Member Stories

I was crossing a street, in the crosswalk, with the light, when a car turning left, facing me….ran into my knee. I had major knee reconstruction surgery a few days later and after 3 months I am not permitted to begin trying to walk again.

I am 79 years old and until that moment my life revolved around a long walk every morning with my dog….and vacations to places where walking was a necessity. That is now in jeopardy.

Thank goodness we “lawyered up” because the lawyer and his team has helped us navigate the circuitous path to get the help I need in a timely fashion. There is no telling where I would be without them!

The delays and roadblocks caused by the two Insurance companies…first of all our personal insurer, Sunlife, and then Intact, our automobile insurer, were beyond belief. Only by reaching out to the ombudsman at each company did we get any action.

Then I attempted to understand why the health care provider rates and  travel cents/ km the insurer used were so low? I found out that many of them had not been updated since 2016 and even earlier than that.

It was obvious quickly that to have the goods and services that our medical professionals prescribed we would have to spend our own money and without that would certainly have an outcome less than possible.

When we talked to our lawyer about this I was saddened to discover that I was right but that the unfairness, or moral problem was much wider and deeper than I ever could have imagined.

We were delighted to find this advocacy group. Together we will have a better chance in this battle.   

gas·light
verb
gerund or present participle: gaslighting
manipulate (someone) using psychological methods into questioning their own sanity or powers of reasoning

A letter to my gaslighting ex

Dear Insurance Company,

I didn’t understand our relationship until I got injured and needed you. Yours was the first phone call after my serious car accident and brain injury. How are you? You asked. You were so nice, you cared I thought. I had no idea how I was, but said ‘OK’ (because I had survived). You understood my OK to mean my injury wasn’t so bad (Trivializing). You offered me $3500 for rehab. But when my injuries required thousands, you turned on me, became skeptical, asked me to prove it and wouldn’t give me more (Withholding). Then you suggested I was faking, and somehow trying to get out of working in a job I treasured (countering). This made me question my entire reality. With a brain injury. Was I crazy?

Then you expected me to withstand multiple Independent Medical Exams slow walked over 6 years with assessors you hired. I was to talk about the most traumatic thing in my life with these strangers, and coherently answer questions about every detail of my life with the 1137 pages of my medical records each had. They were paid well to create a report for you, that according to their professional opinion, I was overstating my injuries (discrediting). My own practitioners were biased you said and might skew the information. You didn’t want the truth. You were creating your own by overriding mine. Your diagnosis: I was malingering, exaggerating, overstating, and had ulterior motives. Maybe I was crazy?

At the same time, I was asked to be polite and kind to every assessor. Never be late. Always respond in a measured, respectful way and answer all their questions. If I didn’t the assessment would be cancelled, rescheduled or I would be deemed uncooperative and definitely not get benefits. As in Stockholm syndrome, I still needed you so I towed the line. This produced shame and crippling stress.

One of your “assessors” showed my entire medical file to a stranger, one purposely tried to upset me prior to an assessment, and many used faulty logic (If you think you are fat and ugly then you are, if you think you have a brain injury then you do). I have so many of these stories. Many used questionable or outdated research to back up their claims. When I went to view some of their cited articles, they were merely opinion pieces written in various journals. The shoddy reports created by your assessors were erroneously filled with names other than my own. Laughable. People focused cameras into my home on a regular basis. I was followed. What I needed was a restraining order. My case somehow became a forensic investigation. I was a criminal now having to defend myself. I was crazy.

I was not allowed to tape, or take notes in any assessment. Any concerns I had was my word against the professional, who had the benefit of a package that included all of my medical records, the findings of all assessment before theirs, copious notes from our session, and a pre-prepared bio including pages about their education, research articles and practice (denial). I had my brain injured memory. Guess who professional colleges (or anyone) believed more when I complained, you or me? It was you.

In abusing this power differential to achieve your goal, you contributed to my trauma and PTSD. My goal became to survive your treatment of me rather than improve my health. I am forever changed because of you. Your mental abuse rounded out the physical injuries I sustained in the accident but my lingering resentment is directed at you not the driver. He didn’t mean to hurt me.

Social control by definition is relying on false research to keep the narrative going about those of us who are vulnerable and injured, so we are unable to rise above. A very lucrative racket that keeps your (and the assessors) pockets fat so why would you change? Paying out rightful disability benefits would avoid the mental anguish you inflict on those of us having to fight you for every penny. But that doesn’t drive profits. You are invested, without conscience, in using every shred of information written about my life against me to create your own reality/narrative and build a case for malingering so you don’t have to pay. The very definition of gaslighting.

So, I realize now that in this sociopathic relationship it was not me. It was you. I was never crazy. Can you sue for emotional abuse?

I want you to know I won’t be communicating with you anymore and will continue my self- affirmations, therapy, and flourish in my healthy relationships. I beg that you will recognize the effects of your behaviour but like a true sociopath, you will leave me and continue to the next victim.

For more visit https://www.instagram.com/braininjurywise/

November 2024 UPDATE

I ended up settling in January 2023 after having a new adjuster assigned to my case. She started denying menial things (like house keeping) despite me being catastrophic. It felt like she was looking for an excuse to send me for a whole new batch of IE’s. I decided to settle for less than I felt was fair because we were approaching 10 years and I didn’t want to go through everything all over again, especially with the stories about LAT delays. I figured having that stress out of my life would at the very least allow me to breathe and hopefully improve a tiny bit more.

The reduced stress was nice, but short lived. I had a CT scan on my neck shortly after as the sharp pain radiating down my right arm (I reported this to medical professionals a few years prior) was getting worse. This led to be being referred to an MRI, which slipped through the cracks. I ended up calling the hospital a year later because I figured I lost the appointment letter. The hospital found the requisition and said they forgot to schedule one, and booked me into a cancellation a few days later. This MRI revealed I had severe cervical spine stenosis. This made the majority of my symptoms post accident make sense.

This revelation opened up a new wound. Why did health professionals simply label me as a chronic pain and unspecified nerve damage case without at the very least imaging my entire spine? Was there a bias because I was in an auto accident, or simply a shortfall of our health system? Would my recovery outlook have been different if this was caught early?

I will never know now as I don’t have a time machine. All I know is the insurance company treating me as an automatic fraudster instead of doing what they were supposed to do, make me whole again, did not help.

I now have this hurdle to go through with our strained health system, but at the very least I don’t have to deal with the additional trauma that auto insurance would put me through.

****

I feel the need to share my story after what has happened this past week in London.

A few years ago I was driving home one night (road conditions were wet) when a girl from oncoming traffic made a sudden left turn directly in front of me which resulted in  a collision (she was deemed 100% at fault). I suffered various injuries (including a brain injury and a lot of nerve damage). Dealing with the car insurance company was a pain in and of itself.  I was initially put in the major injury category (with no income replacement even though I had multiple failed return to work attempts) and ran out of treatment funding in two years. After about a year of no treatment funding, burning through all my savings and going into debt, getting many ‘biased’ IME’s, and my lawyer battling with the insurance company, I got really lucky and got an honest IME report from a well known ‘Insurer biased doctor’ which put me in the Catastrophic Injury Category. 

The bad stuff didn’t end here. By this point I was really suicidal between my injuries not improving and how I was being treated by the insurance company, which the Insurer’s doctor made this abundantly clear in his report. That didn’t stop their lawyer from threatening me in our mediation. He threatened me by saying “you’re a selfish greedy liar and if you don’t settle for pennies on the dollar today I will use the millions upon millions of insurance company dollars to cut you off your treatments again” . I felt powerless and hopeless at that point and later that evening I left a note for my family and had an attempted suicide which landed me in the hospital.

The next major event which ties into the recent terror events in London was at my next mediation with the torte. When we were getting close to a court date after a few years and having their own doctors agree that my injuries were catastrophic, do you know what the insurance company lawyer’s last argument was?

“We are in London, Ont. We are going to get a WASP (White Anglo-Saxon Protestant if you don’t know what it means) jury and we are going to show them this video (filmed by their surveillance of me walking on a treadmill at the gym per my treatment providers treatment plan for my rehab), and they are going to see you are a fraud” alluding to the all ‘immigrants’ are scammers stereotype.

I was dumbfounded at this point since I had never experienced racism first hand being born and raised in this country. I was advised by my lawyer not to go to court because it was very clear they were going to make my race apparent and the odds were we would get a racially biased jury in this city.

I still struggle to this day because our Insurance system and justice system aren’t designed to be fair to vulnerable people. It’s akin to walking into a store, being shadowed by security the entire time you’re there, and then being held indefinitely when you try to leave because you might’ve stolen something and they aren’t going to let you go until they can prove it.

Thanks for reading and I hope things improve for future claimants because this current system is inhumane.

On October 13, 2011, a man dropped a stove off his trailer in the middle active Lane of the QEW. I stopped my car, however my car was rear-ended and ultimately pinned the  man between the front of my  car in his trailer. This gentleman sustained catastrophic injuries.

It has been a year since this accident and I am only now able to comfortably speak about it, the results of the accident and the actions not taken by my insurance company.

I am in the medical rehabilitation field and have been servicing auto insurers clients for the past 15 years. I am well aware of the SABS, FSCO as having worked with insurance companies and handling claims on a daily basis.

Much to my dismay I regret my insurer placed me in the MIG.  I was informed I did not ”merit” treatment and was required to undergo three insurer examinations.  I was finally given approval for clinical treatment in February 2012 for a driving therapy assessment. Further clinical treatment was not approved until March 2012.

Fortunately I was able to arrange and pay for my own therapy in the five-months prior to being approved by my insurer. It is common knowledge that therapy must be initiated as soon as possible after trauma to ensure a better outcome in early recovery.

It is my goal to assist others who have had the misfortune of being wrongfully adjudicated by their insurance companies as well as provide education for persons handling the medical rehabilitation claims prior to submission.

A TRAVESTY OF JUSTICE
FOR INNOCENT VICTIMS
BY WYNNE’S GOVERNMENT
This report has been written by a family member of an innocent victim who was
drastically affected by a serious injury in a motor vehicle accident, and whose family
has now had to take responsibility for the victim and their injuries. Our lives have
been changed forever, and the insurance industry, into which we have been paying
for decades on the premise that we hope we never have to use it, but have it there
in case we ever need it, has been released of its responsibility and has been free
to shirk their obligations, thanks to the Ontario Provincial Liberals under Premier
Kathleen Wynne.
As a family, we were lifelong Liberals, but Wynne’s consistent attack on the
innocent victims of motor vehicle accidents in Ontario, and her consistent
acquiescence and loyalty to Ontario wealthy insurance industry has changed our
minds forever. Any party that does not care about its people should not be running
the province.
It’s time to oust the Liberals from office and replace them with a party who will
support the innocent victims of Ontario motor vehicle accidents.

Read more: http://www.fairassociation.ca/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/JoAnne-Fair-Insurance-story.pdf

Watch the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qxt_YY29ZFw

This is my narrative after a MVA which was not my fault and thank God for his mercies. I encountered ridiculing, discrimination, deviance telephone harassment and sabotaging realistic behaviours; and I have others individuals who can attest to these realistic injustices towards me. Sadly, these unethical bullies are protected by the system that cover up justices and protected these ingrained macro deviance attitudes towards me; maybe because I am a visible immigrant woman? I am a very peaceful, law-abiding, hardworking, educated, honest, trustworthy and a decent individual.

My ordeals began I injured my hand and neck whiplash injuries as a result of this MVA (Feb. 16, 2000) the injuries to my right hand injury is clearly evidence and since interrupts my daily working living. I was instructed by ethical caring doctors to change my career to help me retained positive employment in our system. These caring doctors made sure to properly note the injuries that; I sustained clearly a result form the MVA and not pre-existing that these unethical people go out their way to lie. more on this story….

Those of us who are concussed, know that our strongest supporters, our spouses and in most cases our families, are just as much affected by our condition as we are. Maybe more so because they are still healthy and ‘normal’.

Because of the price we will have to pay, it is hard for the concussed to ‘take a break’, a vacation. But we know that those supporting us may need one.

After two and a half years of concussion I felt I owed it to my spouse and family to take a vacation.

This is my trip

Dave Breznik, May 2017

Up early

Ride is here

Load up

Sit back for drive

It’s dark

Limo is moving

Sitting sideways

Looking straight through the side window

Feeling the motion through my eyes

Lights of cars

Lights of buildings

It’s different sitting sideways

I close my eyes

At the airport

It’s packed

Follow family

In line

Moving slowly

Everyone is moving

Some fast

Some even faster

Some slower

My eyes take this in

Always movement

Different speeds

Everyone is talking

Insist on handling large suitcase

It’s for support

Smile

Everything is OK

I never realized there was this much noise

I was never aware of this much movement

Follow winding line

Keep moving

Everyone moves

Use luggage as an anchor

Let spouse handle ticket counter

Move to security line

Move, move

Everyone moving

Through security

Find Gate

Wait

Two hours

A lot of people waiting

Moving

Talking

Put on Noise Cancelling earphones

Sunglasses

Keep eyes closed

Wait

Line up to board

Find seat

Close eyes

Sleep fitfully for two hours

Try to read

Can’t concentrate

Keep eyes closed

N/C Earphones on

Plane lands

Move through Airport

Keep moving

Keep moving

Everyone moving

Move to baggage area

Watch cases go around

Around

Follow each case as it moves

Dizzy

Almost fall onto baggage track

Mind is foggy

Dizzy

Move away from track

Spouse spots baggage

Head for customs

Move

Move through line

Clear customs and head for bus

Hot sun

Waiting for people

Waiting

Noise

Bright sun

New surroundings

Twenty minute ride

Arrive at hotel

Wait in line

Sit down

Rest

Let family do check in

Room Keys

Close blinds

Lay down

Rest

Walking on the beach

A pre-vacation dream

Now I am here

On the beach

Enjoying the sun

I walk

The beach is on a slope,

The water is level

Waves rolling up the shore

My mind sees the level water,

My feet are stepping on the sloping shore line

Level…. slope

What my brain is seeing through sight – level water

and feeling – sloped beach

is not making sense

I am walking with a brew

of confusion

balance

and uncertainty

Stumbling on the beach

Falling

I leave the waters edge and sit on a beach chair to enjoy the view.

It’s a nice view.

Sandy shore

Water as far out as one can see

The water slowing rolling in

One wave

Followed by another

A small wave

A large wave

Another wave

Nothing is still

Water is moving

People are throwing beach balls

Water is noisy

People are noisy

The waves still coming

My mind can not work out

what I see

what I feel

the noise

the movement

My balance starts to fail

I put on noise cancelling headphones and lay back on the chair

The sun is warm

The palm tree gives shade

The leaves of the tree are gently swaying in the breeze

Swaying in the breeze

Swaying

I can’t stand up for fear of falling

I try and converse

Words are slurred

Words are mixed

I speak out of context

Headache

Loud loud ringing in ears

I take a Tylenol

I close my eyes

After a while I am OK.

I walk back to our room

Close the blinds

Stay there for a few hours

The resort has a good size man made wading river

Three feet deep

A strong current

Rubber tubes to float in

I enjoy the water

I wade in the river

People going by

Tubes spinning

Trying to balance

with the current

with the moving water

with people

with environment

water temperature

hot sun

waving palm trees

loud talk

kids running on the bank

I stumble

Not sure I can keep walking in the river

I find a tube

I get on it

Nice ride

The tube bounces off the sides

rotates with the current

My mind is spinning

I’m losing control

I get back in the water

I hold the tube using it for balance

That helps

A lot of movement from people

from the water

the background noise of the ocean

the resort

the running water

the people

I leave the river

Can hardly walk straight

Mind is in a state of confusion

Dazed

Overwhelmed

Don’t ask me any questions

Don’t walk in front of me

Let me hold the handrail

I return to our room

I close the blinds

I lay down

Family are going on a catamaran

Would I like to go?

Sure I would

I see the boat moving on the water

Forward

Sideways

Bow up

Stern up

Wind in the sails

Looks like fun

I know I can’t do it

I stay on shore and watch

I see the family enjoying the boat

It dances in the water

The shore is still

Water is active

The boat is moving with the waves

A lot of motion

I turn around

I go to the back of the resort

I sit under a palm tree until they return

The Grandkids want me to spend time with them

Try the beach

Limited time

Try the wading river

Time is cut short

Grampa, come on the tube slide

Tube Slide?

We make memories

What memories do I want to give them

I hesitate

They plead

I go

The slide is great

I go again

Half way up I am struck with a dizzy spell

To continue up or go down

Equal distance

People behind me

I go up

This time the slide gets me

My mind drops to about 20% power

Confusion reigns

I’m standing

I’m moving

I’m looking

I’m seeing

I don’t really see anything

No idea how I am moving

There is a confusing haze over my brain

Can hardly get out of the water

Hang on to the tube

Close my eyes

Rest

Take a step towards the edge

Rest

Hold on to the tube

Rest

Rest

Get out of the area

Rest

Back to the room

Dinner time

All inclusive

Many choices

Many many choices

Too many choices

Where to sit

Don’t say anything

Follow family

Buffet ?

Restaurant?

Let them choose

So many choices

Where?

What?

So fun and so noisy

Insert earplugs

Scan menu

What am I seeing

The menu is clear

In my mind it’s a foggy blur

Mind is confused

Muddled

Too many decisions

Brain needs time

Desperate for some space

Need break

Need rest

Fight urge to get up and leave

Concentrate

It’s their vacation too

Don’t ruin it

Order what sounds familiar

Sit back

Focus on one thing

Act like you hear

Like you are involved

Watch everyone around the table

Happy for them

Let them finish and leave

Linger at the table

Rise and hold on to chair back

Hold on

Use railings

Chairs

Walls

Lean on spouse

Back to room

Lay down

Return home

Glad to be here

Mind is still uncertain

Takes a day

Maybe two

Crash

It comes on hard

Mind spinning

Words slurring

Mixed sentence structure

Bumping into things

Can’t concentrate

Sleep is in shambles

Arguing with spouse

Operating on a hair trigger

Sudden bursts of irritation

Easily provoked

Headaches

Increased level of ringing in my ears

A lot of pacing

Can’t make decisions

Confusion

Fogginess

Balance

It all goes downhill

It stays there

Slow recovery

Back on sleeping pills

Takes three weeks

Semblance of normal returns

No staying power

Easily pushed off the edge

Start again

and Again

It’s been two and a half years

Doctors don’t know what to do

I know

This is the way it will be

The rest of my life

I will appear to improve

But it’s only learning how to cope

Things may eventually get better

But they never will

Never

Ever

Be the same

My life has changed

It was taken from me

Even though I look the same

I have changed

My life was taken from me

There is a new me

I am left to watch

the New Me

Start again

I am a spectator

Watching the new me

With new boundaries

that I am trying to understand

With new limitations

that to my detriment

I often exceed

Setting new goals

Setting the bar much lower

than I had before

I am not used to the New Me

I do not know the new me

But I do not like the new me

I hope I will

I’m sure the day will come

Acceptance is hard

It will not come easy

Or all at once

It will take time

It will come in short steps

Many short steps

Many many short steps

During which there will be many crashes

Many failures

Much backsliding

Give thanks for what we have

I am thankful for a supportive spouse

who knows the old me

and is living with the new me

For family

Who knows the old me

And makes allowances for the new me

For the care providers

Who never knew the old me

but understand what I am trying to cope with

Dave Breznik

Concussed since Oct 2014

I currently reside in Barrie, Ontario with my husband/common-law partner and our beautiful daughter .

We’ve been in 5 motor vehicle accidents in the past two years due to others negligence. We have been in physio and complying with TD auto and BelairDirect only to have them send letters to our home stating that we have the inability to live a normal life and have been denied benefits.

My husband was hit and dragged up Bayfield Street as our daughter and I watched from the car and I had the police on the phone.

We live off $480.80 bi weekly because I lost my job due to the multiple collisions. As I have PTSD, high anxiety, and now borderline personality disorder due to mva – we are unable to work.

My common law partner was in school and had to drop out due to his injuries all with doctors but he is entitled to 0.00?

We fall behind on bills every month and don’t get enough for our rent – as stated we get $480 bi weekly for groceries and car insurance payments, gas, and SickKids hospital appointments for our daughter. I don’t know how we even survive.

We now homeschool our daughter who has sustained injuries in 3 of 5 mvas but she’ll tell you 6. She feels every accident Mom and Dad have been in too. We have begun homeschooling after mva number 3 because SCDSB decided to neglect our daughters needs and injuries and she will soon undergo surgery at SickKids.

NEVER GET INSURANCE FROM A BANK LIKE TD OR A COMPANY LIKE BELAIR DIRECT IF YOU HAVE A POLICY WITH THEM YOU’R SCREWED. THEY DON’T CARE IF YOU’RE INJURED OR CAN’T WORK. NO BENEFITS, LOST SCHOOLING AND CAREER, SOON HOMELESS.

WHAT’S NEXT?

WHAT’S LEFT?

Denied ODSP and any other benefits.

We are now $10,000 in debt with limited treatment to once a week and not even at a reputable mva physio office. We have been going to sports clinic because that’s who would take us.

My doctor has told me I am not normal and now his office refuses to see me and my husband though he knows we’re injured. No doctor, no psychological help, no financial help and now at risk of homelessness all because of TD and BelairDirect.

We have been pleading for help. I deleted my GoFundMe because family thought it was an embarrassment. Our local TV station laughed at my husband today on the phone. We have been emailing and calling the mayor’s office for months and I have been emailing Justin Trudeau for almost a year asking for help.

Get a good lawyer that will fight for you because we’re struggling and we have one. There is absolutely nothing in place for victims and we buy a policy?

We’re going to lose everything and we know we can’t work. We can’t do much or much about it.

I was involved in a rear-end collision in 2008 and have yet to settle my file for SAB’s. IME deemed me to have a serious, disabling permanent neck injury which could be seen and felt upon examination. At the same time this IME chose to threaten me verbally. This same IME threatened me in 2009 causing me to tape this 2014 session. The tape is deemed illegal and I have had 2 lawyers now who refuse to listen to it. I think the worst moment of this whole ordeal happened today when I got a statement from a 3^rd lawyer hired to investigate the astronomical charges for services that I was now being sued for. The charges this lawyer disputed after he obtained the lawyer files were for terrible remarks made about myself, made by the lawyer’s representative while trying to negotiate a settlement back in 2010. The comments were unbelievable and just plain nasty and the legal representative told the insurer what she thought the claim was worth and should settle for. As you can imagine someone slamming down an injured auto accident victim isn’t going to ask for much. Can you imagine where your lawyer office themselves gives the insurer the fuel to burn down your claim? We are not always privileged to this information and today I have to wonder who is the worst offender, the IME, the insurer, or perhaps your own lawyer? It’s food for thought.  Nothing worse than having insult added to your injury. I’m unsure today what I will or can do about this behaviour that I am being forced to pay for. An auto accident victim is just that, a victim at any angle you look at it.