#AskHeikkiCoxKikkajoon Government efforts to make it safer for people to travel the roads and highways of Ontario and the other provinces are motivated by a desire to reduce the number of accidents in which people are seriously injured or killed. Ontario Provincial Police reported a dramatic increase in fatalities last year with 341 people killed in highway accidents. This represents an 11 percent increase from the total a year earlier. There are different strategies governments can use to make the roads safer, including increased enforcement of traffic laws and harsher penalties for violators. Another strategy is to make improvements in ...
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#AskHeikkiCoxKikkajoon Being injured in a car crash, a slip-and-fall or other types of mishaps caused by the careless or negligent conduct of another party can be unsettling and leave you confused about what steps to take to make a claim for compensation. Delays, whether caused by the seriousness of your injuries or by putting off contacting a personal injury lawyer for legal advice, could cause you to lose the right to make a claim for damages. Laws in Ontario impose strict limitations on how long you have to pursue a personal injury claim for compensation. It is important to avoid ...
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#AskHeikkiCoxKikkajoon The nursing home facilities people trust to provide house and care for senior family members who can no longer live on their own generally do an excellent job. The CBC reports that some nursing homes are not only failing to provide the level of care their residents are entitled to receive, but some of their staff members are engaging in abusive behaviours toward them. The CBC estimates that nursing home abuse has increased by more than 148 percent. Individuals subjected to nursing home abuse have recourse against the facility and its staff, including the right to compensation for the harm ...
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#AskHeikkiCoxKikkajoon The size of the province can make it seem as though getting around Ontario should be difficult, but the existence of public transportation, particularly in Toronto and other large cities, helps commuters and visitors in their daily travels. Using public transportation is not without its risks. One of the companies providing public transportation in Ontario reported that its buses were involved in 897 crashes during a recent three-year period. It labelled more than 46 percent of them as being preventable had the drivers taken appropriate measures to avoid them. Users of public transportation should know their rights if they are injured ...
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#AskHeikkiCoxKikkajoon Skiing, snowboarding, and other winter activities draw millions of people to the slopes throughout Ontario. A day on the slopes with friends can quickly turn to tragedy. Serious injuries and fatalities associated with downhill skiing and snowboarding have increased as the number of people participating in these popular winter activities has increased. Researchers have found that many of the injuries and fatalities are preventable if people would practise safety on the slopes. Common injuries on the slopes A fall or an arm or leg bending at an awkward angle can cause broken bones and sprains that end a day ...
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#AskHeikkiCoxKikkajoon The freezing temperatures, snow and ice are normal facts of winter life associated with living in Ontario. The weather makes simple, everyday tasks, such as walking to school, work or the store, dangerous and hazardous activities. A slip and fall on an icy, snow-covered or broken sidewalk can cause a fractured bone or a serious head injury. If you fall on a sidewalk or parking lot, you could be entitled to compensation from the property owner or the municipality. Property owner liability for sidewalk slip and fall Sidewalks offer a convenient and, usually, safe place to walk. A poorly ...
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#AskHeikkiCoxKikkajoon Children either use a school bus or are driven by their parents instead of walking or biking to and from school according to a survey reported in the Toronto Star. The survey showed a steady decline in the number of children walking to school while those being driven by parents jumped to 33 percent. Encouraging children to walk to school is one method of combating weight gainand other issues caused by a lack of physical exercise, but it must be accompanied by programs to improve safety while walking to school. Age at which children should be allowed to walk to school ...
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#AskHeikkiCoxKikkajoon There are more than 48,000 kilometres of railway tract throughout Canada, making it one of the largest systems in the world. Passenger and freight trains operate relatively incident free on a daily basis, but there were more than 1,000 railway accidents last year, including derailments and collisions. Of all railway accidents in Canada last year, 13 percent of them occurred at crossings and involved either pedestrians or vehicles being hit by trains. Safety at railway grade crossings The 23,000 grade crossings, including both public and private, located throughout the country pose dangers and hazards to those crossing them. Most train accidents in which someone ...
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#AskHeikkiCoxKikkajoon Travel options for most people usually come down to flying, taking a train or taking to the highway in the family car. Besides differences in cost and time, safety can be an important factor in deciding which mode of transportation to use. Making that decision can be difficult. Planes are in the news all the time, right? Plane crashes, particularly those involving commercial airlines, are given widespread media coverage. For example, the recent crash of a small, private plane on a highway in Southern California in which two people were injured was reported by Canadian media outlets. Contrary to what ...
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#AskHeikkiCoxKikkajoon When the physician you entrust with the health and wellbeing of you and your family causes harm instead, the usual remedy is to seek compensation through the courts in a medical malpractice or negligence case. Medical errors account for up to 43,000 deaths each year across Canada, but only 4,524 lawsuits were filed by patients over a five-year period according to the results of one study, and 3,089 of those claims were dismissed by the courts or abandoned by the victims. Of the remaining cases, only 116 resulted in damages being awarded to the victim with the average amount of the ...
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