On December 23, 2011, the Ontario Court of Appeal delivered a present to severely injured victims of motor vehicle collisions in the form of its unanimous decision in Kusnierz v. Economical Mutual Insurance Company. Mr. Kusnierz had suffered a below knee amputation on one leg in addition to other physical injuries and major depression. The dispute with his insurer was whether or not he sustained a “catastrophic impairment” ... Read More

The negative impact of the changes to Ontario auto insurance benefits continues. As I have written about in previous postings, on September 1, 2010, the mandatory no-fault benefits for auto insurance policies in Ontario were slashed. Ontario citizens are now paying higher premiums for less coverage. The reduced benefits are hurting ordinary people. As noted by the below news article: - insurance adjusters with no medical training are re ... Read More

In North America, most people think that if someone causes you injury or harm you have the right to be compensated for those injuries. A significant part of those losses includes compensation for pain and suffering. Consider how frustrating and depressing it would be to feel constant pain while trying to do your everyday activities. BUT, in Ontario, if the person hurt you with a car, you may not be entitled to any compensation for your ... Read More

When it comes to auto insurance, everyone gets a lump of coal – The Globe and Mail. Funny take on the auto insurance industry. What is not funny is how Ontario consumers are getting ripped off by insurance companies. Every vehicle in Ontario must have insurance – it is the law. Every insurance policy must include first-party benefits, commonly referred to as accident benefits. These benefits are in place to help pay for nece ... Read More

You probably read in the news yesterday the Ontario auditor general’s report. In his report, Jim McCarter wrote that auto insurance fraud cost the insurance industry about $1.3 billion a year. There is no evidence to confirm this number. This number comes directly from the insurance industry but the insurance companies have provided zero, zilch, nada evidence to back up this number. This past summer Toronto Sun columnist addressed ... Read More

I had an interesting conversation this week at dinner on the issue of personal responsibility vs. social responsibility. He was suggesting that in North America people are too quick to sue and that people have to be more responsible for their own well being. I don’t necessarily disagree with the argument that an individual has to take personal responsibility for his or her own safety. BUT, we all live together and we also need to ... Read More