But tucked away in Bill 15 is an odd provision that discriminates against those injured in auto accidents.
Bill 15 removes the right to have no-fault benefits disputes with insurers dealt with by the courts.
Why injured people should lose their right to have such disputes resolved by judges is puzzling. http://www.torontosun.com/2015/12/05/law-unfair-to-car-crash-victims
“It’s a signal to insurance companies that when they’re going to deny benefits to a person or they’re going to deny that somebody has a catastrophic impairment, they better make sure that they have followed the legislation and their assessments have been done properly,” says Leonard Kunka of Thomson Rogers, counsel for Thomas Waldock who was seriously injured in March of 2008. “To rely on a defective assessment to the detriment of their insured is really a breach of their obligation of good faith to their client.”
Waldock and State Farm Preliminary issue FSCO 4315
Waldock and State Farm FSCO 4689
In the latest case (Preston v. Kontzamanis) of courts having critical comments for medico-legal practices, reasons for judgement were released today by the BC Supreme Court, Quesnel Registry, rejecting the opinion of a defence retained doctor who “did not meet with, examine or interview” the Plaintiff but nonetheless authored a report opining on the Plaintiff’s injuries.
http://bc-injury-law.com/blog/expert-meet-examine-interview-plaintiff-weight
Safety, Licensing Appeals and Standards Tribunals Ontario (SLASTO) is providing regular updates about the transformation of the Auto Insurance Dispute Resolution System (AIDRS) and its transition from the Financial Services Commission of Ontario (FSCO) to the Licence Appeal Tribunal (LAT).
The new system at LAT will begin accepting applications on April 1, 2016. The LAT AIDRS will be streamlined to a single direct review and hearing process in front of an independent adjudicative tribunal.
Victim’s group calls for the Auditor General and the Ontario Ombudsman to investigate what is happening to Ontario’s injured and disabled citizens
TORONTO, November 17, 2015 PRESS RELEASE – Ontario auto insurers are poised to make higher profits on the backs of Ontario’s disabled and injured MVA victims in 2016 while continuing to build up the provincial deficit by downloading the expense of victims to the taxpayers. Recently passed legislation means that coverage for the most injured MVA victims will be cut in half.
In October Ontario’s over 9 million drivers learned through the Lazar Prisman Report that they had been overcharged for auto insurance and likely overpaid by $1.5 billion in the last two years alone.
In recent weeks we learned just how challenging recovery is and how poorly the WSIB injured workers are treated in the Prescription Over-Ruled: Report on How Ontario’s Workplace Safety and Insurance Board Systematically Ignores the Advice of Medical Professionals. Press release Nov 2016 Ontario’s Shame and Scandal – how the injured and disabled are punished by government policy
“We consciously did not choose advocates for one point of view or another.”
TORONTO, Oct. 15, 2015 /CNW/ – An updated study released today provides alarming new data on auto insurance in Ontario.
The study, conducted by York University Schulich School of Business Professors Fred Lazar and Eli Prisman, reveals that consumers likely overpaid by $1.5 billion in the last two years alone. This includes overpayments of $700 million (or about $100 for each insurance policy) in 2014 on top of the $840 million ($120 per policy) in 2013.
Read: Lazar Report October 2015
Having said that, in my opinion, there are many times in an investigation where an investigator already has jumped to conclusions and only views evidence, circumstantial or otherwise, through a pre-determined conclusion. In this case, I feel State Farm already had determined that they were dealing with a fraudulent claim, albeit 21 months after the accident and 19 months after the evidence (the 1999 Dodge Caravan) was scrapped. I believe, from that point moving forward, State Farm was looking at evidence to add to their fraud investigation instead of looking at evidence through an unfiltered lens.
An Orillia woman who was in a car crash seven years ago that left her in a coma worries changes to the auto-insurance industry will have devastating effects.
Tammy Kirkwood said the province’s plan to reduce auto-insurance benefits that was passed as part of the budget earlier this year will severely hurt crash victims requiring extensive care.
“These benefits should not be called benefits; they are resources and necessary to regain your whole person and get on track,” she said.
“We are mandated to purchase auto insurance to drive a car, yet there is nothing in place to mandate the insurers to uphold the policy we have to purchase.”
Forrest Willett knows poverty and despair.
He also knows people can rise above them.
The former Simcoe County resident grew up poor, with five siblings and a single parent trying to make ends meet and keep food on the table.
A 2002 car crash left him with a potentially debilitating brain injury that could have altered his life — for the worse — forever.
Instead, he persevered and is now a bestselling author and motivational speaker travelling the world.
http://www.orilliapacket.com/2015/10/01/united-way-event-targets-poverty-in-simcoe-county
Baseballs Don’t Bounce Random Thoughts From an Injured Brain Paperback by Forrest Willett http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0988081016/ref=olp_product_details?ie=UTF8&me=&seller=