Blog – Neinstein Personal Injury Lawyers
Sledding bans gaining traction in North America
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You likely look back fondly on the winters you spent tobogganing and sledding down snowy hills for hours, but this may soon be a thing of the past for today’s kids. More cities in Canada and the US are implementing sledding and tobogganing restrictions or bans due to serious injuries and liability issues.
Recently, Dubuque, Iowa, joined the list of cities implementing sledding bans with tobogganing no longer allowed in their 50 parks.
In Canada, Hamilton has banned tobogganing in the city for 15 years, but the recent installation of more “no tobogganing” signs led to a new wave of public outcry with a petition drawing 1,000 signatures. Residents can be fined between $105 to $5,000 for tobogganing, according to the city’s bylaws. Despite the city’s ban, in 2013, an arbitration settlement decided that the city should pay $900,000 to a Hamilton lawyer after he suffered a spinal injury during a sledding accident in 2004, according to the Hamilton Spectator.
This year, Sudbury also joined banning the winter activity so there are no designated sliding hills in the city, Sudbury’s Director of Leisure Services told the Sudbury Northern Life newspaper. The ban comes after a serious sledding accident last year that left a man with a spinal injury while on one of the city’s popular hills. He filed a lawsuit against the city, which was settled. The site of the incident has been fenced off.
In Toronto, a tobogganing ban has been placed on 14 of the city’s parks, including Earl Bales, Rouge Park and Centennial Park, due to unsafe sledding conditions. Aspects that determine the site’s risk profile include any previous accidents, the risk of trees, fences, hedges or steel sewer grates affecting the toboggan run or having two hills meet at the bottom where kids could run into each other, Toronto Parks Director Richard Ubbens told Global News.
While in Orangeville, residents are protesting against a sign that calls for no tobogganing, which was erected on a commonly used sledding hill, but isn’t designated as one.
A spinal cord injury expert told CBC News that the winter activity is considered a high risk. It’s the fourth dangerous recreational activity behind diving into shallow water, parachuting and snowmobiling, but he doesn’t agree with an all-out ban. But people sledding should take precautions.
According to Parachute Canada, a charity educating others on preventable injuries, there’s an average of 37.7 catastrophic injuries for every 100,000 sledders. Research has shown that 50 per cent of catastrophic injuries were to the head and 22.5 per cent of catastrophic injuries suffered were to the spine. Sledders hitting a tree was the most common reason for injury.
While most Canadian cities have passed on implementing tobogganing bans, anyone sledding runs the risk of injury, even if toboggan hills are maintained.
If you continue to go sledding, the City of Ottawa offers some tips to stay safe:
Before heading out, make sure you check the weather to ensure safe weather conditions.
- Go tobogganing during the daytime since this way you can see and react to any other tobogganners on the hills.
- Wait until the path is clear before heading down the hill.
- When you reach the bottom of the hill, quickly get out of the way and when climbing back up the hill, make sure to climb on the hillside to avoid oncoming sledding traffic,
- Wear a helmet when sledding and keep your hands, arms and legs in the sled to avoid being injured.
- Go down the hills kneeling or sitting, but don’t go head down when sledding since it puts you at greater risk of a head injury.
- Don’t bring your pets with you while on the slopes.
- Avoid sledding on hills that are steep and icy and stick to hills with gentle slopes.
- Avoid sledding on hills where there are obstacles nearby, at time even off sledding course
- Be sure to maintain your balance to avoid going off course and potentially hitting an obstacle
Winter’s snow and ice can lead to dangerous motor vehicle accidents for drivers and slip and fall accidents for pedestrians. Whether you’re headed out by car or foot, give yourself extra time to get to your location so you’re not in a rush while travelling.
The personal injury and accident lawyers at Neinstein Personal Injury Lawyers have been handling accident injuries for over 40 years, and we know how to help you get compensation after a slip and fall accident. Call us at 416-920-4242 to set up a free consultation.
Is a driver responsible if fallen debris causes a car accident?
What happens if something falls off a vehicle while driving? If you regularly drive, chances are you’ve come across debris while on the road. Sometimes it can be as harmless as a plastic bag that you can drive over with no problem, but sometimes it can be dangerous, such as a large cardboard box or debris that’s fallen off a truck.
No matter the debris, drivers of cars or trucks are responsible for ensuring that the load they carry is evenly balanced and securely attached and it won’t shift while driving. In some cases, loads should be covered to avoid spillage. Not properly securing your load is dangerous since if you make a sharp turn or sudden stop, your load could fall off your vehicle and cause accidents for other drivers.
Am I at fault if something falls off my car?
While there’s a greater danger of commercial trucks losing their cargo, car and small truck drivers can also be charged with carrying an insecure load. In Ontario, if something falls off your car you can receive a fine ranging from $130 to $310, depending on whether the vehicle is for personal or commercial use. While this is considered a minor infraction, it will still have an effect on your insurance rates.
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According to the Highway Traffic Act, if you’re carrying a load that hangs out over the back of your car by more than 1.5 metres, you’re required to mark it with either a red flag, red marker or a red light, depending on the lighting outside when you’re driving.
Last summer, the sun roof of a Calgary driver’s sedan exploded while he was passing a group of six gravel trucks on the highway. He was passing one of them, when his sunroof suddenly exploded and left his vehicle with many dents and a glass shard in his arm. The driver was unable to acquire any company names or license plates since he was focused on safely steering to the side of the highway, according to the Calgary Herald. While he didn’t see anything and no other vehicles stopped, the driver believes something fell off the truck. His vehicle suffered extensive damage with the majority of the car’s exterior panels removed and repainted, the car’s sunroof replaced and the seat’s removed to properly vacuum the car’s interior.
Last year, a Montreal highway was shut down for a few hours after a concrete block fell from the overpass and hit a car travelling below. Luckily, no one was hurt, but the concrete split the vehicle’s hood in half and other vehicles were left with flat tires after driving over the debris. Police were investigating whether the debris was from a truck’s cargo or if it was from the overpass itself.
In 2008, some load falling off a pickup truck in Welland, Ont., caused a three-car accident in a tunnel, which resulted in serious injuries. The pickup truck lost some of its load while travelling in a tunnel and two vehicles travelling behind the truck were able to avoid hitting the debris, but a third car behind them wasn’t able to stop in time. The third vehicle struck the two other vehicles and the vehicle’s passenger was taken to the hospital in critical condition after she hit the dash when she wasn’t wearing a seatbelt. The driver of the third vehicle was also taken to the hospital with unspecified injuries. The driver of the pickup was charged with hauling an insecure load and the driver of the third vehicle was charged with careless driving, according to the Niagara This Week.
Driving safely with a secure load
All drivers hope any vehicles carrying loads have ensured that it’s tightly secured, but to stay safe, avoid following too closely to these vehicles to give you enough time to react to a situation.
You can also safely share the road with trucks by avoiding the truck’s blind spot, which is behind the truck and at its side, to ensure that the driver can see you. Always signal ahead of time to give the truck driver time to react since extra time and distance is needed to fully stop a truck. When passing a truck, do not drive beside it for long and when switching in front, leave a safe distance between the two vehicles.
Motor vehicle accidents happen and accident benefits are available to anyone involved in a motor vehicle accident regardless of who caused the accident. The personal injury and accident lawyers at Neinstein Personal Injury Lawyers have been dealing with all accident related issues throughout Ontario for over 45 years. We know how to get you the compensation that you deserve and get your life back in order after being in a car accident. Call us at 416-920-4242, set up a free consultation, and come speak with us.
TTC bus and streetcar driver policies undergo review
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The TTC is reviewing its driver recruitment and training policies after a string of accidents involving bus and streetcar drivers.
The review has been in the works for weeks, but a recent fatal hit-and-run accident of a 14-year-old expedited the evaluation. On December 22, a Scarborough teen was crossing the street near her home at Finch Ave. E. and Neilson Rd. when she was hit by a TTC bus and the driver drove away. The teen was pronounced dead at the scene and the driver later turned himself in, but it’s unclear whether the seven year veteran realized he’d hit someone, according to the Toronto Star. Both the police and the TTC continue to investigate the incident and as of yet, no charges have been laid.
Since 2009, there’s been about 18,000 crashes involving TTC vehicles with about 5,000 of those cited as preventable by TTC investigators, according to the Star. There was a noticeable spike in streetcar collisions this fall, but there’s also been collisions involving TTC vehicles in recent weeks.
On December 29, there was a head on collision at Main St. and Danforth Ave. involving a TTC bus and a streetcar, which resulted in four people suffering minor to moderate injuries. Since then, the bus driver was charged with careless driving and has yet to appear in court.
On December 20, a woman suffered non life-threatening head injuries after she was hit by a TTC bus at the Yonge and Eglinton intersection. On December 5, a female was severely injured and suffered multi-system trauma after she was hit by a TTC bus and pinned under the vehicle for over half an hour at York University.
There’s also been reports of TTC drivers running red lights, including a dashboard camera video that was uploaded on YouTube that shows a driver almost hitting a pedestrian during one incident. The driver was later fired as a result of the video evidence and the TTC has taken disciplinary action against other drivers who have also been spotted running red lights.
One suggestion that’s been recommended is installing dashboard cameras on buses and streetcars.
But an interesting point to note is that Toronto Police don’t typically launch investigations based on dashboard camera footage since it’s insufficient evidence for a probable conviction and there are many details of an accident that aren’t addressed in the video, a Toronto Police spokesperson told the Star.
Motor vehicle accidents happen and accident benefits are available to anyone involved in a motor vehicle accident regardless of who caused the accident. The personal injury and accident lawyers at Neinstein Personal Injury Lawyers have been dealing with all accident related issues throughout Ontario for over 45 years. We know how to get you the compensation that you deserve and get your life back in order after being in a car accident. Call us at 416-920-4242, set up a free consultation, and come speak with us.
Traumatic brain injury linked to substance abuse
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There is much more to be discovered about traumatic brain injury (TBI), whether it’s understanding treatment to assist survivors or understanding the long term effects the injury has on a person’s life.
Recently, it was discovered that the hormone progesterone does little to help with a person’s long-term recovery when they’re administered the hormone soon after they’ve been injured. While symptoms, such as swelling may be reduced, the hormone doesn’t help prevent disabilities. Two large scale studies provided this conclusion, but researchers were originally hopeful since they saw results in small test trials and tests on animals.
While researchers continue to look for other treatment options, it’s been discovered that TBI injuries may happen more frequently than we expect. About 17 per cent of Ontario adults surveyed have experienced a TBI that left them unconscious for five minutes or required them to stay overnight at a hospital, according to a recent study by St. Michael’s Hospital that was published in the Journal of Neurotrauma.
“We found that one in six Ontario adults reported a history of TBI,” Dr. Gabriela Ilie, lead author of the study and a post-doctoral fellow at St. Michael’s Hospital, said in a press release. “That prevalence is higher than previously known. Equally concerning, is the rate of harmful behaviours reported by adults with a history of TBI.”
The St. Mike’s study discovered that adults with a TBI history were 2.9 times more likely to take an opioid pain reliever without a prescription within the last year, along with 2.8 times more likely to have smoked cannabis in the last year. They were also twice as likely to have smoked cigarettes every day in the past year.
A CAMH study discovered a similar TBI history behaviour pattern for Ontario teens in grade nine to 12. Those who had a TBI injury had a drug use rate that was two to four times higher than teens who didn’t, says research published in the Journal of Head Trauma Rehabilitation.
For example, teens with a brain injury were 3.8 times more likely to have used crystal meth and 3.8 times more likely to have used a non-prescribed tranquilizer or sedative. They were 2.8 times more likely to use Ecstasy, 2.6 times more likely to have used hallucinogens and 2.5 times more likely to have used cocaine or LSD.
“On top of the other health consequences, substance abuse increases the odds of suffering an injury that could result in a TBI,” Dr. Michael Cusimano, co-principal investigator of the study and a neurosurgeon at St. Michael’s Hospital, said in a press release. “And using some of these substances may also impair recovery after injury.”
While researchers are unsure whether the drugs lead to brain injuries or vice versa, there’s been a connection established between substance abuse and traumatic brain injury that requires further research.
“Some people think of concussions as a less alarming injury than a mild TBI but this is wrong,” said Dr. Cusimano. “Every concussion is a TBI. People should take every brain injury seriously because, as this research shows, the immediate and long-term effects can alter lives.”
If you have had an accident and are now coping with a brain injury, your life has drastically changed. It’s important for you to focus on your recovery and let Neinstein Personal Injury Lawyers be there to help you. We have handled all types of injuries for over 40 years. We understand the impacts they can have on you and we can help fight your case. Call us at 416-920-4242. Set up a free consultation and come chat with us.
Privacy concerns raised over Uber God View tool
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Uber may offer a less expensive ride than a cab, but some unflattering details over the ride sharing program recently came to light.
Uber launched an investigation after a Buzzfeed journalist published that the general manager at Uber’s New York location tracked her location, without her permission. The journalist travelled in an Uber car to the company’s New York office for an interview with General Manager Josh Mohrer. When she got out of the vehicle, Mohrer was waiting for her and said that he was tracking her location, according to Buzzfeed. A few months before, he emailed the journalist logs of her Uber usage, again without her approval.
The ride sharing app has a “God View” tool that lets employees view the location of the users who have requested a ride and the location of Uber vehicles. This information is available to corporate employees, but not contractors, two former employees told Buzzfeed.
Since the article was published, Uber has said the Mohrer was disciplined, but details of the action taken were not made public. The company also published its privacy policy, which states, “Uber has a strict policy prohibiting all employees at every level from accessing a rider or driver’s data. The only exception to this policy is for a limited set of legitimate business purposes.”
Unfortunately, this might not be the first time the company has accessed a user’s Uber history without their permission. Entrepreneur and former venture capitalist, Peter Sims, blogged about an experience where his whereabouts were unknowingly shown publicly for attendees at the Uber Chicago launch party. He was notified by someone who was at the party and who texted him to verify his location.
The company has recently faced a wave of bad press. Buzzfeed reported that one of the senior executives at the company suggested that the company hire private investigators to find and share negative intelligence about media critics. The executive later said that he thought those comments were a part of an off the record conversation and that he regretted what he said.
Uber is currently facing an injunction in Toronto and a hearing has been set for May of next year.
Issues about privacy and whether information from social media can be used in litigation have been raised since social media sites have gained popularity. General Mills faced public backlash after it revised its online privacy policy, which later saw the company reinstate its original policy.
Whenever you use any service, it’s important to read a company’s privacy policy or their terms of service before making a purchase. Accident benefits are available to anyone involved in a motor vehicle accident regardless of their role in the accident. The personal injury and accident lawyers at Neinstein Personal Injury Lawyers have been dealing with all accident related issues throughout Ontario for over 45 years. We know how to get you the compensation that you deserve and get your life back in order after being in a car accident. Call us at 416-920-4242, set up a free consultation, and come speak with us.
Good eyesight crucial to safe driving
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We rely on our vision to determine when to stop for a pedestrian, decide when it’s safe to make a turn or when to slow down. Your eyesight is crucial when it comes to operating a vehicle and it’s important that you can properly see while driving.
Before you are granted your license, Ontario drivers must pass a vision test. You will be tested on how well you can see details (visual acuity) and on your peripheral vision (horizontal visual field). While applying for a car or motorcycle license, you must have vision that’s better than 20/50 with or without glasses or contact lenses and have a 120o horizontal visual field.
But after you’ve received your license, you’re responsible for evaluating your vision while driving.
Unfortunately, not all drivers with low vision give up driving. Seniors over the age of 70 have one of the highest accident rates per kilometre driven, according to a 2013 report by Statistics Canada. Forty three per cent of seniors who were able to read the newspaper with glasses, but unable to recognize a friend from across the street, even with glasses on, still kept their licenses. There are seniors with worse vision, those who wore glasses and still unable to see a friend across the street or read the newspaper, who also held onto their license.
Recently, Ontario changed its driver renewal process for seniors, which includes a vision test, a review of their driving record, an education session and two exercises that tests a senior’s mental abilities.
Researchers also continue to look for ways to improve our vision. It was only about two decades ago when laser corrective surgery became available and since then, more than 75,000 surgeries have been performed.
Recently, a new prosthetic was created for adults experiencing severe vision loss due to retinitis pigmentosa (RP). This condition affects about 11,000 Canadians and it leads to gradual vision loss. But this new prosthetic can help them differentiate between colours, distinguish between different letters and see motion, according to the Hospital News.
The signs of vision loss can be subtle and it’s important to regularly have your eyes checked. There are a huge range of eye conditions that can affect your vision, such as cataracts, glaucoma, macular degeneration, presbyopia and diabetic retinopathy. Some of these conditions can be remedied if they’re caught early enough.
Eye exams can also uncover other underlying conditions, such as high blood pressure, Type 2 diabetes or brain or eye tumors.
Adults between the age of 19 to 64 should visit an optometrist at least once every two years and any seniors above the age of 65 should visit annually, according to the Doctors of Optometry Canada. Anyone with diabetes should also visit annually.
In 2012, there were 165,172 injuries from motor vehicle collisions, according to Transport Canada. There were 2,077 fatal motor vehicle collisions, which increased from 2,023 accidents the year before. While car companies are looking into technological innovations to improve safety in a vehicle, such as warnings about distracted driving, the driver remains responsible for safe driving.
Motor vehicle accidents happen and accident benefits are available to anyone involved in a motor vehicle accident regardless of who caused the accident. The personal injury and accident lawyers at Neinstein Personal Injury Lawyers have been dealing with all accident related issues throughout Ontario for over 45 years. We know how to get you the compensation that you deserve and get your life back in order after being in a car accident. Call us at 416-920-4242, set up a free consultation, and come speak with us.
Can wearable technology be used as evidence in a case?
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As more and more people focus on their health with devices that help them track their progress, this brings up questions about whether this information can be used in a personal injury claim.
A Calgary personal injury law firm will set precedence as the first personal injury case where the data from a Fitbit tracker will be used to show an accident’s effects on their client’s lifestyle, according to Forbes.
“Till now we’ve always had to rely on clinical interpretation,” Simon Muller of McLeod Law firm in Calgary told Forbes. “Now we’re looking at longer periods of time though the course of a day, and we have hard data.”
Four years ago, their client, a personal trainer, was injured in a motor vehicle accident when her car was rear-ended, according to Metro News. Since damage to her car wasn’t extensive, the lawyers hope the device’s data will show that “her activity levels are now under a baseline for someone of her age and profession.”
The data from the Fitbit will be entered into a platform created by Calgary startup Vivametrica, which takes publically available data from smartphones and fitness devices, and then provides a general baseline of health activity, according to Metro News.
The personal injury law firm already has plans to potentially use a similar method of tracking data in other cases, according to Forbes.
While the data will be used as evidence to assist the client, it remains to be seen whether this data could be used by insurance companies and privacy concerns will likely arise with these devices. Technology companies are focusing their efforts towards creating wearable devices that track more than simply the number of steps you take. Apps are being created to track your sleeping patterns, heart rate, weight and blood pressure.
A recent column published in Claims Canada discusses the case where a plaintiff’s metadata was acquired by the defendants to show the time spent by the plaintiff in front of his computer. In the appeal of a personal injury case in Nova Scotia, the plaintiff claimed the injuries from an accident he was in affected the amount of time he could sit in front of a computer, which affected his income since he ran an Internet-based business. The court approved the motion, as long as the data retrieved was only related to the plaintiff’s computer; they were denied access to the plaintiff’s computer files and websites the plaintiff visited.
Privacy is becoming a greater concern with technology offering more detailed insight into our lives. St. Michael’s Hospital is testing an OR “black box” as a way to learn from mistakes, but it remains to be seen whether personal injury lawyers will be allowed to use this information in medical malpractice claims.
Social media may also be used in courtrooms, but it’s also debatable about whether combing through what’s displayed is relevant to the case.
The personal injury and accident lawyers at Neinstein Personal Injury Lawyers have over 45 years of experience. We know how to fight your case. Set up a free consultation and come talk to us. Call us at 416-920-4242.
Don’t drive while impaired this holiday season
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With the holiday season upon us and many festive parties to attend, it’s important that you come up with a plan on how to get home without drinking and driving.
At the beginning of November, the OPP has launched its Festive RIDE campaign, which aims to keep impaired drivers, both alcohol and drug impaired, off the roads.
“The OPP’s goal is to get through the holiday season without losing a single life to impaired driving,” said OPP Commissioner Vince Hawkes, in a press release. “We will use a combination of public education and focused enforcement to drive home the message that impaired driving on Ontario roads is never acceptable.”
If you are caught driving with a Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) of 0.05 to 0.08, your license will be suspended for three days, which takes effect right away, and you’ll face a $150 fine, if it’s your first offense. The penalties are also harsher if you’re a repeat offender.
Drunk drivers face a higher likelihood of being involved in an accident, which may harm innocent drivers. Earlier this year in March, a Hamilton man was sentenced to five years in jail, after he killed a jogger when he was driving while impaired. When police arrested the man at the scene, his BAC was three times over the legal limit, marijuana was found in his possession and it was discovered that he was driving without insurance, according to CBC News. He was also sentenced to a lifetime ban on driving and two $1,000 fines, one for driving without insurance and other for driving without an interlock device (which implies he had a history of impaired driving).
In August of 2011, a 23-year-old was killed after the vehicle she was driving was hit by a drunk driver who had left rehab. The woman was on her way to a country concert with a friend when their vehicle was struck head on. The driver of the other vehicle had 90 to 129 mg of alcohol in his system, a sedating drug that intensified the alcohol’s effects and he was possibly texting while driving, according to the Toronto Sun.
By the end of September 2014, the OPP charged 5,685 drivers with impaired driving, which dropped from 6,842 impaired charges during the same period last year. But, there’s been a 32 per cent rise in drug impaired driving charges this year compared to last year. With more drivers facing drug impaired driving, a national panel is looking into roadside drug screening devices.
There are too many risks involved if you are caught drinking and driving. First, you are risking the lives of innocent people. Second, you are placing your own life at risk and lastly, you can also risk higher insurance costs. If you happen to be convicted, some insurance companies won’t insure you for three years afterwards, according to the Globe and Mail. Your only option is to buy facility insurance, which could cost you an extra $8,000 a year compared to normal insurance.
If someone you know insists on driving after drinking, you should notify the police so they’re able to take the driver off the road. Before heading to a celebration, establish a designated driver, use public transportation to arrive home safely or call a taxi.
Motor vehicle accidents happen and accident benefits are available to anyone involved in a motor vehicle accident regardless of who caused the accident. The personal injury and accident lawyers at Neinstein Personal Injury Lawyers have been dealing with all accident related issues throughout Ontario for over 45 years. We know how to get you the compensation that you deserve and get your life back in order after being in a car accident. Call us at 416-920-4242, set up a free consultation, and come speak with us.
Research a toy’s safety before purchasing
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With the holidays upon us, many people are out and about getting their holiday shopping done. But before you go ahead and pick up a toy for your child, grandchild or your friends’ kids, one thing you should keep in mind is the toy’s safety.
A recent report by the US Center for Injury Research and Policy at Nationwide Children’s Hospital shows that toy-related injuries are on the rise with about 3.3 million children being admitted into emergency rooms between 1990 to 2011. During this timeframe, injuries climbed by 40 per cent and in 2011, every three minutes a child was being treated for such an injury.
With 80.3 per cent of these injuries occurring at home, it’s important that someone is monitoring your young child while they are playing.
One of the primary culprits behind this upward trend are scooters, which rose to popularity in 2000. Within 11 years, there have been 500,000 injuries from scooters, which is about one injury every 11 minutes. Since scooters require good balance to safely use them, it’s recommended that any child younger than eight should be watched by an adult while using them.
Younger children are more likely to be injured by choking on a small toy or a small part of a toy, according to the study. During the 11 year timeframe, there were 109,000 hospitalizations of children under the age of five who swallowed a toy. The Chief of Pediatrics at St. Joseph’s Health Centre told the Toronto Star that they’ve had many hospital visits for children with beads shoved into their ears or nose from jewelry making kits. Also, be aware of small powerful magnets that could serve as a choking hazard, which is one of the reasons why BuckyBalls are banned from sale in Canada.
Older children are more likely to be injured by a toy they’re riding, such as foot-powered scooters, tricycles or wagons, which accounted for 42 per cent of the injuries for children between the age of five to 17. These toys are three times more likely to cause injuries that require a longer recovery time, such as a broken bone or dislocation. Children were typically hurt when playing with these toys by a fall (46 per cent) or a collision (22 per cent).
Keep your child safe when playing with any toys they ride on by ensuring that they’re wearing a helmet to prevent head injuries. Also, make sure they’re playing in area away from traffic that has a dry and flat surface.
When buying art supplies for a child, it’s important to buy child-friendly, non-toxic alternatives since sometimes kids will put them in their mouth.
When shopping for a toy, read the packaging for age restrictions and manufacturer recommendations. Also, be on the lookout for any recalls that may be related to any products you’ve purchased.
When you buy a product, you should be able to feel safe knowing that a company has done its due diligence in ensuring its safety. The personal injury and accident lawyers at Neinstein Personal Injury Lawyers have handled personal injury cases, such as product liability, throughout Ontario for over 45 years. Call us at 416-920-4242, set up a free consultation, and come speak with us.
Toronto files injunction to stop ride sharing UberX service
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Whether Uber’s ride sharing app has a future in Toronto remains to be seen. In mid-November, the city of Toronto filed an injunction to stop the company from operating within the city stating that the service was a risk to residents. Hearings for the case is scheduled for May of next year, according to the Globe and Mail.
The city has done a detailed investigation into the service with findings that have them concerned about the safety of passengers due to the company’s current driver screening process, vehicle inspections process and insurance coverage, says the Globe. This involved hiring a private investigator (PI), who was once a former Toronto Police officer, to obtain details of the company’s hiring process for drivers.
According to the Globe, the PI received a text for a vehicle inspection less than 24 hours after he submitted an online application. When he arrived at the office, he overheard a company employee telling an Uber driver to report an accident on the driver’s personal insurance, when the accident occurred while he was acting as an Uber driver. When the PI asked for more details about insurance coverage, the employee told him that the company would cover additional costs not covered by the driver’s personal insurance.
The PI underwent a short training program, which included a 15-minute video and a ten question true/false quiz. He received the go ahead after his background check was approved within 48 hours. The PI says he was only subject to a first-level Police Criminal Record Check, which does not approve people to work with vulnerable people, such as those who are disabled or children. Also, the PI’s car was never inspected.
In the US, ride sharing programs are facing questions about its drivers’ insurance and liability if a passenger is involved in a motor vehicle accident since a Lyft passenger, a competitor of Uber, was involved in a fatal accident.
“All drivers who partner with Uber for our ride-sharing product, UberX, must undergo a stringent background check and meet certain criteria to gain access to the platform,” Xavier Van Chau said in a statement, posted in the Globe article. “Every ride on the UberX platform in Canada is backed by liability insurance covering bodily injury and property damage.”
While safety concerns have been raised about the service and taxi drivers rally against it, not everyone agrees with the city’s stance with newly elected mayor John Tory supporting Uber in Toronto. Also, there was a recent column in the National Post that suggests ride sharing could make the city safer since it could encourage more people to call for a ride rather than drink and drive.
Whenever you’re involved in a motor vehicle collision, accident benefits are available to you, no matter your role in the incident. The personal injury and accident lawyers at Neinstein Personal Injury Lawyers have been dealing with all accident related issues throughout Ontario for over 45 years. We know how to get you the compensation that you deserve and get your life back in order after being in a car accident. Call us at 416-920-4242, set up a free consultation, and come speak with us.
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