College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario Consultation. Submit your comments by February 9, 2020
The College is currently reviewing its Third Party Reports and Medical Expert: Reports and Testimony policies. These policies set out expectations for physicians who: complete or prepare third party reports, conduct independent medical examinations, and provide medical expert reports and testimony. The reports, examinations and testimony are for purposes other than the provision of health care (e.g. for insurance benefits, or in respect of workplace issues, attendance in educational programs, legal proceedings, or other third party process). We are inviting feedback at this preliminary stage to help inform our review of the policies.
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Unintentional Auto Insurance Fraud – How It Happens, How To Prevent It
Buying car insurance is not fun, nor is it remotely rewarding in any way. Most of us require some gentle arm twisting from the Ministry of Transportation to do it (you can’t get your vehicle registered without it).
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Social inflation: how is it hurting insurance?
Social inflation is one of the latest buzzwords in insurance. It is used by insurers to describe the rising costs of insurance claims resulting from things like increasing litigation, broader definitions of liability, more plaintiff-friendly legal decisions, and larger compensatory jury awards.
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Is no-fault auto insurance the panacea?
No-fault insurance is not a magic bullet that is going to solve the auto liability problem, but it can be helpful to insurers, provided that the coverage is not too generous, said the head of Canada’s largest property and casualty insurer.
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Our Courts often require Facebook Posts to be produced as Evidence in Personal Injury Lawsuits
Plaintiffs in personal injury actions may be ordered to submit their private Facebook posts or other social media materials, if a judge finds that the plaintiff’s posts may be relevant to the issues being decided. In personal injury litigation where a plaintiff is seeking damages for impairments that they allege have caused a reduced ability to function and a loss of enjoyment in life, the plaintiff’s online photos are commonly found to be relevant to the plaintiff’s claim of injury.
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Don’t Start Crossing When the Pedestrian Countdown Has Commenced!
Many of us consider the pedestrian countdown or the associated flashing “don’t walk” pedestrian hand signal as an alert to cross quickly or to speed up as the light is about to change.
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What is a litigation guardian? Who needs one? Should I be one?
Unfortunately, serious injuries can happen to anyone, including individuals who would legally be considered to be “parties under a disability”. A “party under a disability” is a person who does not have the legal capacity to instruct legal counsel. This includes infants, children, young adults under the age of 18, as well as individuals who either before their injuries or as a result of their injuries lack the mental capacity to make certain decisions.
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Patient desperately needs his health records, but disgraced doctor won’t give them up
The caregiver of a London man with Huntington’s disease says she’s still waiting for disgraced neurologist Harvey Christopher Hyson to provide medical records she says are needed to ensure Darrin Smyth gets proper care.
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Change is Constant – Why Resist It?
A few years ago I volunteered at a chronic pain program by assisting with an after-program book study. This involved a group of program graduates getting together weekly to read and discuss the book A New Earth, by Eckhart Tolle. I was amazed at the transformations in attitude, beliefs, and thoughts that came from people reading and discussing this very impactful novel. In fact, some of the benefits we witnessed, and the things people discussed were revolutionary, and I would even argue evolutionary.
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ODSP needs support, not criticism
Ontario Auditor General Bonnie Lysyk’s recent analysis of the province’s welfare program for the disabled has added more fuel to fears that cuts are coming for those who rely on the program’s meagre supports.
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Can treating poverty change a child’s brain?
Kimberly Noble, a neuroscientist and pediatrician at Columbia University, clicked a remote on a
TED Talks stage in New York last January and a screen beside her displayed what looked like a craggy, grey leftover snowbank. The image was an average of the brains of 1,099 children and adolescents she and her collaborators studied for a
2015 paper that received enormous attention.
