Catastrophic impairment is a designation that you can apply for if you are injured in a motor vehicle accident in Ontario. If your car insurance company accepts that you are catastrophically impaired it greatly increases the amount of medical, rehabilitation and attendant care benefits that are available to you.
Teenaged sisters were left permanently disabled due to dangerous road condition.
The definition of a “minor injury” is intentionally restrictive. The “Minor Injury Guideline” (the “MIG”) was implemented in 2010 by the Ontario government in an effort to stop insurance rates from rising.
This article (co-authored with Roger Oatley) examines the recent trend of Ontario courts awarding future health care costs using a method of calculation that is more favourable to injured plaintiffs.
It has now been a little over a year since the Ontario government revised the statutory accident benefits regime by passing Statutory Accident Benefits Schedule – Effective September 1, 2010. O. Reg. 34/10 (SABS). This new regulation reduced the insurance benefits available to people injured in motor vehicle accidents.
While it is too soon to comment on the long-term effects this regulation will have on accident victims and health professionals in Ontario, this article will review some concerns that health professionals and claimants have raised recently.
This article was first published in The Health Professional magazine in September 2011. It reviews the effect of the September 1, 2010 changes to the accident benefits system for health care professionals.
An article written for young lawyers regarding preparing an expert witness for trial, first published in the OTLA Litigator magazine – June
2011 issue
After September 1, 2010, you have far less coverage if you have the misfortune of being involved in a motor vehicle collision. Your insurer may have informed you by now that you will have “more coverage options” when it comes time to renew your automobile insurance policy. The fact is, consumers will now have much less protection than they previously had, unless they purchase ‘Optional Benefits’ coverage.
This article was presented at a 2011 conference of law clerks. It describes the interaction between the tort and accident benefits systems.