Revisions to Ontario’s Auto Insurance Plan are Problematic
The proposed cahnges to car insurane laws by the Ontario governemnt are raising concerns from lawyers of all stripes. These cahnges are being made by the government in reaction to a currently broken system. They are supposed to increase access to benefits more quickly and to result in lower insurance premiums. Consensus is that the changes will not deliver on either goal. The Law Times News has summarized concerns concisely.
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Province’s auto insurance proposal flawed: TLA president
A proposal to allow drivers to reduce their auto insurance premiums by dropping their coverage to $1 million is problematic, Toronto Lawyers Association (TLA) president Margaret Waddell tells Law Times.
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Who pays for car accident injuries?
When someone gets injured in a car accident, the at-fault driver who caused the collision is usually responsible for providing compensation to the injured victim. Fortunately, drivers carry insurance to protect them if they cause an accident and need to pay compensation to an injured person.
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Supreme Court agrees auto insurance companies can’t retroactively rescind contracts
Canada’s highest court has upheld a lower court’s ruling that auto insurance providers can’t retroactively rescind insurance policies without just cause and at least 15 days notice.
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Intact loses court battle over voiding auto policy for misrepresentation
If an Ontario auto insurer discovers a client made a material misrepresentation or non-disclosure in its application, could the insurer treat the policy as invalid to being with?
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Solving Coverage Issues
As cases continue to become more challenging in traditional personal injury areas such as motor vehicle litigation, it is not surprising that increasing numbers of lawyers are turning their attention to long-term disability law in an attempt to maintain or grow practices. Given Canada’s aging population, it is reasonable to assume that we will see an increasing number of these sorts of cases going forward. It is important for injury lawyers to realize that disability litigation is profoundly different than motor vehicle or slip and fall actions. LTD litigation is primarily a lawsuit about breach of contract, as opposed to the more common tort-based actions that most plaintiffs’ counsel more commonly pursues.
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The Personal Injury Law Firm Funding Gap
Even the most successful personal injury law firms must contend with significant unpredictability in their cash flows. These firms wait years on average to realize their contingency fees on successful files while absorbing the losses on the losers. In the interim, they bear the burden of onerous overhead costs: the salaries and wages, rent, marketing and other expenses that keep the lights on and clients walking through the door. If these fixed investments represented a vehicle, then disbursements would be the fuel required to keep the vehicle in motion.
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Loss of cash settlements in auto insurance claims of concern to Law Times’ readers
Earlier this month, the Federation of Ontario Law Associations and the Toronto Lawyers Association made submissions to the provincial government about proposed changes to auto insurance laws, questioning whether the policies could achieve the goal of reducing premiums. The so-called “Care, Not Cash model” could pose access to justice issues, amid exclusion of cash settlements and cost recovery at the Licence Appeal Tribunal.
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‘The crisis is already here’: Advocates say unpaid caregiving should be an election priority
One of the country’s top geriatricians, who says the plight of unpaid caregivers in Canada is a national crisis, is calling on the federal parties to commit to a national seniors’ strategy that includes support for caregivers as one of its main pillars.