Upcoming Changes To Accident Benefits: Insurance Companies Win Again

Toronto personal injury lawyer Albert Coforzi: The current government of Ontario, following in a long tradition of governments of every political stripe bending over backwards for the benefit of the insurance company lobby, has signaled changes to what constitutes a "catastrophic impairment." The changes come into effect on June 1, 2016.

Among the more egregious changes: the amputation of an arm as a result of a motor vehicle accident will be considered catastrophic while the amputation of a leg will not.

Missing leg? Not "catastrophic" enough

Under the current Statutory Accident Benefits regime, a person who has lost an arm or a leg has a million insurance dollars available for medical and rehabilitation benefits. This helps for such things as stump care and prosthetic limbs. The coming regime change will reduce that money available for a leg amputee as described in the regulation to $65,000 of combined coverage: medical/rehab plus attendant care.

If you've ever had $2000 worth of dental work for a root canal and crown, ask yourself how quickly 65 grand will go when you are recovering from a leg amputation and you need to learn how to use a prosthetic device.

Insurance industry wins another round

But hey, there's always someone available to pick up the short fall. Guess who that will be? Yes, the Ontario taxpayer. A careless motorist causes a victim to lose a leg and it's our healthcare system that will take on the financial burden of care and recovery, rather than an insurance company that actually plans for this type of event. Makes a lot of sense....to insurers, I bet.

I'll be posting more information on the insurance regime changes in the months ahead. Stay tuned.

I am a personal injury lawyer with Pace Law Firm in Toronto. Contact me if you have any questions.

Woman To Pay $30K For Air Ambulance Ride

Toronto Personal Injury Lawyer Albert Conforzi: A frustrating story from up north:

An Alberta mother says she is scrambling to pay a bill of up to $30,000 after a premature birth forced her to use an air ambulance in Northern Ontario. 

Amy Savill, from High Prairie, Alta., was visiting with family when her water broke — nearly two months early. 

She says she and her family jumped in a truck and rushed to the Timmins hospital, where they say staff weren’t equipped to deal with premature births before 32 weeks gestation. 

With the baby coming and no other options, an air ambulance was called in to transport Savill to the hospital in Sudbury, about four hours away. 

Before the helicopter arrived, Savill was told the flight would come at a price of up to $30,000. She said she didn’t have a choice.

Let me see if I have this right. A pregnant woman from Alberta is in Northern Ontario when her water breaks 2 months early. The hospital hasn't been given the resources to handle a high risk birth situation. They decide that this woman must be rushed to Sudbury for specialized care and that an air ambulance must be called in.

The province of Alberta *would* fund the trip if it had been in Alberta, but won't pay for any of the trip because she's in Ontario. Ontario, meanwhile, wants its money back notwithstanding that the mother had no choice but to follow the Ontario doctor's advice and get in the helicopter. Perhaps Ontario can use the 30 grand to update their Northern Ontario hospitals?

A pox on both their houses.

I am a personal injury lawyer with Pace Law Firm in Toronto, Canada. Please contact me if you have questions.

Uber In Toronto: Getting Ugly?

Toronto Personal Injury Lawyer Albert Conforzi: The latest chapter in the Toronto/Uber saga is threatening to become very Punch Imlach: If you can’t beat’em in the courts, beat’em in the alleys:

At least 99 UberX drivers now face 198 bylaw violations as the City of Toronto fights to rein in the California-based ride-sharing giant. 

The city says it will keep charging private vehicle owners trying to make some extra cash by connecting with passengers through the Uber app. Cheering on the city is the traditional taxi industry, whose representatives say unlicensed “bandits” are putting passengers at risk and could bankrupt those who follow the city’s rules.

Having lost their initial challenge of Uber X, the City of Toronto is now trying to wear down the weakest links in the piece—the independent contractor drivers. By-Law enforcement officers are now out writing up a storm of citations against the little guy. Again, time will tell to what, if any, extent it will be successful. Perhaps more energy should be spent trying to figure out what a new taxi or limo registration machine should look like.

Unfortunately, if the legal issues aren't ironed out soon, things could get ugly:

Toronto cab drivers block an UberX driver from accepting a passenger and threaten to take his GPS device in a video shared online. 

The video, shared by Justin Burrows, an UberX driver himself, shows the altercation which took place near the Fairmont Royal York hotel on Front Street West last week. Burrows says it's video evidence of the growing hostilities between traditional cab drivers and those who drive for Uber, a battle that's being fought at city hall and in the streets. 

The last things we need is violence in the streets over hailing a ride. City Hall needs to solve this issue, and quickly.

I recently had my first Uber ride while in Manhattan. It was a black car service. The driver had a registration as a limo driver ($350.00 approx.) and insurance as a vehicle for hire. His arrival was prompt; his demeanor was professional; his music playlist was excellent; and the fixed price fare was affordable going from lower to mid-town Manhattan. The only thing that he did not have was a New York city taxi medallion that costs about $50,000. As a customer, I was more than satisfied. As far as I could tell, my driver was pretty happy with the way things were going, too.

The world is changing and Uber is filling a need that the old traditional forms of passenger livery are not serving. If that weren't the case, Uber would be failing as opposed to spreading around the world.

There won't be stopping this tide in Toronto for long. Cool heads need to prevail in making this transition as peaceful and convenient as possible.

I am a personal injury lawyer with Pace Law Firm in Toronto. Contact me if you have any questions.