Author Archives: Admin2

March 21, 2019

by Admin2
 

Spotlight on Ontario’s Caregivers 

The Change Foundation has worked with family caregivers since 2015 to understand what it is like to be a caregiver. Specifically, we look at the experience caregivers have with the healthcare system. We have launched an annual “Spotlight on Caregivers” survey in partnership with the Patient Advisors Network to better understand the family caregiver in Ontario. 
 
https://www.changefoundation.ca/spotlight-on-caregivers/?utm_source=social-media&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=spotlight-caregivers
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Tax the rich and give us more services, Canadians say in OECD survey

A majority of people in wealthy countries — including Canada — want to tax the rich more and get better services from government, a survey by the OECD released Tuesday suggests. 
 
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Why Mental Health Care Is More than Numbers

A while ago, I was informed that I lived in the mecca of mental health services: Toronto. There are a plethora of private-pay therapists including registered psychologists and registered psychotherapists here, but most with complex needs can’t afford them and must turn to medicare-covered psychiatrists. 
 
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Having a phone within sight is no longer distracted driving by itself, rules B.C. judge

Being charged with distracted driving in British Columbia is getting a little bit harder, after a B.C. Supreme Court judge recently ruled that simply having a cell phone within sight of the driver isn’t enough for a conviction. 
 

March 20, 2019

by Admin2

Is Aviva-Desjardins fraud collaboration the dawning of a new era?

Could an insurance fraud collaboration between the second and third largest insurers in Canada herald the beginning of a broader trend across the industry? 
 
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What Should I Do After a Hit and Run?

Hit and run collisions are very serious. In addition to injury, hit and runs can cause enormous trouble and uncertainly for the victim. Coping with injury and recovery is hard enough without the added difficulties related to an unknown at-fault driver, who has committed a crime by failing to remain at the scene of the accident. 
 
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Virtual reality shows new promise for treating chronic pain, B.C. researchers say

Researchers at the University of British Columbia and Simon Fraser University are using virtual reality as a tool to help treat cancer patients as a supplement to medication and other pain-relieving measures. 
 

March 19, 2019

by Admin2

Should your postal code impact your auto insurance rates? No

Christine moved from Richmond Hill to Binbrook, a small town on the outskirts of Hamilton. I spoke with her and she shared her story about how the move affected her auto insurance. 
 
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Most insurance customers would share more data for better deals – report

Nearly 60% of consumers would be willing to share significant personal information with their bank and insurer in return for lower prices on products and services, according to a new report from Accenture. 
 
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We must stop taking self-regulation for granted

As the regulatory model continues to come under the microscope in many jurisdictions around the world, proactive and practical steps must be taken if the legal profession wants to retain the privileges to which it has become accustomed. 
 
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Ontario’s law society needs to address problems in self-regulation

As the Law Society of Ontario (LSO) prepares to elect a new slate of benchers this spring, the question of its governance structure, and particularly self-regulation of the legal profession, sticks out like a sore thumb. Self-regulation opens the possibility of conflicts of interest: lawyers governing themselves may, in making rules for the profession, make decisions that benefit themselves rather than the general public, who may be unable to protect their own interests. 
 
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The Pitfalls Of Adverse Cost Protection

 
The Ontario Superior Court just recently released its decision in Peter B. Cozzi Professional Corporation v. Szot, 2019 ONSC 1274, which addresses the issue of how such funds are to be distributed following an award of costs against an unsuccessful plaintiff at trial. 
 
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When your Long Term Disability Insurance isn’t Long Enough (Ontario)

Long Term Disability insurance isn’t easy to understand. It’s not a common tort or a common cause of action.It’s not an intentional act which causes harm, or a negligent act by an individual defendant which causes harm. That means it’s not easy for many people to understand.
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Clinical practice guidelines and the overuse of health care services: need for reform

Clinical practice guidelines can enhance the delivery of evidence-based health care. Yet, after reviewing the same evidence, at about the same time and from the same sets of clinical trials, medical panels in different parts of the world have issued varying, and sometimes even conflicting, guidelines. Guidelines issued by medical specialty societies in North America are often at odds with European guidelines and those of independent North American organizations that have few or no vested financial interests in the medical services at stake 
 
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BIST ABI Acceptance Series, Week Two, A Review

This month, the Brain Injury Society Of Toronto is holding a series of four information sessions about acquired brain injury (ABI) acceptance, adjustment, strategies, and resources. I attended the second one on acceptance, presented by Dr. Bojana Budisin, Neuropsychologist and Dr. Liesel-Ann Meusel, Neuropsychologist, of Lad and Associates in Toronto. 
 
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Clinics Aim to Improve Post-ICU Recovery

Ten days after arriving in the emergency department with pneumonia, 58-year-old Connie Bovier woke up in the intensive care unit (ICU). She survived acute respiratory distress syndrome, sepsis, and a host of other complications thanks to advances in critical care that allow more patients to survive life-threatening illness. 
 

March 18, 2019

by Admin2

IBC: We’re fighting ‘prolific fraud’ in Canada

Medical services fraud is a huge problem in Canada. Every year, many Canadians fall victim to fraudulent schemes wherein they’re overcharged for medical services, receive and are billed for unnecessary medical procedures, or are simply unknowingly provided and billed for uncovered medical procedures. 
 
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Fraudsters are preying on drivers with the promise of cheap auto insurance

Fraud artists are luring innocent and unaware drivers with the false promise of inexpensive auto insurance that is actually fraudulent, according to a joint investigation by Desjardins Insurance and Aviva Canada. 
 
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Canadians warned about ‘ghost brokers’ selling fake auto insurance

A Hamilton, Ont., mother says she lost thousands of dollars and the right to drive her car after a “ghost broker” sold her bogus auto insurance. 
 
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How waiving this government fee could reduce auto premiums

If the Ontario government wants to take one small step towards reducing auto insurance premiums for its drivers, it might consider dropping its administrative charges for drivers and their insurers to obtain three-year driving records, one industry professional suggests. 
 
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LETTER: Consumer Advocate’s numbers don’t add up on auto insurance

The insurance industry appreciates the perspective of the Consumer Advocate, as he is likely hearing from Newfoundlanders and Labradorians (NLers) about the high cost of everything, including insurance, these days. But unfortunately, the numbers behind his recommendations just don’t add up. 
 
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“Reasonable And Necessary” Treatment: What Does It Mean?

Your automobile insurer is supposed to pay for all “reasonable and necessary” non-OHIP-covered medical treatment (up to specific monetary limits). 
 
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Healthy legal profession is important to public interests: Rastin

“I think one of the advantages that I bring to the table is that I’m the principal of a small law firm in a small market,” he says. “There should be lawyers from small and solo practices outside of Toronto who can bring insight into the kind of challenges they are facing. I think big downtown problems sometimes take up too much attention.” 
 
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No Tort of Harassment for You!

The common law in Ontario has proven relatively adept at developing new torts, in particular in the area of privacy law, to change and adapt to relatively stagnant or unsatisfactory statutory developments. 
 
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How to recover interest on lawsuit loans

In the words of Kenny Rogers, know when to hold ’em and when to fold ’em. Not every case will be suitable to argue every issue. Knowing your case and picking your facts is essential for the win. 
 
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PROCEEDINGS – Settlements

Determination of whether a settlement for an infant plaintiff should be approved. When the infant plaintiff was 11 years old, she was struck by a vehicle driven by the defendant. Her brother, aged eight, was also struck. The two children were in a marked crosswalk at the time of the collision. Both children were airlifted to Halifax. The older child sustained numerous injuries, including abdominal trauma, a displaced femoral fracture, and a displaced shaft fracture of the tibia 
 

March 15, 2019

by Admin2

FY2019-20BP: Draft 2019-20 Priorities and Budget

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Another IBC propaganda page with insurers shaming their own customers who don’t recover the ‘right’ way

Insurance Crime

  • A person who exaggerates injuries following a collision to collect benefits (also known as personal injury fraud). Examples include:
  • Malingering injuries and extended recuperation time
  • Medical services fraud involving a health care practitioner who exaggerates the severity of a patient’s legitimate injury and increases the amount billed for assessments, treatment and/or assistive devices
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Aiming to fix high auto insurance rates in Ontario

It is no secret that Ontario drivers pay some of the highest automobile insurance rates in the country and many, right here in Milton, pay upwards of $2,000 a month. Ontarians work hard, and should not be paying unnecessarily high insurance premiums simply based on where they live. 
 
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Expensive insurance? How increased crime rates in Windsor could have contributed

Reported crimes went up by 20.6 per cent last year compared to 2017 in Windsor.There were 18,413 reported violations of the Criminal Code in 2018, while in 2017 there were 15,274.
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Car accident injury lawsuit, disability claim dispute tried together

It’s not uncommon for persons injured in a car accident to file multiple claims for compensation, depending on the circumstances of the accident and their injuries. Anyone injured in a car accident, including vehicle passengers and pedestrians, may claim statutory accident benefits under the no-fault accident insurance policy of their driver, another driver involved in the collision, or under their own vehicle insurance 
 
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Appeal of Decision on Social Host Responsibility Allowed – Williams v. RIchard 2018 ONCA 889

W dropped in on his friend JR unexpectedly, and both men spent the next three hours drinking beer in JR’s garage. There was a beer fridge in the garage, and W drank approximately 15 beers. By the time W left, both JR and his mother, ER, with whom he lived, were aware that he was intoxicated. JR was also aware that W intended to drive his babysitter home and to take his children with him when he did so. There was some evidence that JR received an assurance from W that he would not drive the babysitter home 
 
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CAVOUKIAN: Loss of privacy leads to society devoid of freedom

There is a deeper connection between the loss of privacy, property rights and the threat of aggression that affects both innovation and prosperity. 
 
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Auto insurers keep quiet on large rate hikes in N.B. during campaign in N.L.

A campaign by auto insurers in Newfoundland and Labrador highlighting low premiums for clients in New Brunswick uses figures from 2016 — but doesn’t mention that those rates have increased substantially since then. 
 

March 14, 2019

by Admin2

Seven Reasons We Need A Complete Overhaul of Auto Insurance In Ontario

Ontario’s auto insurance system needs a complete overhaul and now is the time. Many successive governments in Ontario have tried to fix the system, at times applying band-aid reforms, some of which only made matters worse. The current Ontario government has heeded the call to action. They just concluded an online public consultation survey on February 15, 2019 and are now working to come up with solutions to the auto insurance problem. 
 
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Over 90 Percent of Drivers Want Fast and Free Access to Their Driver’s Record and Insurance History, Finds InsuranceHotline.com Survey. 

InsuranceHotline.com believes Ontario drivers should have barrier-free access to their driver’s record and insurance history, especially in today’s digital world. 
 
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MANDEL: Young driver who killed cop is back behind the wheel

As an underage and unlicensed driver who snuck out to go joyriding with his parents’ minivan, 15-year-old S.K. (his name protected by a publication ban) took off from a traffic stop and dragged Const. Garrett Styles to his death in June 2011. 
 
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Ontario nowhere near goal of full accessibility by 2025, review finds

The accessibility law that took effect in Ontario 14 years ago and has served as a blueprint for similar legislation in other parts of Canada has fallen well short of its goals and continues to leave disabled residents facing daily, “soul-crushing” barriers, a former lieutenant governor has found. 
 
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Online activists are silencing us, scientists say

LONDON – The emails, tweets and blog posts in the “abuse” folder that Michael Sharpe keeps on his computer continue to pile up. Eight years after he published results of a clinical trial that found some patients with chronic fatigue syndrome can get a little better with the right talking and exercise therapies, the Oxford University professor is subjected to almost daily, often anonymous, intimidation. 
 
 
 

March 13, 2019

by Admin2

Judge refuses to order insurance company to pay victims of negligent lawyer

TORONTO — It is up to the provincial legislature or the law profession’s regulatory body to decide whether victims should receive compensation when harmed by lawyers who end up without insurance coverage, an Ontario court has decided. 
 
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Recurring back pain and auto liability: how this court applied the two-year limit

If an injured cyclist in an auto liability action declares feeling better after treatment, takes a year off work, and then feels debilitating back pain after returning to work three years after the accident, does the two-year statute of limitations apply to the cyclist’s claim for lost income? 
 
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Chatham woman out thousands after plow hits car

Susan Earle’s white 2012 BMW 1 Series sedan was legally parked on King Street when a municipal snow plow struck the car during the early morning hours on Feb. 14. 
 
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TTC Insurance v. MVD Law, 2019 ONSC 7 (CanLII), <http://canlii.ca/t/hxzgj  
 
[1]                  This is a difficult case, in which allegations are made that a respected law firm, MVD Law Professional Corporation, was involved in some manner, in falsifying and submitting documentation in support of personal injury accident insurance claims made against the Toronto Transit Commission and its insurer, TTC Insurance Company Limited (collectively “TTC”). 

[16]              The Affiant deposes that he is aware that accident benefits adjusters at the TTC do have firsthand knowledge of many of the substantive issues in this action including but not limited to:

•        How the forged documents were relied upon;
•        The expenses that were incurred both specifically and generally;
•        The procedures of the department used to reduce fraud;
•        The obligations of the TTCICL to accident benefits claimants;
•        The reliance on invoicing provided by accident benefits claimants;
•        The procedure for the provision of funds to claimants;
•        The varying amount of time required to adjust accident benefits files;
•        How the time to adjust a file is impacted by the submission of extensive invoicing for personal services rendered; and
•        What level of honesty is expected on behalf of representatives of accident benefits claimants?
 
[17]              The Director of Claims further notes that six of the accident benefits adjusters that adjusted these files are still employees of the TTC. He points out that they have extensive experience adjusting accident benefits files for the TTCICL and have firsthand knowledge of elements of the above factors supporting the plaintiffs’ claim. In contrast he asserts that “Mr. Townsend has no firsthand knowledge of the list of relevant points” set out above.

March 12, 2019

by Admin2

Aviva launches subscription product to rebuild trust in ‘unfair’ insurance market

Aviva is launching what it claims is an industry-first subscription product as it looks to rebuild trust in an insurance industry it says is inherently “unfair” and has failed to reward customer loyalty. 
 
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Injured and at fault — now what?

“Bascially, there are three components to a successful claim — causation, liability and damages,” he tells AdvocateDaily.com. “And in order to be compensated, all three don’t all have to line up perfectly. However, there does need to be some connection between them.” 
 
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After The Event Insurance: Who Gets The Proceeds? Peter B. Cozzi Professional Corporation v. Szot, 2019 ONSC 1274

These applications arose as a result of an underlying action brought by Quoc Nguyen (“Nguyen”), through his litigation guardian, against Jerzy Szot (“Szot”) for injuries arising from a motor vehicle accident. Nguyen was represented by Peter Cozzi. At trial, Szot was found liable for the accident, however, the damages awarded did not exceed the statutory deductible, nor did Nguyen’s injuries breach threshold. As a result, Nguyen was ordered to pay Szot $161,790 in costs. 
 
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Montreal will reduce speed limits to make streets safer for pedestrians

The City of Montreal is launching a wide-reaching plan with the goal of eliminating pedestrian and cyclist deaths. 
 

March 11, 2019

by Admin2

Your postal code is a big factor in determining your car insurance rates. Critics say it shouldn’t be

When Pankaj Sallh and his family moved to Brampton from Mississauga last year, he had no idea that changing his postal code would be so costly. 
 
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After the event (ATE) insurance: what you need to know

After the event (ATE) insurance (a type of legal expense insurance) can help lessen the financial blow of a lost case for both the client and lawyer. Generally, the insurer will pay some amount of costs, fees, and/or disbursements should the client’s case lose. It is important to understand the specific policies and contracts involved and how they can affect the litigation. ATE insurance varies widely in policy terms. 
 
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Joint and several liability review announced

Some personal injury lawyers are concerned after Ontario Premier Doug Ford announced recently that the government is considering reviewing joint and several liability. 
 
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Chronic pain is not a minor injury, tribunal says

In a July 27, 2018 reconsideration decision in the case of T.S. v. Aviva General Insurance of Canada, executive chairwoman Linda P. Lamoureux rejected the tribunal’s earlier decision to deny benefits to T.S. that would help treat his chronic pain. 
 
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Judge Errs in Determining That Plaintiff Does Not Meet Threshold for Permanent Injury – Brak v. Walsh, 2008 ONCA 221 (CanLII) Date of Decision: April 1, 2008 Heard Before: Weiler, Moldaver and Juri

The plaintiff suffered a low back injury as a result of a motor vehicle accident. The defendant brought a motion at trial for a finding that the plaintiff did not meet the threshold of the Insurance Act. The trial judge found that the plaintiff did not suffer a permanent impairment, as there was evidence that her pain would diminish with time if she followed an exercise regime, and that the impairment was not serious, as the plaintiff was able to resume almost all of her domestic duties and to hold gainful employment. The motion was granted. The plaintiff appealed. 
 
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In scathing ruling, judge rips insurer for putting ‘bottom line’ over patients’ health

In a scathing decision, a federal judge blasted a subsidiary of the nation’s largest insurance company for focusing on the “bottom line as much or more” than patients’ health, saying the insurer illegally denied treatment to thousands of people. The judge also slammed the company’s medical directors for being “deceptive” under oath. 
 
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Lorraine Explains: Who is that five-star crash rating really protecting?

Everybody looks to crash test ratings to determine safety, but what if they’re not telling the whole story? Three years ago, I wrote a column after interviewing Suzanne Tylko, chief of Crashworthiness Research for Transport Canada. They perform work similar to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) — they smash up cars to test their crashworthiness in collisions, and assign safety ratings based on the results. 
 
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Vancouver hospital using ‘brain bolt’ treatment to heal

March 7, 2019

by Admin2

Aviva announces full-year financial results

‘A mixed bag’ is the thoroughly uninteresting term that might be used to describe Aviva’s financial results for 2018 – but how else to describe a performance that saw its general and health insurance operating profit remain flat at £704 million (around CA$1.24 billion) – the exact same figure reported for full-year 2017. 
 
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Defence seeks costs of action from “you don’t win you don’t pay” lawsuit lenders

Defence seeks costs of action from “you don’t win you don’t pay” lawsuit lenders.

Each day seems to bring new challenges for the personal injury lawyer. If not legislative intervention, it’s defence counsel looking for new ways to advance the interests of their insurer clients at the expense of virtually everyone else.

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Impaired driver Martin Hines sentenced to 9 years in prison for killing 2 people in separate collisions

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Visitor Expenses – Can They Be Claimed?

When a person is injured, family members spring into action and rally around to help out in any way they can.  Visiting a loved one in the hospital or at home following an accident is simply an automatic reaction for most of us.  However, there are often costs associated with visiting our loved ones and, if the loved one was injured in a motor vehicle accident in Ontario, those costs are recoverable from the injured person’s auto insurance company. The Statutory Accident Benefits Schedule — (“SABS”) governs who may claim visitor expenses and the length of time that these claims will be considered. 
 
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Brain Injury Leads to Innumerable Losses

My neurodoc once told me that life involves saying goodbye. Friends come; people go. It’s the way of life; you gotta accept it. Solid advice, given with a kind smile. There was only one thing wrong with it: the number of losses I’ve had since my brain injury outstrip the ones I had before.