Toronto Injury Lawyer Blog

Published on: March 17, 2020

How your personal injury case is impacted by COVID-19

This installment of the Toronto Injury Lawyer Blog is intended to focus specifically on the impact which COVID-19 will have on your personal injury case.

Right now we recognize that there are much more pressing life issues out there given increased health risks and lifestyle changes which COVID-19 has brought. These larger life, political, economic and health/safety issues are certainly larger than a personal injury case.

We are personal injury lawyers.

We do not profess to give an cogent or meaningful advice about health policy, social policy, geo-political policy etc.

If you want that sort of information or misinformation; there’s certainly no shortage of it out there.

We are going to stick to our lane and comment about what we know best; personal injury law.

Before we get in to it, we would like to let you in behind the curtain on what Goldfinger Injury Lawyers is doing to flatten the curve. All of our personal injury lawyers are working remotely from home. All in person meetings with clients, adjusters and other lawyers etc. have been cancelled. These meetings have either been rescheduled, or they will take place via teleconference or video conference. Examinations for Discovery have been re-scheduled. We aren’t yet sure what’s happening with upcoming mediations. These tend to work best in person, but during these times we are taking it day by day and will have to consult with all parties in order to determine the best course of action. This may require re-scheduling the mediation, or the mediations taking place by teleconference or video conference. We remain responsive to voice messages and emails as always.

Many of our clients are concerned for a variety of reasons. But they are calling us for answers about their respective cases and how COVID-19 has and will impact their case.

Here’s how:

Continue reading →

Published on: March 12, 2020

How COVID-19 Corona Virus can make our legal system better!

By Goldfinger Injury Lawyers

Let me preface this article by stating that COVID-19 Corona Virus is very real; and very serious. For facts, consult your local physician, or reputable medical/government websites such as:

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/index.html

https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/diseases/coronavirus-disease-covid-19.html

https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/advice-for-public

https://www.who.int/health-topics/coronavirus

https://www.toronto.ca/community-people/health-wellness-care/diseases-medications-vaccines/coronavirus/

The point of this edition of the Toronto Injury Blog Post is to put as positive a spin as we can on a very negative situation.

One of the biggest complaints from lawyers is regarding how slow, delayed and backlogged our Courts are. Our Courts are handing an enormous volume of cases, with inadequate resources and technology at their disposal.

Electronic filing of Court documents is NOT available for all documents, nor is it available at all levels of Court. In fact, electronic filing is not encouraged or promoted as aggressively as it should be by the Ministry of the Attorney General.

There is an entire industry which has been built on in-person filing and delivery of legal documents (process servers). I have nothing against process servers. They are currently essential to personal injury claims. In fact, with new privacy legislation they are more important than ever because they’re the only ones who have access to track down certain Defendants’ addresses if they aren’t detailed on police report.

But the reality is that with technology, process serving as we know it should be rendered obsolete. All legal documents should be filed electronically with the Court. But they aren’t. Not even close. Hot take. I know. But as lawyers we tend to lag behind and play in the past. COVID-19 is telling us that lawyers should be more flexible and change with the times.

Here’s how.

Continue reading →

Published on: March 3, 2020

Ontario Government to Fund $20M project for Cognitive and Psychotherapy

By Goldfinger Injury Lawyers

Mental Health is a very serious problem, but it’s not treated with the seriousness which it deserves.

Part of it is because there is a stigma around mental health. You can’t see depression, anxiety or suicidal ideations; therefore they don’t exist.

When someone is physically injured, you can see those injuries in plain sight. Blood, bruises, broken bones, needing a cane, wheelchair or walker etc. Because you can see those injuries that means that they are true.

But mental health is invisible to the naked eye. Even worse, those injuries are subjective unless you have a proper diagnosis from a treating doctor or specialist. But even mental health diagnoses differ from physician to physician. Some doctors are sympathetic towards mental health. Others are not.

Worse still is that hockey and tough winters are ingrained in Canadian culture. When it’s cold outside, you bundle up, suck it up and tough it out. Hockey players are glorified for playing injured, bloodied, battled and bruised. You get knocked down, you’re taught to suck it up and get back on the ice and hit the opponent harder.

Continue reading →

Published on: February 25, 2020

“Getting to Yes” in a Long Term Disability Case

By Goldfinger Injury Lawyers

Determining how much your case is worth in a Long Term Disability Case can be a bit of a weird science. But, there is a method to what many perceive as madness.

Plaintiff side personal injury lawyers would LOVE for your number to be accepted by the long term disability insurer.

Wouldn’t it be great if coming up to a number in a long term disability case was as easy as imagining the highest number in your head, spitting it out, and then the case is settled.

This would be your personal injury lawyer’s dream. The client gets what s/he wants. That number is very high. The lawyer feels great for having achieved such a significant recovery on behalf of his/her client.

Long term disability cases are not cases for pain and suffering. Nobody from the long term disability insurer committed an actionable wrong which led directly to your disability. Meaning, no one from the long term disability insurer ran you over with their car resulting in your disability (unless this actually really happened). For the most part, the disability has little to do with the action(s) of the insurer, and vice versa. While the decision of the insurer to deny, or terminate benefits will likely cause emotional stress and financial duress; it has little to do with the onset of the actual disability giving rise to the claim in the first place.

Continue reading →

Published on: February 20, 2020

Brian Goldfinger on getting treatment in personal injury case

By Goldfinger Injury Lawyers

After a serious accident or collision, the injured party will require treatment.

Sometimes the treatment is covered by OHIP. Seeing your family doctor, getting surgery, assistance through LHIN, seeing a specialist, publicly funded physiotherapy; these are all examples of treatment which is covered under the OHIP system. That means that regardless of who was at fault for the accident, that you don’t need to pay for the treatment. This type of treatment is of particular important for all manners of accident and injury cases. If you hold a valid Health Card, there is no excuse for not at the very least, seeing your doctor. It’s free.

Sometimes treatment is NOT covered under the publicly funded OHIP system. Seeing a psychologist, a physiotherapist, occupational therapist, chiropractor, speech language pathologist, massage therapist; these are examples of treatment which is NOT commonly covered by OHIP.

To get these forms of treatment which are not covered, accident victims have a few options to access treatment.

Continue reading →

Published on: February 10, 2020

Insurance Companies get a Secret Credit for your pain and suffering in Ontario car accident cases

By Goldfinger Injury Lawyers

Did you know that Ontario car insurance companies are entitled to a secret credit approaching $40,000 for your pain and suffering in car accident cases? Probably not.

It’s one of the best kept secrets in the insurance industry which insurance companies don’t want you to know about.

In the past few days, the secret credit aka the deductible has been getting a bit of attention in the news. Here is an article from the Toronto Sun explaining the unfairness of the deductible.

In fairness, the current deductible does not actually stand at $40,000. Technically speaking, it sits at $39,556.53, but lawyers call it $40,000 because remembering the exact dollars and cents is a bit difficult to do. This $39,556.53 goes up each year on January 1st. So, while today the deductible sits at $39,556.53, by January 1st of next year, it will go up again, likely over $40,000 which is higher than the average net salary of many income earners in Ontario.

Continue reading →

Published on: February 5, 2020

Fire Loss and Burn Claims in Ontario

By Goldfinger Injury Lawyers

Some of the most devastating and gruesome injuries which our personal injury lawyers see occur as a result of fire. Fires in homes. Fires in apartments. Fires in condominiums. Fires in commercial units. Fires cause devastation to person and property. They also kill.

Often in fire injury and fire loss claims, damages are almost secondary for the lawyers. All of the lawyers for both Plaintiff and Defence recognize the loss suffered by the burn victim. The lawyers may argue about the extent of the damages and the impact and duration of those damages. But reasonable lawyers will recognize that serious burns cause serious injuries which have life long physical and psychological consequences.

Where things can tricky is when it comes to who will pay for those damages.

All lawyers are taught that it’s very important to sue a party with deep pockets; meaning that you have to make sure that you can sue a party who can pay a judgment or payout on a settlement.

If you sue a party with no assets, you have nothing to collect upon. The judgment which a Plaintiff is awarded is without any material value because you cannot collect from an impecunious party. Think of it like you can’t get blood from a stone.

The same adage applies to fire loss claims. Generally in personal injury cases, lawyers see insurance companies defend their insureds, and payout damages on a judment or settlement.

The same cannot be said in burn cases and fire loss cases.

Continue reading →

Published on: January 30, 2020

Do I have to appeal my Long Term Disability Denial (Ontario)?

By Goldfinger Injury Lawyers

If you have been denied long term disability benefits, you are likely wondering what your next steps are. The purpose of this week’s installment of the Toronto Injury Lawyer Blog is to give you some tips on what those next steps are towards getting the long term disability benefits which you deserve.

Long Term Disability Benefits are very topical for this week’s blog post given that yesterday was Bell Let’s Talk Day to raise awareness for mental health. The thing about mental health is that it’s invisible. When you break a leg, you’re put in to a cast and the whole world can see that you’re injured and not able to walk properly.

In contrast, mental health is invisible to the naked eye. Everyday people walk around with mental health issues which the outside world isn’t aware of, or doesn’t understand.

This dovetails nicely with long term disability claims not only because mental health can have long term consequences on one’s ability to work; but also because the vast majority of our long term disability clients suffer from mental health issues. It’s because mental health issues are invisible, and can be subjective in nature; which gives long term disability insurers an easy out to write them off as “made up“, “exaggerated“, or which won’t impact your ability to work. Mental health issues won’t show up on an x-ray, CT Scan or MRI. That gives a long term disability insurer a reason to say that the mental health issues which you are struggling with are simply a fabrication of your mind or that mental health isn’t a big deal and that you should be able to work.

Continue reading →

Published on: January 22, 2020

One sided pro-insurance company forms in Long Term Disability Cases

By Goldfinger Injury Lawyers

We must admit, long term disability cases can be very strange. Liability and calculating damages is not straight forward like in a dog bite or car accident case. The reason for that is long term disability cases are contractual in nature. That means that they are based upon, and defined by your long term disability contract.

This long term disability contract can be under a group benefits plan, or an individual policy of insurance.

Either way, chances are you haven’t taken the time to read the entirely of your long term disability contract because the majority of people (who aren’t lawyers or insurance professionals) simply don’t. Why curl up with a good book when you can read over your long term disability contract right?

Determining liability in a dog bite case is easy. Bad dog bites innocent passerby and causes damages. Liability has been established and now we can move along to damages.

Calculating damages in a dog bite case is easy as well. What are the injuries; look up similar fact case law and damage awards and then process those figures. Factor in the person’s age, education, employment, and how the injuries impact their daily lives along with any past/future care needs.

It’s not so easy when it comes to long term disability claims. Every contract is different, every disability is different as well. There are lots of terms and conditions contained in the long term disability policies our lawyers have seen which are real head scratchers for our clients.

Here are a few of those clauses which tend to confuse long term disability claimants.

Continue reading →

Published on: January 15, 2020

What do Chronic Pain, Fibromyalgia and Depression all have in common?

By Goldfinger Injury Lawyers

A lot of the clients at Goldfinger Injury Lawyers suffer from Chronic Pain, Fibromyalgia and Depression. It’s not easy because nobody seems to understand these conditions. More on that later.

We have expertise in handling chronic pain, fibromyalgia and depression cases which present in a variety of forms such as car accident cases, accident benefit claims, short term disability cases, long term disability cases, Canada Pension Plan Disability Appeals, dog bite cases, slip and fall cases, assault cases and bike accident cases just to name a few.

There are a few things which chronic pain, fibromyalgia and depression have in common.

For starters, they are are invisible to the naked eye. Your chronic pain, fibromyalgia or depression does not show up on any x-ray, CT Scan or MRI. There are no objective diagnostic tests which show that you have chronic pain, fibromyalgia or depression.

Normally, your family doctor or treating specialist (like a rheumatologist, psychiatrist, physiatrist or psychologist) will make a diagnosis of chronic pain, fibromyalgia and depression (depending on their specialty).

But for every specialist who will attest that you cannot function or cannot work on account of your chronic pain, fibromyalgia and depression; there will be another specialist who will say the opposite. Usually that specialist is retained by, or contracted by the insurance company in the context of an accident benefit, long term disability benefit or tort claim. Because they have been retained by the insurance company; and the insurance company is paying the cost of the assessment; you must take their findings with a grain of salt.

But despite this, too many negative reports against the Plaintiff/Claimant will create a compelling chain of denials making it harder and harder for a Plaintiff/Claimant to get the results/benefits which s/he deserves.

Continue reading →

TORONTO INJURY LAWYER BLOG