Continuing barriers to timely investment in the rehabilitation of accident victims with impairments and functional limitations due to mental and behavioural disorders are seen in:
1. Failure to follow evidence based Guidelines by professionals and insurers;
2. Insurers’ failure to communicate with their insureds and their health professionals;
3. Insurers’ failure to take responsibility for adjudicating files including: delays in treatment plan reviews; failure to refer proposed treatment plans to appropriate IEs when such is clearly indicated; and failure to determine if the IE has correctly applied the SABS test;
4. Inappropriate denial of assessment and treatment of crash victims with mental disorders, including denial based on the severity of the physical injury and assertion that the Minor Injury cap applies;
5. Crash victims with serious mental disorders were denied the right in 2010 to have their psychologists confirm catastrophic mental disorders and this professional responsibility was removed from psychologists. The group with the greatest expertise in diagnosis of mental disorders and measurement of function cannot utilize their expertise for those who require an analysis of catastrophic impairment. No scientific or policy rationale was ever advanced for limiting this role to physicians. OPA Submission for 3 year review Mar 31 2014 final

When it comes to buying auto insurance consumers don’t know what they are buying and they are not getting what they think they paid for. Tragically, most don’t find this out until they are injured. Most drivers assume that their medical and rehabilitation needs will be covered by the basic package most of us have, and the shortfall will be easily picked up by our publicly funded healthcare system. But they’re wrong. The publicly funded system is severely underfunded and the current cap of up to $50,000 in med/rehab coverage for serious, non-catastrophic injuries which is, practically speaking, often ‘converted’ to the much lower spending cap of the Minor Injury Guideline, with a maximum of $3,500, is insufficient. This amount must cover not only physical injuries but also treatment for debilitating mental health conditions that can result from an accident. And, in many cases of minor injuries, claimants’ treatment dollars often never exceed the initial $2,200, when provider applications demonstrating the need for the additional $1,300 are often denied. Our survey respondents reported that 26% of MIG clients who clearly required more care were unable to access more than $2,200 of MIG treatment dollars.

SUBMISSION TO FSCO’s THREE YEAR REVIEW- Ontario Rehab Alliance

Accident victims see Bill 171, not as a fraud fighting measure but as a template for reducing benefits paid to injured drivers by way of legislation geared toward enhancing insurer profits.

Please stop trading accident victims’ rights to fair hearings, and the benefits they need for recovery, for insurer dollars.

Please stop capitulating to Ontario’s insurers and discriminating against those whose insurers have failed to stand behind their contracts by taking away their right to have their case heard. Stop letting assessors harm accident victims and start making regulation and enforcement work.

Please stop taking action that has made Ontario’s accident victims third class citizens and in the bargain allowed Ontario’s insurers to walk away from their responsibilities by downloading these costs to the taxpayer.

FAIR Open Letter to Wynne, Sousa, Matthews March 20 2014

Getting Better and Better after Brain Injury A Practical Guide for Families and Caregivers

This conference is geared for CAREGIVERS of ABI Survivors, not to professionals working with ABI survivors. Families can choose to attend with their loved one, but the content of the day is geared towards caregivers.

For online registration visit website  at  www.abicollaborative.ca or http://events.constantcontact.com/register/event?llr=qkrld6lab&oeidk=a07e8u2rb878e18ee9d