NICOLE CORRIERO
Mary Nicole Corriero graduated from Harvard University in 2005 with Cum Laude Honours in the field Sociology. In 2008 she obtained her joint 'JD/LLB' degree from the Universities of Windsor and Detroit Mercy. Nicole was admitted to the Law Society of Ontario in 2009 and the Law Societies of Alberta and British Columbia in 2017. She remains a member in good standing of all Law Societies.
Nicole's entire legal career has been devoted to advocating for injured Plaintiffs, be it in a Personal Injury Lawsuit, a Benefit Tribunal Appeal or a Wrongful Dismissal suit. A passionate advocate for her clients, Nicole has successfully represented her clients at various Administrative Tribunals, the Divisional Court and the Superior Court of Justice.
In 2018, the Ontario Trial Lawyers named Nicole as the recipient of the Martin Wunder Q.C. award for Outstanding New Lawyer.
Nicole has argued a number of precedent-setting Statutory Accident Benefits cases, as well as highly successful Jury trial verdicts. These include:
• On February 22, 2013 Nicole argued the first ever FSCO Decision dealing with the interpretation of the Minor Injury Guidelines in Scarlett and Bel-Air. The case continues to be the leading decision on what constitutes a 'Minor Injury.' She was co-counsel on the Appeal before the Director’s Delegate, and the Application for Judicial Review at the Divisional Court. .
• Nicole also made law in the Preliminary Issue Decision of Surani and Perth, argued on January 27-29, 2014. Here, she successfully argued that an insured's business profits were not deductible from an Income Replacement Benefit calculation. She argued the FSCO Director's Delegate Appeal in this matter, and argued the Application for Judicial Review with the Divisional Court.
• In Grajqevci v. Rustaie et al. 2017 ONSC 2535, Nicole was successful in defeating the Defendant's Formal Offer to Settle of a Dismissal without Costs by securing a Jury verdict of $50,000 combined between Pain and Suffering and Past Loss of Income. In the subsequent Motion following the verdict, she successfully argued that the Ontario Works and ODSP payments were not deductible from the Income Loss Award.
• In Bloem v. Flinders 2017 ONSC 3699, Nicole again defeated a nominal Offer to Settle put forward by the Defendant, and secured a Jury Verdict of $90,000 for Non-Pecuniary General Damages, $45,000 for Past Loss of Income, and $205,000 for loss of competitive advantage. Totaling $340,000, these awards were cumulatively only $71,435 less than the amounts proposed by the Plaintiff to the Jury. She further successfully argued the Threshold Motion in this matter.
• In Amato v. Hickling, an unreported 2018 jury trial, Nicole was successful in having a jury attribute 15% negligence on a Defendant in a highly contested liability dispute. In this case, the Defendant Insurer made an offer of zero prior to trial.
In addition to advocacy in litigation, Nicole has also advocated for the rights of injured athletes through her writing. In 2018, Nicole’s paper “Fire on Ice: Why the state of Tortious Liability in Hockey is Antiquated and How it Ought to Be” was published in the Annual Review of Civil Litigation. Therein, she analyzes jurisprudence surrounding personal injuries stemming from various contact team sports and how they differ from the sport of hockey. Herein, she advocates for change in how injuries in the sport of hockey are treated by the Courts, in an effort to promote the safety of the players in the face of reckless, preventable violent acts.
Nicole serves as the Executive Director for the Players Association of the Premier Hockey Federation – the only professional women’s hockey league in North America. Nicole is also a Part-Time Professor with the Humber College Faculty of Law. She teaches Administrative law and Civil Litigation to Law Clerk students and Paralegal Diploma candidates.
Nicole has been a member of the Ontario Trial Lawyers Association since 2008. Nicole served two terms as Chair of the Women's Trial Lawyers Caucus for OTLA. Nicole is also an active member of the Advocates' Society and serves as part of the Committee for Personal Injury and Insurance Practice Group Leaders. She has provided papers and presented at numerous conferences and webinars, including most recently, a webinar on Remote Examinations.
Nicole has always fostered a well-rounded lifestyle outside of her legal career that includes a commitment to elite athletics as well as service to her community.
At Harvard University, Nicole was a standout hockey player. She was a three-time All America selection and a 2005 ESPN "ESPY" Nominee for Female Collegiate Athlete of the Year. Nicole holds or shares a number of NCAA scoring records that continue to stand today, including both the men's and women's record for goals in a single season, with 59 goals in 36 games. She is the All Time NCAA Leader, men or women, for the record of goals per game average. These records still stand.
In May 2020, Nicole was unanimously selected to be inducted into the Harvard Athletic Departments 'Hall of Fame'
Internationally, Nicole played for Team Canada’s Women's Under 22 team from 2002 until 2005. Nicole has also been a member of the Italian National Ball Hockey Association and has competed at the World Championships in 2015 and 2017 in Switzerland and the Czech Republic respectively. In 2015 she was top-10 in the tournament for scoring and points.
Presently, Nicole is a competitive CrossFit athlete, having competed at the East Regional in 2017 and 2018. In 2019 she ranked top 60 worldwide (out of over 27,000 female athletes) in the 35-39 masters division. In 2021, she ranked 20th worldwide in the preliminary qualifiers out of nearly 30,000 athletes, and competed at the 2021 CrossFit Games in the Masters Women age 35-39 category. She finished 16th at this event.
Nicole volunteers with the Harvard Club of Toronto as an Alumni Admissions Interviewer. She serves as a mentor to High School students applying to Universities and has spoken at conferences and events about the university application process. She volunteers at local hockey camps, doing on-ice skill sessions, as well as off ice presentations promoting the pursuit of higher education in conjunction with sport
BAR ADMISSION
- Called to the Ontario Bar, 2009
- Called to the British Columbia Bar 2017
- Called to the Alberta Bar 2017
EDUCATION
- BA (Honours), Harvard University, Sociology, 2005
- JD/LLB, University of Windsor and Detroit Mercy, Faculty of Law, 2008
PRACTICE FOCUS
- Car Accidents
- Motorcycle Accidents
- Bicycle Accidents
- Pedestrian Accidents
- Slip and Fall Injuries
- Spinal Cord Injuries
- Brain Injuries
- Long Term Disability
- Wrongful Termination
- Product Liability Litigation
- Occupiers Liability Litigation
- Insurance Brokers Professional Negligence
- Sports Injuries and Sports Negligence
PHONE NUMBER AND EXTENSION
416-223-8333 ext. 103
REPRESENTATIVE CASES/DECISIONS
- Scarlett v. Bel-Air, 2015 ONSC 3635
- Surani v. Perth, A12-001274/A12-001275
- Bloem v Flinders Threshold Decision
- Grajqevci v Allstate
PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS AND MEMBERSHIPS
- Ontario Trial Lawyers Association
- Advocates Society
- Medico-Legal Society of Toronto
- Toronto Lawyers Association
- Trial Lawyers Association of British Columbia
ARTICLES
- Bar reacts to first case on minor injury guideline, Law Times Newspaper, May 2013
- Scarlett v. Belair heads for a third round, Law Times Newspaper, January 2015
TEAM MEMBERS
TORT LAW CLERK: Spina Gandhi – 416-223-8333 ext. 175
AB - PARALEGAL: Leena Tran – 416-223-8333 ext. 168