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The Ontario government has recently approved a three-year basic income pilot project and selected three cities — Hamilton/Brantford, Thunder Bay and Lindsay — as test sites. Federally, a motion in the Senate to encourage the government to investigate the cost and impact of a national basic income program has passed with cross-party support. Globally, Finland has launched a basic income pilot — and tech giants like Tesla’s Elon Musk have said a universal basic income will be necessary for everyone in the future.

http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/rosana-salvaterra/basic-income-guarantee_b_16955720.html

The Plaintiff, 58 year old Franklin Shaw, brought an action for damages as a result of a rear-end motor vehicle collision with minor property damage. Mr. Shaw suffered from pre-existing osteoarthritis in his left knee. He claimed the collision caused his asymptomatic left knee to become symptomatic. On January 30, 2017, the jury returned its verdict and ordered $54,500 for general damages; $0 for past income loss; $0 for pension loss; $22,500 for future health care costs and $3,000 for future housekeeping expenses.

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/plaintiff-successful-proving-car-accident-caused-knee-vanopoulos

In Saadati v. Moorhead, 2017 SCC 28, the claimant was injured in a series of five motor vehicle accidents but claimed the second accident caused his mental injuries. At trial, the judge held that he had in fact suffered a mental injury as a result of the second accident despite not being provided with any expert evidence to that effect. Instead, the trial judge’s findings were based on the testimony of the claimant’s friends and family who testified that his personality had changed for the worse following the accident.

http://www.millerthomson.com/en/blog/mt-insurance-law-blog/no-diagnosis-no-problem/

Litigating a traumatic brain injury presents diverse medico-legal challenges that require harmony between an individual’s health care team and their legal team. In cases involving children, these challenges become even more complex.

https://www.thelawyersdaily.ca/articles/3844/litigating-pediatric-brain-injuries-takes-a-multidisciplinary-team

The College’s Confidentiality of Personal Health Information policy is currently under review. The policy sets out physicians’ legal and professional obligation to protect the privacy and confidentiality of patients’ personal health information. It also outlines the limited circumstances where the disclosure of personal health information without a patient’s consent is permitted or required by law.

http://policyconsult.cpso.on.ca/?page_id=9437

OTTAWA—Nearly half the Canadians who seek to have decisions denying them access to Canada Pension Plan disability benefits are successfully appealing the rulings, a statistic that is giving experts cause for concern.

https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2017/06/04/more-canadians-seeking-cpp-disability-benefits-have-denials-overturned-on-appeal.html