It’s vital for personal injury lawyers to understand the future earning potential of their plaintiff clients. People with disabilities often face employment barriers, resulting in lower employment rates, a decreased capacity to work full-time, and therefore higher rates of involuntary part-time work. Recent amendments and a deadline pertaining to the Accessible Canada Act (S.C. 2019, c. 10) are also relevant to
Personal injury lawyers are looking to provide services to motor vehicle accident (MVA) plaintiffs in other provinces. This article provides a brief overview of current legislation.Quebec and Manitoba have government-run pure no-fault insurance regimes, with no right to sue for pain and suffering nor for economic loss beyond the no-fault benefits.Saskatchewan also has a government-run system which lets motorists choose
Disability law practitioners need to understand how the COVID pandemic has changed the overall health of Canadians, which in turn has affected the types of long-term disability (LTD) insurance claims you can expect to be handling.Since the appearance of COVID-19, through lockdowns and into the return to “normal” life, the types and volumes of disability claims have changed significantly. Mental
If a “driverless” vehicle with a person at the wheel injures or kills someone, who – or what – is at fault?This is no longer science fiction or a mind experiment. Forecasts project 4.5 million self-driving cars on USA roads by 2035, which could translate to 500 thousand such vehicles in Canada. The Victoria Transportation Policy Institute in BC predicts
The Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario (FSRA) regulates the billing and business practices of licensed Service Providers (SPs) who receive direct payment from auto insurers under the Statutory Accident Benefits Schedule (SABS) through the Health Claims for Auto Insurance (HCAI) billing system. SPs include clinics providing medical and rehabilitation services, and assessments and examinations providers. All SPs must submit
Since 2019 the World Health Organization has recognized chronic pain as a disease, but insurance companies have not kept up with the times. This is important knowledge for personal injury lawyers who have many plaintiff clients involved in MVA and disability cases who suffer long-term pain.Pain is chronic when it lasts more than three months. Chronic pain affects women slightly
Disability lawyers can expect continued demand in 2022 from various COVID-related issues. We have recently written articles about the denial of disability insurance claims related to “long-haul” COVID-19 symptoms. The “shadow” pandemic includes other lingering health issues that will affect short-term disability (STD) and long-term disability (LTD) insurance claims. According to the 2021 Benefits Canada Healthcare Survey, more than half
A plaintiff has already suffered serious personal injury and endured the financial hardship that accompanied it, not to mention the stress of a daunting court case. Your client should not also have to absorb litigation loan costs, which are clearly the responsibility of the insurance company. Insurance companies use delaying tactics, not to accumulate more information about the file to
In recent months, Canada’s paralegals were hit by new rules from the federal government. And Ontario’s paralegals have been hit by provincial budget cuts. Bill C-75 In June, federal Bill C-75, designed to streamline and modernize the criminal justice system, received Royal Assent. The federal government is shifting some caseload away from Superior Court by increasing the maximum penalty for
