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  • FAIR – supporting auto accident victims through advocacy and education
  • FAIR – supporting auto accident victims through advocacy and education

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Your rights under PIPEDA

PIPEDA requires private-sector organizations to collect, use or disclose your personal information by fair and lawful means, with your consent, and only for purposes that are stated and reasonable.
An enterprise may only collect personal information that is essential to the business transaction. If further information is requested, you are entitled to ask why, and to decline to provide it if you are dissatisfied with the answer. You should still be able to complete the transaction, even if you refuse to give out more personal information than is warranted.

https://www.priv.gc.ca/en/about-the-opc/publications/guide_ind/

https://www.priv.gc.ca/en/privacy-topics/privacy-laws-in-canada/the-personal-information-protection-and-electronic-documents-act-pipeda/

https://www.priv.gc.ca/en/for-individuals/

IPC decisions inform health providers about medical record issue

Five recent decisions from Ontario’s Information and Privacy Commissioner (IPC) are throwing light on the hot issue of how health-care providers should best respond to patients who request corrections or other changes to their medical records, says Toronto health lawyer Kate Dewhirst.

http://www.advocatedaily.com/kate-dewhirst-ipc-decisions-inform-health-providers-about-medical-record-issue.html

Disability tax credit

The disability tax credit (DTC) is a non-refundable tax credit that
helps persons with disabilities or their supporting persons reduce the
amount of income tax they may have to pay. An individual may claim
the disability amount once they are eligible for the DTC. This amount
includes a supplement for persons under 18 years of age at the end
of the year.

http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/tx/ndvdls/sgmnts/dsblts/dtc/menu-eng.html

Did a “Secret Policy” Deprive Hundreds of Workers of Their Full WSIB Injury Awards?

A representative plaintiff and other members of the class action will argue that they were wrongfully denied the full extent of benefits to which they were entitled under the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act from 2012 to 2014. The lawsuit contains some fairly serious allegations: misfeasance in public office, bad faith and negligence. The February 2017 Ontario Court of Appeal decision to allow the the class action to proceed came after it was initially denied in 2015.

http://www.vandykelaw.ca/2017/03/did-a-secret-policy-deprive-hundreds-of-workers-of-their-full-wsib-injury-awards/

Here’s how goggles can help brain-injury patients see the whole picture

Following a brain injury, people can lose their ability to see the left side of the world, but with a special set of lenses developed by researchers at Dalhousie University, patients can train their brains to see both sides of the world.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/brain-injury-goggles-dalhousie-1.4038194

Canada’s Privacy Commissioner (PIPEDA) and the insurer’s use of car accident victims personal information

 
“Our office is unable to find that a reasonable person would consider The Personal’s collection and use of credit score for preventing and detecting fraud during the auto insurance claim assessment process to be reasonable. In addition, while The Personal informed the complainant of the purposes for collecting and using his credit score, our Office finds that The Personal did not obtain meaningful consent from the complainant in light of its failure to advise that such collection and use was optional. Our Office further finds that The Personal is not being open about it’s policies and practices with respect to the collection and use of credit score during the auto insurance claim assessment process.”

“We all think we’re covered”

Jokelee Vanderkop on auto insurance Sunday 10 am  http://887theriver.ca/

Troubling Trends in LAT Costs Awards

The LAT can award costs to either party – but in the LAT’s first 45 or so decisions, it has not done so. This is very different than litigation in Ontario’s civil courts system, where the losing side is usually ordered to pay at least some of the winning side’s legal costs.

http://otlablog.com/troubling-trends-in-lat-costs-awards/

Sufficient Medical Reasons the Achilles Heel of the Insured’s Claim

When a taxicab ran over Ms. Franic-Temple’s feet and ankles, it was undisputed the medical imaging disclosed no fractures were sustained. Notwithstanding this, three years later, an occupational therapist submitted an OCF-18 to State Farm requesting an in-home assessment to determine Ms. Franic-Temple’s need for attendant care, occupational therapy and assistive devices. This OCF-18 listed as injury sequelae, in Part 6, “fracture of foot, except ankle”. The OCF-18 contained further comments which reported Ms. Franic-Temple “fractured the top of her left foot and experienced severe ligament and tissue damage in her right foot”.

http://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=c5115773-5cf1-4395-b98f-527914631cb5&utm_source=Lexology+Daily+Newsfeed&utm_medium=HTML+email+-+Body+-+General+section&utm_campaign=Lexology+subscriber+daily+feed&utm_content=Lexology+Daily+Newsfeed+2017-03-23&utm_term=

Private member’s bill seeks to cap contingency fees

An Ontario private member’s bill seeking to cap contingency fees would force some lawyers to revert to an hourly rate, Toronto personal injury lawyer Darryl Singer tells The Lawyers Daily.

http://www.advocatedaily.com/darryl-singer-private-members-bill-seeks-to-cap-contingency-fees-1.html