For the second time in three weeks, the Supreme Court of Canada announced it is not hearing an appeal – from a plaintiff suing an insurer for breach of contract – of a ruling significantly reducing punitive damages against a carrier found to have breached its duty of good faith.
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How to prepare for your free consultation with a personal injury lawyer (Ontario)
Personal Injury lawyers across North America widely advertise that they provide “free consultations“. It’s a widely accepted industry standard. I don’t know any reputable personal injury law firms who don’t provide a free consultation, or free consultations thereafter. You may be hard pressed to find another area of the law where face to face consultations are provided for free. A lawyer’s commodity is their time. Lawyers don’t have any dry goods to sell you like bagels, I-Phones or shoes. All lawyers have is their time, and the work product from that time which generally manifests in the form of thoughtful and meticulously prepared letters, pleadings and other documents which clients have requested or need for their respective cases.
Just how many cases are there in Ontario’s courts that are auto insurance related? 96,706
Unknown The Automobile Accident Benefits Service (AABS) as of April 1 2016 (sent request for numbers)
36,750 cases filed for mediation/arbitration in 2015 FSCO Dispute Resolution Service (DRS) (where cases were heard up to March 31, 2016)
59,956 auto insurance related cases in 2014/2015 StatCan numbers on auto insurance related cases on the docket in Ontario Civil Courts (you’ll have to manipulate the data to get the Ontario numbers)
Ontario adjusters will need retraining on injury definitions as part of auto reforms taking effect in June: Walker
For non-catastrophic injuries, the existing benefits scheme allowed for $50,000 in medical and rehabilitation and $36,000 in attendant care; under the new scheme June 1, this has been combined and reduced to $65,000 in total. Optional benefits can be purchased to increase the total to $130,000.
Better Reporting of Medical Errors Could Save Lives
Medical error is the third leading cause of death in the United States, behind heart disease and cancer, according to a recent study published by Drs. Makary and Daniel at Johns Hopkins University. It is estimated at least 251,454 Americans die due to medical errors every year. The study goes on to say that medical error leading to patient death is under-recognized in many other countries, including the UK and Canada. The failure of recognition seems to relate to how these deaths are recorded, or an inability of reporting systems to capture medical errors. For example, a death certificate may state cardiac arrest as a patient’s cause of death, but omit the medical mistake that led to the cardiac arrest.
http://otlablog.com/better-
Hamilton poverty: Group says living wage target must rise.
For 10 years the Hamilton Living Wage Working Group, a coalition of academic, social service and business agencies, has been arguing for a wage based on what it actually costs to live here rather than the political compromise number of the provincial minimum wage.
http://www.thespec.com/news-
Car insurance costs dropping, but so are benefits: Mayers
The Liberals made the auto-insurance promise two years ago when they were hanging on to a shaky minority government. They said they would meet their target by August 2015, giving relief to Ontario drivers, who pay the most in Canada to insure their cars. That deadline came and went nine months ago. As of this month, we’re two-thirds of the way there, at the 10 per cent mark.