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One of my favourite TV shows is Ted Lasso. It tells the story of an American Football coach, coaching soccer in London England. The team intentionally hires Ted Lasso to fail; so that the club does poorly as a revenge plot against an ex-husband who only wants to see his team win. The hope is that by hiring Ted Lasso, a coach with no soccer experience, that the club will fail miserably. Things take many twists and turns, and it ends up that the everyone who knows Ted Lasso, absolutely loves him and would walk through a wall for him.

In the show there’s a saying: “It’s the Hope that Kills You“. This is a long standing British slogan; particularly heard around soccer whereby expecting a good result causes greater emotional pain vs. having no hope at all which will cause no emotional pain when the result doesn’t happen. It’s better to have no expectations and not get hurt, instead of the other way around.

But that’s no way to live, and it’s no way to succeed. It’s a defeatist attitude, right from the start.

In a personal injury case, our lawyers have found for our client that “It’s the Stress (of the case) that Kills You“). Personal injury litigation weighs heavily on the heads of injured accident victims. For most clients, it’s the FIRST TIME they’ve needed to hire a litigation lawyer and sue another party. Having to sue another party is uncommon for most individuals, who can go through their entire lives without needing a litigation lawyer. Once the case settles, or a Judgment has been rendered, it’s like a weight has been lifted off their chests. The stress and anxiety of the litigation which was ever looming like a dark cloud overhead is now gone and they can live again. They are at at peace, even if the result isn’t everything which they expected.

It’s rare that you meet someone who really enjoys conflict. When I mean conflict, I don’t mean physical violence. I’m referring to shouting, screaming, arguing and deliberate attempts to make another person’s life miserable, or as difficult as possible (again through legal and non violent means). Decent people want to live their lives in peace, happiness and harmony. Sure, there are times where there will be differing views and opinions. But, living in a constant state of conflict isn’t easy. Living through conflict, and having to deal with it isn’t easy either. In fact, it can be very emotionally taxing.

Lawyers get in to the practice of law to problem solve, and to deal with conflict. Lawyers are in a constant state of conflict with opposing counsel. If there weren’t a conflict, there wouldn’t be any need for the lawyers to begin with.

Think of a personal injury case. In a world without conflict, a person who gets seriously injured in an accident would automatically be awarded with all of the benefits and compensation which they so desire.

For a person who applies for long term disability; their benefits would get approved no questions asked and no medical evidence required. The money would rain down from the sky.

But this isn’t how the world works, and this certainly isn’t how modern personal injury cases work in Ontario.

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I speak with a lot of people everyday about their personal injury cases. Some people are clients. Some people are looking to become clients. We don’t take on each case that comes in our door. There are a variety of reasons for this.

What makes one case good, but another case bad?

There are a lot of answer to this question. But, a common thread often comes down to timing.

Personal injury lawyers are wonderful problem solvers. They have to use their smarts, creativity, and experience to find solutions to complex problems. Each case is a complex problem. If it weren’t a complex problem, money would rain down from the sky after each and every accident; and there would be no need for seeking a personal injury lawyer because every injured accident victim would automatically recover maximum compensation with little to no effort. But this isn’t how the real world works. Insurers like their money; and they aren’t in the business of paying out big bucks on claims for no reason at all. Even if there is a reason to pay out of the claim, insurers are tight with their pocket books. You don’t make money by paying out on each and every claim that crosses your desk.

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Accidents which take place in Ontario, ought to be commenced in Ontario.

But, it’s not always the case that the Plaintiff resides in Ontario. The Plaintiff can be a visitor to Ontario; or, could have moved from Ontario out of province, or outside of Canada.

When this happens, a Defendant wants some peace of mind knowing that if they win the case at trial, and are then awarded costs; that their costs award can be satisfied. When a Plaintiff lives in Ontario, the Defendant isn’t as concerned with this sort of thing. But, when a Plaintiff resides outside of Ontario, a Defendant has some concerns (rightly or wrongly).

There is a mechanism contained under the Rules of Civil Procedure which call for a Plaintiff to pay money into Court in order to provide security for a potential cost award ordered against them. This is called “Security For Costs” and it’s provided for under Rule 56 of Ontario’s Rules of Civil Procedure. The Defendant will seek permission from the Court in the form of a motion to ask for money to be paid into Court by the Plaintiff to form part of that security. The Judge makes a determination of how much money needs to get paid if an Order for Security for Costs is warranted.

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When my children were you, I would read them all sorts of bedtimes stories, as an parent would. One of my children’s favourites stories was “There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly”.

If you’re not familiar with “There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly”; it’s what you would call a cumulative tale.

A cumulative tale is a story where each new event or character is introduced alongside a repetition of all the previous ones in an expanding sequence. Cumulative tales have a rhythmic patterned build up which drives the narrative. They rely more on patterns and less so on plots.

There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly goes a little something like this:

There was an old lady who swallowed a cow;
I don’t know how she swallowed a cow!
She swallowed the cow to catch the goat,
She swallowed the goat to catch the dog,
She swallowed the dog to catch the cat,
She swallowed the cat to catch the bird,
She swallowed the bird to catch the spider
That wriggled and jiggled and tickled inside her,
She swallowed the spider to catch the fly;
I don’t know why she swallowed a fly – perhaps she’ll die!

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I’m a big Toronto Raptors Fan.

I’m also a personal injury lawyer.

I jump at the chance to marry these two topics for the Toronto Injury Lawyer Blog.

Recently, Kawhi Leonard was fined $700,000 by the NBA for accepting no-show endorsement deals which were brokered by the LA Clippers. It was a slap on the wrist when you look at the amount of money he received in these off court no show endorsements vs. the $700,000 he was fined. He made a lot of money from these deals.

The investigation into his wrongdoing spanned numbers of months and cost millions of dollars in legal fees.

Throughout the investigation, Mr. Leonard denied any wrongdoing, stating:

“It’s easy for me, I don’t read headlines or do conspiracy theories or anything like that. It’s about the season and what we’ve got ahead of us right now. Tomorrow we’ll start camp, and see what we got.”

When asked about the investigation, Mr. Leonard stated: “The NBA’s gonna do their job. None of us did no wrongdoing. And, yeah, that’s it… We invite the investigations. It’s not gonna be a distraction for me or the rest of the team.”

When asked about Aspiration, the company which he received money and stock options from, he stated “It was fraud, as everybody knows. If you want any more questions or details about that company you need to ask the owner or whoever else is involved in the fraud that went on.”

Mr. Leonard’s statements were on the record, which, in the Court of public opinion and in the Court of Public Relations; is as good as a statement given under oath.

Here’s the problem.

Mr. Leonard said one thing on the record; namely that he did nothing wrong and that he was not involved in anything out of the ordinary. But the NBA found it was the exact opposite; and then Mr. Leonard accepted the outcome of the NBA’s investigation.

The contradictory statements speak to Mr. Leonard’s reliability and credibility. He is not a reliable story teller; nor is he a credible witness/party. His hands are not clean; despite the fact that he went on record to the media that he had done nothing wrong.

There is something very wrong with this picture; and it bears consequences.

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Personal injury cases have a rhythm. And believe it or not, that rhythm is similar, but not the same, as our four weather seasons.

Summertime: People are away on vacation. For those who are working, those work days don’t seem to be as long as they are in the fall, winter, or spring. People are away from their desks enjoying the sunshine. They’re out on the golf course, enjoying a beverage on a patio, or up at the cottage. Reaching someone in person can be challenging because they tend to be away from their desks, and less responsive to emails.

That all changes come September and back to school. Back to school for the kids means two things:

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Earlier this week, parts of south western Ontario experienced a rather large storm. The storm unleashed around 20 to over 130mm of torrential rain which triggered widespread flash flooding. Destructive wind gusts topped 100km/hr along sized golf ball sized hail; which knocked out power for more than 155,000 customers. Branches and entire trees came crumbling down. Basements flooded. Fences, sheds and other structures were seriously damaged. Windows shattered causing extensive water damage. Skylights got damaged. It wasn’t pretty and the clean up job continues.

What do you do when you’ve been impacted by this storm, or another storm or property damage claim like it?

First and foremost, we’re sorry. It’s really hard dealing with property damage claims. But, look at the bright side. Hopefully, nobody was hurt and the property which was damaged can be repaired. We know that the repair job is a major headache, but things could be worse. The repairs (or replacement), will get done, one way or another. It just takes time.

Here are a few tips on what to do after you’ve experienced property damage:

  1. Take photos/videos of the source of the damage, and of the damage/destruction right away. This is very important which is why it’s #1 on this list. The insurance company will want to see this so that they authenticate your claim. The insurance company wants to know that you aren’t trying to pull a fast one on them. They also want to know that the damages are covered under your policy of insurance. Some policies will cover claims for rain damage, but NOT for sewer overflow. This means that if the water in your house is coming from a broken window or skylight, then it will be covered under the policy. But, if the water in your house is coming from underground (like a sewer or sump pump that’s been backlogged), then it might not be covered under your policy unless a specific rider has been purchased for this sort of coverage. The photos and video of the source of the damage will help the insurer understand where the problem is coming from, and whether or not it will be covered under the policy.
  2. Don’t wait to report your claim to the insurance company. Do this right away. Waiting will hurt your claim. You are expected to do so almost immediately. If you wait to report your claim, there had better be a good reason for this. There isn’t really any excuse for waiting to report claims anymore given that most insurers offer online reporting, or they have an app on your phone which can instantaneously make a claim. The app will be connected to your phone, and you can easily upload the photos/video of the damage which you shot in step #1 above. This makes things very easy. It’s also another example of how people who don’t have a smartphone; or who are tech illiterate will have greater problems functioning in 2026; than they would have in 1986. If you aren’t keeping up with the tech, then the world will leave you behind. But that’s a story for another day.
  3. Get your own quote, from your own contractor(s) as soon as possible. Don’t rely on the insurance company and their contractor(s) for a quote. The insurance company will send over a remediation team and an adjuster to inspect the damage. But, you shouldn’t wait to get a quote from the insurance company’s team of experts. Do you own due diligence and get some quotes from people who aren’t associated with the insurance company. If you have a person who your trust, reach out to them. If you have a preferred contractor who you have worked with before, or who has a good reputation in your community, don’t hesitate to reach out to them. The reason for this is at some point, the work will need to get done. If the claim is approved, the insurance company will offer you one of three options:

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People are interested in what makes people great at the things they do. It makes no difference if it’s a baseball player, a bread maker, a chef, and artist, or even a personal injury lawyer. It’s why we love biographies, biopics, and documentaries about what it takes to be “great“. In my line of work, people ask me what’s the secret of being a great personal injury lawyer. I’ve had over 2 decades to reflect on this. What does it take to be a great personal injury lawyer. Here are some of my insights of over 20 years in the industry:

  1. Being great isn’t all about the law. It’s about all of the other things outside of the law. In 2026, AI can teach you a lot there is to know about the law; which is crazy when you think about it long and hard. But, people don’t want a robot as their personal injury lawyer. They’re hiring you, and putting their trust in you in some of their darkest times. While they will be impressed with your legal knowledge and experience; what really sets a great lawyer apart is his/her kindness, compassion, decency and above all else; authenticity. You can’t teach these qualities.
  2. But being great is also about the law! There is no substitute for knowing your stuff. It’s a powerful legal weapon which clients, opposing lawyers and insurers will know and will respect. Knowing the law isn’t easy. It’s constantly changing, and very nuanced. The practice of the law is about splitting hairs, and it’s about those fine details which are time consuming to breakdown and analyze. There are no shortcuts, even with AI.Brian-Goldfinger-03-200x300
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The biggest story in the NBA this summer hasn’t had anything to do with the really BIG Superstars like LeBron James, Steph Curry, Nichola Jokic, or Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.

The biggest story in the NBA might be the sale of the Lakers for a whopping $12.5 Billion Dollars under the pressure from a Federal Investigation into the former Lakers owner regarding the financing of his team along with other ventures.

But for me, the biggest story of the NBA season has to do with the alleged salary cap circumvention of the Clippers and their superstar player, Kawhi Leonard; and how on earth the Toronto Raptors got involved into this hot mess.

The Toronto Raptors could have watched this all play out on the sidelines.

But they didn’t.

Instead, they walked in eyes wide open into the biggest pre-litigation sports mess I’ve seen unfold in the NBA in years. Instead of having no skin the game; the Toronto Raptors never wanting to feel left out; joined the party and signed up for a ride nobody should want. The Raptors are actors in the real time events unfolding in this investigation, in the hopes of landing Kawhi Leonard without any encumbrances on his freedom to play.

Unfortunately, “real time” when it comes to a investigation conducted by a law firm plays out very slowly.

Personal injury lawyers are accustomed to these slow turnarounds. People who work outside of the legal field all seem to think that lawyers and the law works quickly. This could not be further from the truth. The wheels of justice turn slowly. Personal injury cases take years to settle, or to be tried in Court.

Here are some noted similarities I’ve seen in the process of the Kawhi Leonard/Clippers salary cap investigation and personal injury cases in Ontario.

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My thoughts about dog bite cases, oddly enough, often begin with my thoughts about car accident cases. There are good reasons for this.

In a car accident case, there are mechanisms which help a Plaintiff identify the wrongdoer; along with mechanisms for having a neutral third party (the police), investigate what happened at the scene of the accident.

After a car accident, the parties are supposed to exchange insurance information, and other personal information to help identify themselves after the accident happened. This is codified under the law. Section 200 of the Highway Traffic Act states:

200 (1) Where an accident occurs on a highway, every person in charge of a vehicle or street car that is directly or indirectly involved in the accident shall,

(a)  remain at or immediately return to the scene of the accident;

(b)  render all possible assistance; and

(c)  upon request, give in writing to anyone sustaining loss or injury or to any police officer or to any witness his or her name, address, driver’s licence number and jurisdiction of issuance, motor vehicle liability insurance policy insurer and policy number, name and address of the registered owner of the vehicle and the vehicle permit number. 

Section 320.16(1) of the Criminal Code of Canada states:

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