The Ontario government recently launched a province-wide television advertising campaign to warn workers about workplace accidents. The intent of the campaign is okay since it reminds young, low wage workers that strange accidents can take place, accidents that can tragically alter their lives.

On the other hand, it is employers who must exercise due caution and provide employees with the knowledge of how to avoid accidents. When employers lose site of their employees rights and health, employees may be injured, not by their own actions but by a fellow employee. People go to work with a sense of innocence and trust. We trust that the workplace is safe and that co-workers understand and appreciate safety. Even at the local hockey rinks, hockey players suffer severe head and limb injuries, many highly publicized, yet the injured parties do not always experience short term losses.

When we hear of workplace accidents, we tend to think of construction or transportation industries, but personal injury can happen many different ways to affect health and happiness. From chemical exposure and smoke inhalation to repetitive motion injuries in office work, to auto accidents, to falls from ladders and icy sidewalks, people are injured every day in a variety of ways. Whether the bottom line issue is industrial and workplace design or improper work procedure, the employee is doing what they’re told and hence is a vulnerable position.

The courts are under tremendous pressure with many cases backlogged from years ago. Many courts across North America are facing these same challenges and trying to cope with the outfall of problems caused by negligent employers. Whether employees suffer personal injury or are fired for insufficient causes, those same employees often turn to social assistance and the government faces a financial burden. This may be the cause for the ad campaigns as penalties for employers who jeopardize employee’s health and their rights to fair employment.

Several years ago my brother was killed by a negligent truck driver. The driver of the semi forgot to lock down his trailer properly. As he left his employer’s yard, the trailers swung out wildly into the other lane colliding with my brother’s truck travelling in the other direction. He was a pivotal member of his own and other families in the city he lived in and his death was a huge loss. At the time, no one thought about the financial implications, since everyone was too distraught to think clearly at all.

Fortunately, a personal injury lawyer was involved quickly to ensure evidence was properly taken and accounted for. Interviews were conducted by police as well and the matter went to trial. The end result was that his wife received compensation. His family did not receive compensation for their loss. Although compensation in some form is right,

The offender did not serve time in jail and only lost his license for a short period. This highlights the importance of having a personal injury lawyer to protect your interests in the event of an accident. The legal climate is very lenient toward employers and companies that.

Only a few years ago, police conducted roadside checks of vehicles travelling on Toronto area highways. They found horrendous conditions in vehicles and transport trucks were always the worst. Some of the trucking companies were habitual offenders. U Haul vehicles for instance were chronically mentioned with problems ranging from worn brakes to broken axles. Trucking companies named continued to be found guilty of these equipment problems years after the roadside checks and even after being warned and fined by the courts.

The roadside checks in the Toronto area aren’t being conducted anymore despite the fact they were finding lots of faulty vehicles. Did the police just get tired and give up? Was it a political nightmare that they couldn’t force the trucking companies to improve? It’s something to think about because every year here in Toronto, people are injured by big transport trucks that had some sort of mechanical failure. If they aren’t bad enough, there are plenty of motorists driving at high speeds and in a reckless manner.

Personal Injury Legislation

In discussions with Toronto Lawyers I discovered that many employers are cavalier about how they treat and view employees. The need to cut costs and see employees in terms of their dollar cost, demeans the employee and sets the stage for a culture of carelessness in the workplace whether that workplace is inside a building or out on the highways. If employers have a positive regard for their employees, then safety and caution will always prevail.

Employment laws in Ontario in recent years have been diminished leaving employees very vulnerable to negligent employers who ignore legal req