In one of the most significant decisions in recent memory, the Workplace Safety and Insurance Appeals Tribunal (the “Tribunal”) has declared that most of the legal restrictions placed on Workplace Safety and Insurance Board traumatic mental stress claims are unconstitutional. The Tribunal essentially held that imposing restrictions on eligible mental conditions which are not imposed on physical injuries violates the equality provisions of section 15 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
Author Archives: Admin2
FSCO introducing guideline changes next week
An increase to Ontario’s minimum wage won’t be the only change coming June 1, as the Financial Services Commission of Ontario is revising the hourly rate guideline for attendant care benefits in the province’s standard auto insurance policy.
http://www.insurancebusiness.ca/news/fsco-introducing-guideline-changes-next-week-177987.aspx
Robots and the nature of risk
Facebook buys Oculus, a manufacturer of VR headsets. Google buys Nest (connected thermostats) and Boston Dynamics (autonomous robots).Amazon and DHL are developing drones for delivery.
Speeding up court can be costly, make things worse
In a world of supposed scarce judicial resources, we now we have the ultimate judicial approval of yet more budget cuts: Hryniak v. Mauldin. Access to justice, which some believe is code language for merely trying to speed things along, is now a financial decision driven by the need for more efficient use of judicial resources.That’s budget speak for suggesting there’s no more money.
Insurance industry’s driver monitoring device is habit-forming
The Insurance Bureau of Canada has some stats guaranteed to scare the hell out of parents everywhere:People in the 16-to-24 age group account for 9 per cent of all drivers but 25 per cent of all road accidents and fatalities. Drivers 16 to 19 have four times the fatalities of those aged 25 to 34 and nine times those aged 45 to 55.
Bureaucratic nightmares
There is a deductible of $30,000 that applies to pain and suffering awards of $100,000 or less.
The Ontario Trial Lawyers Association has since called on candidates and political parties in the ongoing Ontario election campaign to restore the rights of auto accident victims by reducing this deductible. It has also pointed out lawyers are not allowed to tell jurors about the deductible in personal injury jury trials.
http://www.torontosun.com/2014/05/23/bureaucratic-nightmares
We help cyclist hit by uninsured driver: Roseman
A cyclist hit by an uninsured driver tried to get his insurer to cover his $3,000 bike under his car insurance. TD said no until we got involved.
What the Ontario Party Platforms Say About Auto Insurance
The policy platforms for the major parties in the Ontario provincial elections are out. Here is what you can expect from each of the parties with respect to auto insurance if they should win the election.
What Andrea Horwath’s election platform says about the NDP: Walkom
The new platform says the NDP would intervene immediately to cut auto insurance rates by 15 per cent. But it is silent on the one reform shown to reduce premiums permanently — public auto insurance.
Ontario updates attendant care rates payable under auto insurance policies
The Financial Services Commission of Ontario is revising the hourly rate guideline for attendant care benefits in the province’s standard auto insurance policy, raising the amount payable for “basic supervisory functions” to $11 an hour, for accidents that occur on or after June 1 of this year.