The Government of Ontario, in a surprise announcement contained in its budget, included a promise to drastically cut statutory accident benefits. The promised cuts to benefits include: a tightened definition for the test for catastrophic impairment so that it can be “consistent with more up-to-date medical information and knowledge;” a reduction in the limits available […]
The Divisional Court has answered a question that has long plagued lawyers and the claimants who submit an Application for Catastrophic Impairment (OCF-19) claiming they suffer from a catastrophic impairment. If the insurer denies that application is there any time limit surrounding the commencement of dispute proceedings? In The Guarantee Company v. Dong Do, 2015 ONSC 1891 […]
Acting for injured accident victims for more than two decades has taught me a lot. It has certainly taught me a lot about the human condition. By definition, the human condition contains frailties, idiosyncrasies, illnesses, poor judgment, and bad luck. Not one of us comes with a clean and pure slate. This isn’t the first […]
Financial Services Commission of Ontario (“FSCO”) regularly publishes Bulletins which are meant to guide insurers and claimants on the permissible and impermissible practices surrounding claims for accident benefits. In FSCO Bulletin A-14/14, along with outlining regulatory amendments which were to take effect on December 1, 2014, FSCO also sent a strong message about mileage expenses […]
The provision of supervisory care to an auto accident victim by indirect electronic means, such as texting, emails, telephone calls, FaceTime, or Skype, has now been recognized as qualifying as valid care for the purposes of claiming an attendant care benefit, pursuant to the Order of The Honourable Justice Garson, dated December 30, 2014. Justice Garson […]
Some lawyers are expressing relief following the repeal of rules that automatically dismissed actions for delay after two years if they hadn’t made their way onto a trial list… Law Times Article
There are several situations where structured settlements are mandatory by way of legislative or regulatory pronouncements. There are also a number of scenarios where a structured settlement is “mandatory” in the sense that a plaintiff’s lawyer could be found to be negligent if he or she failed to introduce the notion of structured settlements to […]
Bill 15, Fighting Fraud and Reducing Automobile Insurance Rates, 2014 received Royal Assent on November 20, 2014. The entire bill can be found on the Legislative Assembly of Ontario website. This Bill amends four pieces of provincial legislation: The Consumer Protection Act, 2002 The Highway Traffic Act The Insurance Act The Repair and Storage Liens […]
A Superior Court judge has thrown out a Weston, Ont., lawyer’s claim against several other lawyers and a Law Society of Upper Canada bencher on the basis that it is “utterly unmeritorious.”… Read Canadian Lawyer Magazine Legal Feeds Article
Listening to the news about the cresting flood waters in Manitoba, I am reminded about the flood of accident benefit disputes making its way through Financial Services Commission of Ontario (FSCO). There was a time when I would file a FSCO mediation and then diarize the file for one year or even more, waiting for […]