Archive for the ‘Motor Vehicle Accidents’ Category
Why You Need Optional Benefits in Your Ontario Automobile Insurance Policy
On June 1, 2016, Ontario changed the benefits for automobile insurance, making adjustments that limit your access to long-term medical and rehabilitation benefits. This change was made quietly, and the people of Ontario were uninformed about the amendments made to their insurance policies. These...
Personal Injury Potential Settlement Values: Arm Injuries
Arm injuries are often caused by instinctively holding out ones arm as a defensive action just before accident impact and sometimes due to the impact from air bags deployed at explosive speeds. In this article, we will take a look at four arm injuries and historical examples of the personal injury...
Personal Injury Potential Settlement Values: Basal Skull Fracture
A basal skull fracture, most often caused by motor vehicle accidents, slip and fall accidents, and child abuse cases, is considered a severe head injury. It is a fracture at the base of the skull and is frequently accompanied by a brain injury, which can cause significant challenges for...
Personal Injury Potential Settlement Values: Whiplash Injuries
Whiplash injuries are generally the result of the head snapping forward and then back again, especially in rear-end motor vehicle accidents. Other similar activities gone wrong can cause a whiplash, such as a roller coaster, skiing, or from a sports injury where you might be accidently hit, kicked,...
Riskier Roads – GTA Pedestrians and Cyclists Being Run Down at Record Rates
A rash of pedestrian and cyclist accidents in the GTA has been alarming to those people who choose to walk or bicycle. It is particularly upsetting because these accidents have caused increased pedestrian fatalities. With the continual increase in the number of automobiles in Ontario coupled with a...
How Speech-Language Pathologists Help Traumatic Brain Injury Victims
In my previous video (and blog) about finding the right team for your brain injury rehabilitation, one of the key specialists I mention is the speech-language pathologist. A speech-language pathologist is a medical professional who specializes in speech disorders and cognitive-communicative...
New Auto Insurance Rules Reduce Rehabilitation Payout for Victim with Traumatic Brain Injury
I have blogged frequently in the past few years about the reduction of auto insurance benefits in Ontario and how these changes are hurting car accident victims. In my last blog, I recommended Ontario drivers consider adding optional benefits to their insurance for this...
Ontario Drivers: Do You Know about These Recent Reductions to Your Auto Insurance Coverage?
Did you know your auto insurance benefits were reduced on June 1, 2016? I have found many of my motor vehicle accident (MVA) personal injury clients are not aware of the recent changes to automobile insurance; I am writing this article because it is very important for every Ontario driver to know...
Driving Rehabilitation Services after Personal Injury
Driving rehabilitation is a service for personal injury clients who need assistance to get back into their vehicle and on the road to recovery....
Helping Children Overcome Psychological Trauma after Car Accidents
Parents and caregivers should be particularly aware of the potential psychological fallout for children involved in car accidents – and even for those whose parents were in an accident without them. About 15-25% of children involved in car accidents show symptoms of depression that remain even...
Alert for Ontario Drivers: New Road Safety Laws Passed to Protect Pedestrians
As of January 1, 2016, new road safety laws have passed in Ontario. It’s important for all drivers to be aware of these new laws, primarily to protect the safety of pedestrians and avoid motor vehicle accidents – but also to avoid new...
Do You Know the Truth about Auto Insurance in Ontario?
Today, I would like to draw your attention to the Ontario Trial Lawyers Association’s (OTLA) website about auto insurance. This website, truthaboutinsurance.ca, shines a much-needed light on the activities of the auto insurance companies and policy makers in the past 15...
Ontario Trial Lawyers Association Against New Auto Insurance Regulations
My team and I recently attended an Ontario Trial Lawyers Association (OTLA) event, Driving for Success: Maximizing Your Auto...
New Ontario Budget Sides with Auto Insurance Companies over Accident Victims … Again
The 2015 provincial budget was announced on April 23, claiming to bring adjustments and reforms to the Ontario auto insurance industry. Initially, this sounds like a positive change. For the past 5 years, MPPs have passed bills regarding auto insurance that takes away their constituents’...
Bill 15: Changes to Ontario Auto Insurance Regulations Hurt Motor Vehicle Accident Victims
Bill 15, The Fighting Fraud and Reducing Automobile Insurance Rates Act, 2014, has recently passed in...
Distracted Driving Causes Motor Vehicle Accidents
The Toronto Sun has published yet another saddening article about driving while distracted by a cell phone. It tells the story of a teen in 2009 who lost control of his car and died after reaching for a ringing phone....
Don’t Neglect to Renew Your Driver’s Licence
Renewing your driver’s licence is a simple process – and it can save you from facing expensive insurance issues, should you get in an accident while your licence is...
Changes to Prejudgement Interest at the Expense of Motor Vehicle Accident Victims
The recent Bill 171 “Fighting Fraud and Reducing Automobile Insurance Rates Act” introduced by Ontario’s Minister of Finance, proposes reducing the amount of interest insurers must pay on compensation owed to motor vehicle accident (MVA) victims. Currently, the interest rate is 5%, but under...
Accessing Funding for Medical Rehabilitation after Suffering a Mild Traumatic Brain Injury in a Motor Vehicle Accident [Video]
If you, or a loved one, have been injured in a motor vehicle accident, it is important to understand the different levels of funding available to you. The funding you receive is dependent on the severity of your injuries; therefore, it is essential to recognize what your symptoms may mean so you...
5 Reasons Why Substance Abuse is Linked to Brain Injury
Substance abuse is the overindulgence in, compulsive use of, or dependence on drugs and/or alcohol, particularly to the point of interference with work, home, or social life. Any substance use by an individual who has suffered from a traumatic brain injury (TBI), including a mild traumatic brain...
Changes to Accident Benefits for Vehicle Collision Victims in Effect as of December 17, 2013
In December 2013, the government quietly passed regulations that change accident benefit insurance for motor vehicle collision victims. These alterations came into effect on December 17, 2013. Unfortunately, the changes are not to the benefit of those seeking personal care following an injury in a...
Highway 401 Multi-Vehicle Collision 2013
Last Friday, January 25, 2013, Southern Ontario experienced a multi-vehicle accident on the 401 near Newcastle. As the busiest highway in North America, the 401 can become dangerous in poor weather conditions – such as the snow on Friday afternoon. The high volume of traffic, the slippery road...
The Increasing Relevance of Social Media in FSCO Arbitration
A 2012 appeal decision by the Financial Services Commission of Ontario (FSCO) confirms that Facebook can be damaging to motor vehicle accident insurance claims. This appeal confirms an earlier decision that limited access Facebook photographs are relevant in assessing accident benefits...
Pedestrian Death Review Calls for Pedestrian-Friendly Roads
After 95 pedestrian deaths in 2010, Ontario’s Chief Coroner undertook a Pedestrian Death Review in order to make recommendations for improved road safety. The review is clear that drivers of motor vehicles are not solely to blame. Pedestrian behaviour and unaccommodating road design...
Insurance Arbitrator Awards Medical Marijuana
The Financial Services Commission of Ontario has awarded a catastrophically injured motor-vehicle accident victim medical benefits for the purchase of medical marijuana. The victim’s insurance company is to make payments of $567.60 per month. In 2000, the applicant suffered a major head...
Maximum Attendant-Care Benefit not Limited to Extent of Economic Loss
When in a motor vehicle accident, regardless of fault, you are entitled to accident benefits from your insurance company. One benefit is for ‘attendant care,’ which covers daily-care expenses if you are no longer able to care for yourself. The amount of attendant-care benefits depends on...
School Bus Driver that Hits Child is not Found Negligent
As children start heading back to school it is beneficial to reflect on the issue of road safety. While children may act and play as though they are invincible they most certainly are not. Whether children walk to school, get a ride or take the bus there is still a risk. For all parents it...
Combining Physical and Psychological Impairments in Catastrophic Impairment
If suffering serious injuries from an accident, the method for assessing catastrophic impairment should be more inclusive according to an Ontario Court of Appeal decision. An assessment of physical and psychological impairments should be allowed to be combined in determining if someone suffers from...
Understanding What Insurance is Readily Available to You in Ontario After a Car Accident [Video]
What is important to know about automobile insurance coverage after you have been involved in a car accident in Ontario? The primary concern arising from a motor vehicle collision is to protect your legal rights for any future claims you may have resulting from this collision. In Ontario, every...
Supreme Court of Canada Rules that Tree-Falling Fatality is a Motor Vehicle Accident
The Supreme Court of Canada has ruled in the city’s favour after a rotted tree which the city owned fell onto a car killing the driver Gabriel Rossy. Despite the coroner’s report that stated the victim’s death was preventable as the city failed to maintain the rotten tree – in this case...
Stay Safe This Summer
With summer now underway many are looking forward to road trips, visits to the cottage, BBQ’s and swimming. Unfortunately, the reality is that during the summer months the top causes for accidental death in Ontario include falls, motor vehicle accidents, alcohol and drug use, and drowning. Using...
The Benefits of Having an ‘Umbrella’ Policy in Your Insurance Coverage
When choosing to purchase insurance the option of an ‘umbrella’ policy should be considered. ‘Umbrella’ policies essentially provide extra protection in the event that damages are owed to you due to injuries suffered, such as in a motor vehicle accident. If the at-fault driver does not have...
FSCO Against Combining Physical and Psychological Impairments to Determine Catastrophic Impairment
Seriously injured claimants may find it more difficult to access the motor vehicle accident benefits they need if the recent recommendations from Ontario’s insurance regulator are adopted into legislation. The recent report by the Financial Services Commission of Ontario (FSCO) finds that there...
New Definition of Catastrophic Impairment
Expected Changes to Availability of Auto Accident Benefits with New Definition of Catastrophic Impairment. With a new and more limited definition of catastrophic impairment potentially going to be implemented by the Ontario government, there is a deep concern that those who suffer serious injuries...
Winter Tires: Could You Be Found Negligent?
Did you know that in Ontario you could be found negligent if you are in a car accident in the winter time and found to be driving without winter tires? In the province of Quebec it is actually illegal to drive in the winter time without winter tires. Multiple studies have shown the benefits of...
Conflicting Limitation Periods for Car Accident Insurance Claims
The car accident insurance case, Whorpole Estate v. Echelon General Insurance Co., [2011] O. J. No. 1644 (S. C. J.) has brought up the issue of conflicting limitation periods, where more than one limitation period exists and a decision must be made over which applies. In particular, this case shows...
Defining ‘Minor Injury’ in Personal Injury Motor Vehicle Cases
In September 2010, the Ontario Liberal government dramatically reduced the amount of medical and rehabilitation benefits available for injured people. For most Ontario car accident victims, the amount of available rehab money dropped from $100,000 to $3,500 with the introduction of the Minor Injury...
Immediately After a Motor Vehicle Accident
Immediately after a car accident or other motor vehicle accident there are few important things you need to consider: Keep your composure: It is important that you remain calm. Do not argue with other drivers and passengers. Save your story for the police. Do not leave! If you leave the scene of an...
Insurance Does Not Mean You Cannot Be Sued
If you have car insurance this does not mean that you can’t still be sued personally if you are involved in a car accident. Your insurance company will only cover you up to the amount of insurance coverage you have. Many people are under the impression that they purchase insurance to protect...
What are No Fault Insurance Benefits?
There is a common misconception that ‘no fault’ insurance means that after a car accident no one is held to be at fault. This is not the case and the expression ‘no fault’ can be somewhat misleading when it comes to injuries resulting after a motor vehicle accident. When someone is involved...
Immediately After a Car Accident
Immediately after a motor vehicle accident, families may often find themselves having difficulties dealing with the sometimes overwhelming emotions they feel for the loved one involved in the car accident. It is at this moment, during the crisis, that things like taking care of making phone...
I thought “AB” was just two letters in the alphabet and “Tort” was some kind of Pie?
After a car accident has claimed the life of a family member, individuals will seek legal advice to determine whether or not they can sue the driver of the other vehicle. A lawyer may during a free initial consultation inform the family members of two major aspects of any case. After a...
Young People and Fatal Car Crashes – Too Easily Becoming A Statistic
Car Crashes are the leading cause of death for teens or young adults in Canada and in the United States. In Canada, Statistics Canada reported that from the years 2000 through to 2004, motor vehicle crashes causing death accounted for 1.3% of all deaths in Canada; however, 17.3% of all deaths...
Should you be Increasing Your Automobile Liability Coverage
Most Ontario automobile owners purchase higher third party insurance liability limits than the mandatory minimum coverage of $200,000. However, I suggest that the reason a consumer chooses higher coverage (usually $500 thousand or $1 million) is only due to the fact their insurance agent suggests...
Car accident benefits – It is time to pay attention to your auto policy!
Car accident benefits have been slashed up to 50% and some benefits have been eliminated — how will accident victims be able to cope? My clients almost always tell me that before their car accidents, they thought insurance was both boring and confusing. For these reasons they...
New Drinking And Driving Measures May Help To Prevent Fatalities
Ontario is making the province’s roads safer for all Ontarians with new changes that will help protect young and novice drivers. Starting August 1, all drivers 21 years of age and younger must have a zero blood alcohol level when they get behind the wheel or face: An immediate 24-hour licence...
How does Ontario measure up in Canada when it comes to motor vehicle accident deaths?
The Ontario Government and Ontarians alike have been suggesting that fatal car accidents have been on the rise. Despite the ever-increasing number of vehicles on the roads, half as many Canadians were killed in a motor vehicle accident in 2004 as there had been 25 years...
Strongly consider increasing your No-fault Insurance Benefits – What you need to know about changes to auto insurance in Ontario
The Ontario government is introducing significant reforms to the auto insurance system, if you have never taken the time to consider the differences you can expect from your now Standard Auto Insurance Policy and what it will look like on September 1, 2010, it is imperative you take the time NOW:...
The McGuinty Government’s New Changes to the Ontario Auto Insurance Regulations in the fall of 2010
A Quick Summary of the Changes Accident benefits for non-catastrophic injury claims will undergo some major changes, including: • Caregiver Benefits – The $250 per week, plus $50 per additional person in need of care will be eliminated • Medical and Rehabilitation Benefits – These...
Keep Insurance Up-dated for Peace of Mind
Planning on lots of driving this summer? Heading up to the cottage this summer? Planning on a “see Canada” road trip vacation? A tune-up for your car before any big driving vacation is always a good idea but what about a “tune-up” for your insurance? Before you pack, it’s always a good...
Are You Increasing Your Liability Insurance Coverage?
Should you be Increasing Your Liability Coverage? Most Ontario automobile owners purchase higher third party insurance liability limits than the mandatory minimum coverage of $200,000. However, I suggest that the reason a consumer chooses higher coverage (usually $500 thousand or $1 million) is...
Motor Vehicle Insurance Housekeeping Benefits
Housekeeping and Home Maintenance Benefits – What you need to know about your Insurance Policy Accident Benefits if you have been involved in a motor vehicle collision Many individuals who have suffered injuries as a result of a motor vehicle accident in Ontario have come to realize that their...
