to other drivers. According to the same National Post article: “for every 450 kilograms added to the weight of a car (roughly the difference between a Toyota Prius and a Ford Taurus), a vehicle becomes 40 per cent more likely to turn an otherwise survivable crash into a fatal collision.”
Ontario car accident lawyers don’t believe that SUVs and pick-ups should be banned from the province’s roads, of course. Large vehicles are critical tools on work sites and ideal for accommodating large families. But as Ontario’s population grows and our streets become more crowded, large vehicle operators must be aware of the danger they pose and take steps to ensure the safety of those around them.
If you or a member of your family has been injured in a motor vehicle accident, contact Neinstein Personal Injury Layers today to set-up a free, no-obligation consultation. Our team of experienced Ontario car accident lawyers can assess the viability of your claim and help you access compensation for your injuries.
B.C. auto insurer proposes premium changes
The Insurance Corporation of British Columbia (ICBC), Canada’s only for-profit public auto insurer, proposed changes to the way it structures premiums last month, provoking mixed reactions from industry experts and auto insurance dispute lawyers across the country.
The new model, if approved by the B.C. Utilities Commission, will reward safe drivers with lower premiums while asking high-risk drivers and drivers with fewer than 15 years of experience to pay more.
“The model ICBC uses to determine these premiums is more than 30 years old and it’s increasingly failed to ensure that drivers are held accountable for their driving habits and risk levels through their insurance rates,” said B.C. Attorney General David Eby, the minister responsible for the ICBC, at a news conference in August.
“A driver with no crashes could be paying the same premiums as a driver with three at-fault crashes in a year,” he added.
The province’s NDP government believes two-thirds of B.C. drivers will enjoy reduced premiums under the new plan, while approximately 17 per cent would see immediate rate increases of up to $100.
“I think it’s incredibly responsible for ICBC to be taking these measures,” one Vancouver tort lawyer told The Star Vancouver. “They’re trying to reward good drivers more and punish bad drivers more as well.”
“The best way we can incentivize better behaviour on our roads is by rewarding good drivers and by pricing high risk drivers appropriately to give them that financial motivation to pay more attention, to make sure they aren’t doing things like distracted driving,” Aaron Sutherland, vice president of the Insurance Bureau of Canada’s (IBC) Pacific region, told Canadian Underwriter. “My general thought is that this is long overdue.”
Under the new system, drivers without an at-fault accident will experience an annual premium reduction every year for up to 40 years. Drivers will also be rewarded for traveling less than 5,000 kilometres per year.
Criticism
Despite support from auto insurance dispute lawyers, critics believe the ICBC’s proposed changes are unlikely to make premiums more affordable in the long term. Today, only Ontarians pay more for auto insurance than British Columbians; if the ICBC continues to hemorrhage money – it reported a $1.3-billion loss last year – those two provinces’ positions may be reversed.
Contact Neinstein Personal Injury Lawyers
If you have been injured in a car accident in Ontario, contact Neinstein Personal Injury Lawyers today to schedule a free, no-obligation consultation with one of our experienced auto insurance dispute lawyers.
Image credit: Michael Scheltgen/Flickr
Extreme weather raises risk of traffic accidents
Climate change affects communities around the world in different ways. In Canada, concern is growing among personal injury lawyers that an increase in extreme weather events will cause a spike in traffic accidents.
In Toronto, extreme weather events have become common. An unexpectedly powerful August 12 rainstorm caused damaging floods in the downtown core and, less than ten days later, bulletins warned of a repeat event that was ultimately less significant. A CBC report on the August 12 storm illustrates just how mundane these events have become.
“Basements were again drenched,” it read. “Power went out. Beaches were covered in super-gross trash from sewer overflows. Some drivers, bizarrely, insisted they could successfully drive through deep water, only to watch their cars float away.”
Just like our municipal governments, Canadian drivers are unsure how to prepare for extreme weather events. And like our governments, our lack of preparation can have dangerous consequences.
Driving in Extreme Weather
Personal injury lawyers understand that the most effective way to avoid accidents caused by bad weather is, simply, to stay home. However, storms like the ones that affected Toronto last month often develop quickly, leaving drivers no choice but to navigate through them.
If you get stuck in a severe storm, your first action should be to flick on your hazard lights.
“Putting on your hazard warns other drivers you’re reducing speed and also makes you more visible,” Tim Danter, head driving instructor at Canada’s Worst Driver, told Driving.ca. “Psychologically, we’re wired to follow the car ahead, which means pulling off the highway, especially if it’s a narrow shoulder, can be dangerous.”
Next, gradually reduce your speed; excessive speed is a major risk factor in bad weather, but so are unexpected maneuvers like slamming the brakes or veering to the side of the road.
“You can hydroplane at 40 km/hr,” Danter said. “You might not even be aware that you’ve lost that essential contact between the road and your tires until you try to steer, or hit the brakes.”
If the weather is too severe for you to safely continue driving, pulling onto the shoulder is an option. But be cautious and patient – wait until you have the space and room to ease off the road.
Most importantly, drivers should be aware that an extreme weather event is possible. When you expect the unexpected, it’s hard to be taken by surprise.
If you or a member of your family has been injured in a traffic accident, contact Neinstein Personal Injury Lawyers today to speak with an experienced car accident lawyer. Our team will can provide support and guidance as you navigate the recovery process.
Too many Canadians drive while stoned
If you were to ask any road safety expert, law enforcement officer, or car accident lawyer how marijuana effects driving ability, you’d get the same answer: it increases risk of collision and puts fellow road users at risk.
Many Canadian cannabis users, unfortunately, appear to disagree. According to Statistics Canada’s most recent national cannabis survey, one in seven active marijuana users has driven within two hours of smoking in the previous three months. Additionally, five per cent of respondents said they’d been a passenger in a vehicle driven by someone who had consumed marijuana within two hours or driving.
Why do people engage in these risky behaviours? The Globe and Mail’s Darren Calabrese recently spoke with patrons of Halifax’s High Life Social Club to find out. Several interviewees admitted to driving while stoned or knowing someone who drives while stoned. One person said her friend passed her driving test while high; another suggested that marijuana helped them relax and focus on the road. Several insisted they would never drive while drunk.
“We used to say the same thing about drinking and driving,” Robert Mann, a researcher at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, told Calabrese. “’I can have a few drinks and it relaxes me.’ ‘I can have one for the road.’ The clear message is that using cannabis increases your risk of an accident.”
That message is supported by a large and growing body of scientific evidence. A French study revealed that drivers with marijuana in their system were twice as likely to be responsible for a fatal accident than a sober driver. Norwegian researchers found that driving while under the influence of cannabis increases crash risk by 30 per cent.
With the increased risk of collision due to marijuana intoxication now an established fact, every police officer and car accident lawyer in Canada must confront the possibility that road safety will suffer when recreational cannabis is legalized this October. Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale remains confident that it will not.
“The problem exists right now,” he told reporters in response to StatsCan’s latest survey, according to the CBC. “Driving under the influence of drugs has been an offence under the Criminal Code of Canada since 1925. The approaches that we have had over the years, of focusing on complete prohibition, have obviously not succeeded.”
About 16 per cent of Canadians aged 15 and up reported using marijuana in the StatsCan report, equivalent to roughly 4.6-million people. The overwhelming majority (82 per cent) said they don’t plan to increase their consumption following legalization.
If you or a member of your family have been injured in a traffic accident, contact Neinstein Personal Injury Lawyers today to speak with an experienced car accident lawyer. Our team can assess the viability of your claim and provide access to resources that will aid your recovery.
Image credit: MSVG/Flickr
Neinstein sponsors adaptive climbing events
September is Spinal Cord Injury Awareness Month in Canada. In recognition of this important initiative, Neinstein Personal Injury Lawyers is co-sponsoring Therapeutic Adaptive Climbing, a two-event program organized by the Canadian Adaptive Climbing Society (CACS) and hosted by True North Climbing in Toronto.
Adaptive climbing is an opportunity for individuals living with spinal cord injury and other barriers to participate in a fun and engaging sport with numerous physical, cognitive, social, and emotional benefits. Neinstein is supporting two Therapeutic Adaptive Climbing ‘Try-it’ sessions: on September 28 from 10 AM until 1 PM, and on October 3 from 1 PM until 4 PM.
We hope to see you there!
Suicide is more common in brain injury victims, study finds
Traumatic brain injuries (TBI) are simultaneously straightforward and complex; when we hear someone has suffered a brain injury, we immediately recognize that something serious has occurred, but rarely do we understand exactly how the person’s life will change. Some brain injuries cause massive, long-term physical effects, like paraplegia. In other cases, the impacts may be much subtler; brain injuries can affect memory, communication, cognitive ability, and mental health. The job of a brain injury lawyer is to assess how their client’s life has changed and pursue compensation that reasonably reflects that.
The Danish Research Institute of Suicide Prevention recently published a comprehensive study that emphasizes the impact of TBI on mental health. By examining the medical records of seven million people over more than three decades, lead author Dr. Trine Madsen and her team found that people with traumatic brain injuries were twice as likely to attempt suicide. Individuals with no such injury faced a suicide risk of one in 200 over a 25-year period; those with a TBI had a risk of one in 100.
“Traumatic brain injury is a major public health problem that has many serious consequences, including suicide,” Dr. Madsen wrote in the Journal of the American Medical Association. “The high prevalence of traumatic brain injury globally emphasizes the importance of preventing it in order to ameliorate its sequelae, such as increased suicide risk, which can be prevented resulting in saved lives.”
From a local perspective, improving road safety would almost certainly reduce the occurrence of brain injuries in Ontario. Each of the province’s two largest cities are experiencing periods of above-average traffic accidents and fatalities.
“Falls or road traffic accidents account for the largest share of brain injuries,” Madsen wrote. “Helmet use has a protective effect, especially falls related to bicycling and falls that occur at work.”
After a brain injury has occurred, a brain injury lawyer can help the victim initiate his or her recovery. By connecting the victim with therapists and leading medical and rehabilitative care, a personal injury lawyer can help their client avoid the common pitfalls that sometimes lead to depression.
“We have known for a long time that TBI may be a strong risk factor for suicidality,” Professor Huw Williams of the University of Exeter told The Telegraph for an article on the Danish study. “With TBI making people poor at remembering and planning, and being stuck in lives of chaos and no good prospects – work and family wise. TBI also makes people impulsive and often leads to depression and anxiety. So the breeding ground in the mind for self-harm.”
If you or a member of your family has suffered a traumatic brain injury, contact Neinstein Personal Injury Lawyers to arrange a free, no-obligation consultation with an experienced brain injury lawyer. Our team can assess the viability of your claim and provide guidance on the path to recovery.
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