In this week’s case (Powell v. ICBC) the Plaintiff was injured in a collision and wad disabled for about a month following the collision. She returned to work and pressed on until she could no longer continue several years later due to the lingering effects of her collision related injuries. She applied for ICBC’s disability benefits but was denied with the insurer arguing that she was not longer entitled.
Author Archives: Admin4
Social determinants matter most to a person’s health. Here’s one story.
To close out my first week of medical school, the class was treated to a talk by a stuffy but soft-spoken lecturer on the relationship between poverty, education, and poor population health. “Social determinants of health,” he labeled them, a clunky and unwieldy term if ever I’d heard one. In those days, audiovisual aids consisted of an overhead projector for black-and-white transparencies. And boy did that talk have transparencies. Chart upon chart of statistic upon statistic. Between the heat and hum of the projector, and the monotone of the man in front of it, the session was little more than a sedative for most of us.
http://www.kevinmd.com/blog/20
Poverty has drastic impact on health, especially in rural Ontario
Homelessness might be the most extreme and visible manifestation of poverty in Ontario, but the impact is much farther reaching. The erosion of social assistance rates and rise in precarious employment, along with the rising costs of living, mean basic necessities are now out of reach for many. Poverty in rural Ontario is deepened by the high costs of food, housing materials, energy, and travel for medical care. We are reminded of this by stories such as Peggy Mills’, whose Hydro was cut off because she could not afford her bills on her annual pension income of $17,000.
Why Tackling Socioeconomic Inequality Is Key To Solving Mental Health Crisis
The evidence suggests that the U.K., among other high-income countries, is in the midst of a mental health crisis. A recent report by the Mental Health Network, found that 19 percent of adults had been diagnosed with depression at some point in their lives, while as many as one in four people experience a mental health problem in any given year. Even more worryingly, mental illness is high among the young, suggesting that the burden on the NHS and other social services will grow in the years to come.
http://europe.newsweek.com/wha
State Farm and Waldock Decision Date: 2016-07-27 Appeal, Motion, FSCO 4967
https://www5.fsco.gov.on.ca/AD
This is is not an attempt by the Appellant to re-open the “expense hearing.” While the record suggests that the parties consented to a process, it is less clear what that process was and what issues it was meant to address. Thus, while the Insurer may have consented on June 25, 2015 to filing written submissions, it is hotly contested whether the Arbitrator’s oral and written directions to the parties were clear and unequivocal so that all parties knew the issues they were to address in those written submissions and whether there would be an opportunity later for a reconvening of the oral hearing.
This is is not an attempt by the Appellant to re-open the “expense hearing.” While the record suggests that the parties consented to a process, it is less clear what that process was and what issues it was meant to address. Thus, while the Insurer may have consented on June 25, 2015 to filing written submissions, it is hotly contested whether the Arbitrator’s oral and written directions to the parties were clear and unequivocal so that all parties knew the issues they were to address in those written submissions and whether there would be an opportunity later for a reconvening of the oral hearing.
In circumstances where at least a prima facie case of procedural unfairness has been established, it is unlikely that details of procedural irregularities will appear on the face of the impugned decision. That evidence will often have to come from other sources, such as: a transcript (if the proceedings were recorded); correspondence between the parties or between the tribunal and one or both parties; or, sworn evidence from persons who were involved. Thus, whether the affidavit of Eric Grigg can remain part of the appeal record is not properly characterized as a question of whether “fresh” evidence ought to be admitted on appeal. It is evidence that is relevant to the Insurer’s allegation that it was denied a fair hearing and was not given proper notice of the issues in dispute and a fair opportunity to address those issues. Seen in this context, I believe that the case law upon which the Respondent seeks to rely about the circumstances under which fresh evidence can be adduced on appeal is irrelevant with respect to this affidavit.
Wynne non-committal on ending cash-for-access fundraising
Responding on Thursday for the first time to a Globe and Mail investigation into cash-for-access events – in which corporate and union leaders paid up to $10,000 to spend time with Ms. Wynne and members of her cabinet – the Premier said she was “very open to having that conversation” on the future of the practice, but repeatedly would not commit to ending it.
ICBC blamed by judge for woman’s “ongoing misery”
Purportedly, the insurance corporation wrongfully denied 60-year-old Lois Powell’s permanent disability benefits, which later led to her losing her White Rock home and her begrudging move to Victoria to ask help from her children.
http://www.insurancebusiness.c
Why ‘no, money down’ is more than an old Simpsons reference, according to the Ontario Court of Appeal
It’s become so pervasive the Law Society of Upper Canada has recently launched a review into how lawyers advertise their firms and their contingency fee agreements. But contingency fees themselves aren’t on the chopping block, as Osgoode Hall Law School professor Allan Hutchinson explained, those fees are a necessary part of the legal system. By allowing people to retain a lawyer in exchange for an set percentage of any future settlement, they ensure people who can’t afford to pay a retainer up front are able to access to the justice system.
Accident benefits hard to recover even as insurance rates climb
“Attendant care benefits were slashed to $36,000 from $72,000, caregiver benefits have been eliminated along with housekeeping benefit under standard auto policies while statutory deductibles in case of auto accidents were increased to $36,540 from $30,000,” he explains.