2. Top 10 In Canada For A Reason
Canadian Lawyer Magazine, through peer and
editorial review, selected our York Region law firm,
BolandHowe, as one of the top ten personal injury
law firms in Canada. We think we know why.
Our philosophy is simple: properly representing the
injured is all about a lawyer’s reputation for regularly
and successfully taking serious and complicated cases
to trial. It’s all about a lawyer’s trial report card. Trial
experience is what insurers and their lawyers pay
attention to. That’s what settles cases fairly. That’s
what protects the injured when settlements break
down. A lawyer for the injured needs the fortitude to
say “no” to unreasonable settlement offers, to protect
your future.
We also believe that trial work has a broader societal
benefit. Our mission is to improve the lives, laws
and safety of Ontarians through court decisions.
With our clients’ confidence, our trial work has
been instrumental in redesigning dangerous hills,
improving roadway maintenance regulations,
enhancing safety standards in the mining
industry, augmenting landlord accountability, and
compensating Good Samaritans.
If you need our help, we would like to
meet with you. Our work is based on trust.
We think that starts face-to-face.
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4. 2 3
Timothy P. Boland
Tim Boland is a trial lawyer for the seriously injured. His philosophy
is simple: fair settlements are only achieved when a lawyer prepares
thoroughly and has a reputation for taking serious and challenging
cases to trial. Tim lives by this philosophy and it is the guiding
principle for BolandHowe.
Tim has more than 30 years of trial experience and numerous
precedent-setting verdicts on behalf of individuals who have
suffered traumatic brain injuries, spinal cord trauma, serious
orthopedic injuries and who have lost loved ones. Those of which
he is most proud are those that have changed the law for the better.
The Ontario Trial Lawyers Association annually presents the Tim
Boland Award for Best Overall Advocate at the annual OTLA Cup.
In 2008, Tim received the Bruce T. Hillyer Award from OTLA for
outstanding trial advocacy. In 2014, Tim was honoured at OTLA’s
Annual President’s Dinner by celebrating his achievements and
recognizing him as a leader of the plaintiff personal injury bar.
Tim has frequently been invited to share his trial experience with
other personal injury lawyers. He has co-chaired, presented and
demonstrated at both Ontario Trial Lawyers Association conferences
dedicated to jury trials and has lectured at many continuing legal
education seminars. Tim has published extensively in the area of
personal injury trial advocacy and is a contributing author to the
Guide to Personal Injury Practice in Motor Vehicle Cases. He has
been certified by the Law Society of Upper Canada as a Specialist
in Civil Litigation.
Tim has served on the Board of Directors of the Ontario Trial Lawyers
Association for a number of years where he has chaired a number
of important committees including Access to Justice. He is involved
in a number of community activities including the Lids on Kids
annual program sponsored by his firm to provide bicycle helmets
for children from disadvantaged backgrounds.
5. 4 5
Darcy W. Romaine
Darcy Romaine has had the privilege and responsibility of
representing the injured for over 12 years since his call to the bar in
2003 following graduation from Osgoode Hall Law School.
He has successfully represented clients at the Ontario Court of
Appeal, in jury and judge alone trials in the Superior Court, the
Provincial Court, and at ODSP and CPP tribunal hearings. His appeal
work has clarified the law of landlords’ responsibility for maintaining
their property. His trial work has moved the Province of Ontario to
amend its municipal winter road maintenance regulations to improve
highway inspection, and in another case, broadened the ability of
Good Samaritans to recover compensation for their benevolent care
of the injured, even when they are not claimants in an action.
In 2012, Darcy received from the Ontario Trial Lawyer’s Association
the Outstanding Young Lawyer Award, given to an OTLA member
in recognition of exceptional commitment “To fearlessly champion
through the pursuit of the highest standards of advocacy the
cause of those who have suffered injury or injustice”. In 2010,
he was elected to OTLA’s Board of Directors, in which he serves
on committees ranging from distributing bike helmets for kids to
creating a standard of excellence for all personal injury lawyers.
Darcy has been invited numerous times to present at various
continued legal education seminars hosted by OTLA, the Advocate’s
Society, Osgoode Hall Law School, The Law Society of Upper
Canada, and The Canadian Institute. He is also a frequent author of
journal articles in OTLA’s publication, The Litigator.
Darcy brings to BolandHowe a sincere concern for his clients and
a diverse knowledge base and passion for his work. By education,
he has an undergraduate degree from the University of Ottawa in
Philosophy, which focused on predicate logic and classical argument.
He also has a Bachelor’s degree in English literature. Darcy also
trained as a painter for 5 years at the Academy of Art Canada in
classical poetic realism, in which anatomy was a core component.
All of these tools he brings to bare in presenting a case.
6. 6 7
Your Future Is Worth Fighting For.
Choose Wisely
The Right Questions
Timothy
Boland
Darcy
Romaine
Has Canadian Lawyer Magazine
recognized your firm as one of
the top 10 personal injury firms in
Canada?
Have you, personally, taken cases like
mine to trial, and won?
Do you, personally, have numerous
precedent setting trial decisions?
Do you, personally, regularly take
cases to trial (at least once per year)?
Can you show me written decisions?
Do you teach other lawyers how to
conduct trials?
Has the Law Society certified you as
a Specialist in Civil Litigation?
Have you received awards for your
trial work from the Ontario Trial
Lawyer’s Association?
Is your contingency fee agreement
fair and reasonable?
Will you pay for experts to discover
the truth?
Trial Report Card:
The Measure of a Lawyer
Insurer’s know which lawyers go to trial for their clients and which
ones don’t. Shouldn’t you?
Trial decisions, not settlements, are the only objective measure of
the skill and commitment of a lawyer. We say “lawyer” and not
“law firm” because you go to trial with your lawyer, not the firm. At
Boland Howe, we guarantee that two experienced trial lawyers will
represent you at trial. We have extensive jury and judge-alone trial
experience. Judge-alone trials are published and verifiable. What
follows are summaries of some of ours.
We have won trials for those who have suffered:
Traumatic brain injury
Spinal cord injury
Spinal column injury (cervical,
thoracic and lumbar)
Fatal injuries
Burn injury
Orthopedic injury
Joint injury
Chronic pain
Psychiatric injury
Scarring / disfigurement
We have won trials in relation to the following types of negligence:
Pedestrian
Cyclist
Motorcyclist
Motorist
Police liability
Road design
Winter road maintenance
Falls
Animal attacks
7. 8 9
Roycroft v. Kyte
1999 OJ NO 296 (Sup Ct.)
Quadriplegia, Cervical Fracture,
Fatality and Dangerous Road Design
Trial Lawyers: Tim Boland & Russ Howe
We successfully represented a quadriplegic young man and a
fatally injured young man when their vehicle left the road after
cresting a hill. The municipality was found negligent for the design
and signage of the hill. The case broadened the admissibility of
subsequent repair evidence and established that negligent driving
was not a bar to recovery against a municipality in a road design
case. Immediately following the trial, the hill was flattened and
made safer for all future motorists.
8. 10 11
Pelletier v. Ontario Provincial Police
2013 ONSC 6898 (Sup Ct)
Catastrophic Brain Injury and
Cyclist Collision
Trial Lawyers: Darcy Romaine & Tim Boland
We took a case to trial that pitted a brain injured young man who
lived in near-poverty, with a troubled past, against an O.P.P. officer
and his 5 colleagues who supported his version of events. In the
end, we succeeded in proving that the accident happened as Mr.
Pelletier described, and recovered enough compensation for him
that he will be able to live the rest of his days with 24 hours of
assistance, guidance and care. The case also broadened the recovery
rights of Good Samaritans.
9. 12 13
Thornhill v. Shadid
2008 CanLii 3404 (ONSC)
Municipal Liability and
Orthopaedic Injuries
Trial Lawyers: Tim Boland and Darcy Romaine
A nurse, Nadine, was hit head-on by a motorist who lost control on
snow-covered roads on Christmas Day. The Regional Municipality of
York had failed to plough or salt the roads, but relied on regulations
that set very low patrolling and ploughing standards. This was the
first trial in Ontario to find liability against a municipality under
the regulation and to criticize the regulation. Following Thornhill,
Ontario made changes to the regulation, mandating improved
inspection practices in winter conditions. The case also represents
the highest pain and suffering award given for an orthopedic
knee injury in Canada.
10. 14 15
Silveira v. Her Majesty the Queen
Silveira v. Regional Municipality of York 2014 ONSC 65 (CanLii)
Silveira v. Her Majesty the Queen 2012 ONSC 3328 (CanLii) Div. Ct.
Silveira v. Regional Municipality of York 2011 ONSC 4272 (CanLii)
Silveira v. Regional Municipality of York 2011 ONSC 4991 (CanLii)
Silveira v. Regional Municipality of York 2011 ONSC 6122 (CanLii)
Silveira v. Regional Municipality of York 2011 ONSC 4991 (CanLii)
Silveira v. Regional Municipality of York 2010 ONSC 969 (CanLii)
Challenging the Provincial Government
Trial Lawyers: Tim Boland and Darcy Romaine
Following the Thornhill case we launched an application against
the Province of Ontario and the Regional Municipality of York.
Our mission was to have the regulation governing winter road
maintenance declared invalid because it set dangerously low
standards for municipal ploughs and sanders that put the motoring
public at risk. After numerous motions and appeals, the Province of
Ontario re-drafted the current version of the regulations, again, and
the Regional Municipality of York abandoned the regulation as a
defence in the action in Ms. Silveira’s case.
11. 16 17
Taylor v. Allard
2009 OJ NO 1062 (Sup Ct.)
2010 ONCA 596 (ON CA)
Burn Injury and Landlord Responsibility
Trial Lawyer: Darcy Romaine
We took this case to trial, and then to the Court of Appeal. Mr.
Taylor had been burned in the back yard of a rental property when
he fell into a 10’ wide and 3’ deep bonfire pit. The Court of Appeal
reversed the trial decision and found liability against the landlord,
who had attempted to contract-out of his obligations to provide
a safe property, though he had built the deep and wide fire trap
himself. The Court of Appeal established that a landlord could not
contract out of his/her duty to keep the property safe. This case also
established the highest published award for a burn victim, to date.
12. 18 19
Jones v. Jocko
(21 November 2012) Newmarket, CV-08-088760-00 (O.N. Sup. Ct.).
Dog Bite to Child
Trial Lawyer: Darcy Romaine
We took a case to trial involving a child who was viciously attacked
by a dog and bitten about the face and neck. Sadly, the child was
psychologically scarred from the event as well. The Court awarded
the child $920,000, of which $140,000 was in recognition of
the young boy’s pain and suffering. The bulk thereafter was in
recognition of his changed employment prospects and future care
needs. This is the highest award of pain and suffering yet recognized
by a Superior Court Judge for a dog bite victim.
13. 20 21
Gorman v Falardeau
[2002] O.J. No. 5492 (ON SC)
[2003] O.J. No. 3317 (ON SC)
[2004] O.J. No. 1698 (ON SC)
[2005] O.J. No. 2213 (ON CA)
The Lawyers Other Lawyers Turn To
Trial Lawyer: Tim Boland
In Gorman v Falardeau, Bill was involved in 3 separate collisions. He
was one of the 7% of accident victims whose soft-tissue injuries do
not resolve and become permanent and disabling. The insurance
companies thought otherwise. The trial was complex and pitted Bill
against 3 defence lawyers.
Bill was fortunate enough to have a brother, John Gorman Q.C.,
who was himself a personal injury lawyer of 30 years, and former
senior crown prosecutor. John referred his brother to Tim Boland.
Go to Bolandhowe.com to hear John tell you why he hired Tim,
and what factors are important for you to consider when hiring a
personal injury lawyer.
Following a lengthy trial in North Bay, the court recognized Bill’s
injuries, and awarded him what was then the highest award for
chronic pain in the country. The defendants appealed. The Ontario
Court of Appeal upheld the trial decision.
14. 22 23
Cockburn v. Holmes
(28 April 2014) Newmarket, CV-08-091101-00, (ON SC)
Motorcycle Collisions
Trial Lawyers: Tim Boland and Darcy Romaine
Hit the brake – Swerve left – Dump the bike! These were the split
second decisions Ron made as a van pulled out from a stop sign,
turned right, then left across Ron’s path, at an off-set intersection.
Ron went into the side of the van and was dragged 50' across the
road. The driver was charged but was acquitted at traffic court.
After the traffic court decision, Ron came to us. He had serious
orthopaedic injuries that ended his career as a produce manager.
Following a month long trial, the driver of the van was found 90%
at fault for the collision. Ron recovered enough compensation to
replace the income he lost by having to retire early, and fund his
future care needs.
15. 24 25
Jones v. Ross
(24 October 1991) Newmarket 4073/87 (ON SC)
Snowmobile Accident and
Lumbar Spinal Fracture
Trial Lawyer: Tim Boland
We represented a snowmobile driver, Mr. Jones, who was driving
along a remote roadside when he was struck by an on-coming
motorist who had crested a hill. The collision sent Mr. Jones into
a tree, upon which he fractured his lumbar spine, requiring fusion
surgery. Mr. Jones was charged. We represented him at highway
traffic court where he was acquitted, and we represented him again
in his civil action, where the other driver was found 75% at fault
for travelling at an excessive rate of speed, and not keeping to the
right side of the road.
16. 26 27
Helping Our Colleagues Help Others
In keeping with our philosophy, we are frequent speakers, writers
and demonstrators at numerous continuing legal education events,
especially those dedicated to jury trial advocacy. We want to help
other lawyers develop the confidence to take cases to trial and
represent their clients well in the courtroom. The Ontario Trial
Lawyer’s Association (OTLA) has run two conferences dedicated
to jury trial advocacy: we chaired, presented and demonstrated at
both. Tim and Darcy are both published authors in the Guide to
Personal Injury Practice in Motor Vehicle Cases, and invited speakers
at the associated Law Society of Upper Canada conferences. Tim
and Darcy both served on OTLA’s board of directors.
Preventing Injuries Before They Happen
As trial lawyers we witness the consequences that traumatic brain
injury has on children and their families. With our mission of
improving the safety of Ontarians, we participate in the Ontario Trial
Lawyers Association’s Helmets on Kids program. Every year, since
2011, we have gathered experts in engineering and neuroscience
and headed off to elementary schools to educate kids on the
importance of wearing helmets. We fund and distribute free helmets
to every child in the assembly with the hopes that our efforts will
keep kids safe.
BolandHowe, AtYour Service
Results are critical but how you are treated along
the way matters too. Our first priority is helping you
transition from hospital to home. With our accident
benefit specialists, we set to work getting ramps built,
and your living quarters made accessible. We help
you find and fund a rehabilitation team of medical
experts to help you through your recovery. And, we
apply for and fight for benefits to give you the income
you need while you’re getting better. Anxious about
driving to the appointments we arrange for you?
We have our own retired fire captain to drive you.
Something unexpected crops up, just call and we’ll
work through it.
While your file progresses we work as a team.
You will have the benefit of two lawyers, one
tort clerk and one benefit clerk and a vocational
rehabilitation counsellor.
17. Trial Lawyers for the Injured
If you need our help, we would like to meet with you.
Our work is based on trust.
We think that starts face-to-face.
Call Tim or Darcy today at 905-841-5717
Serving the greater Toronto area
www.bolandhowe.com
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