No fault accident benefits were supposed to compensate Ontario drivers for the significant reduction in their right to sue. 20 years ago when the right to sue for car accidents was restricted to serious and permanent injuries, the quid pro quo was a generous amount of benefits to cover lost income, caregiver and housekeeping help and medical care.
From the September 2010 overhaul of the Statutory Accident Benefits (SABS) regime to the passing of Bill 15 in November 2014, accident victims’ rights in Ontario are being whittled down. Now with the most recent Budget Announcement, this avalanche of attrition is continuing to cascade.
Last month, the Ontario Liberal government revealed its latest budget entitled “Building Ontario Up” but what it does to our auto insurance benefits is actually the opposite by significantly slashing benefits available to accident victims.
The release of Ontario’s budget last week prompted comment from the president of the Ontario Medical Association, Dr. Ved Tandan, that the government’s policy of taking from the health care system to balance its budget is putting the healthcare system in jeopardy. Population growth and unmet needs for family doctors and other services are being ignored, he says. This is certainly an important and complex …
Dr. Fred Lazar and Dr. Eli Prisman, from the York University Schulich School of Business, conclude in a recent study that for the period of 2001 to 2013, consumers in Ontario have likely overpaid for auto insurance by between $3 and $4 billion. This money has not gone to accident victims nor to lower premiums for consumers – instead this money has gone straight to …
Photo: A French rescue worker inspects the remains of the Germanwings Airbus A320 at the site of the crash in the French Alps. REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes On March 24, 2015, a young co-pilot for Lufthansa’s low cost-airline Germanwings intentionally crashed a passenger jet into the French Alps, killing himself and 149 others. It was quickly discovered that the co-pilot suffered from depression and had researched suicide. The information …
