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Hey Brian Goldfinger: Where do you draw inspiration for your topics on the Toronto Injury Lawyer Blog?

Great question!

I draw inspiration from my clients, colleagues, cases, associates and every day experiences as a personal injury lawyer. No day is ever the same. While I cannot comment on specific cases at my law firm; I can certainly draw parallels to those general experiences to share with the public which makes for engaging stories to read.

One such parallel is the topic for this week’s installment of the Toronto Injury Lawyer Blog Post. It has to do with Long Term Disability policies and Long Term Disability claims. But, it can also be related to Mortgage Insurance Policies, Accidental Death and Dismemberment Policies, and Critical Illness Insurance.

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Many people don’t understand what concussions are, and how serious they can be. There are common misconceptions about concussions which need to be discussed.

The purpose of this Toronto Injury Lawyer Blog post from Brian Goldfinger is to better understand what concussions are, how they arise, how to deal with them, and how a concussion can impact ones life.

Please keep in mind that this Toronto Injury Lawyer Blog post is prepared by a personal injury lawyer in Brian Goldfinger. Brian Goldfinger is NOT a medical doctor. This entry is NOT intended to provide medical or legal advice for that matter. If you need medical advice, please consult with your doctor, attend at hospital or your local walk in clinic.

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Mistakes happen. Part of our job at Goldfinger Injury Lawyers is helping people better understand the law, and how car accident insurance works in Ontario.

Today the Toronto Injury Lawyer Blog is pleased to share Brian Goldfinger’s list of Top 6 Mistakes which people make after a serious car accident in Ontario.

If you or a loved one has been involved in a serious car collision, Brian Goldfinger and the team at Goldfinger Injury Lawyers urge you to read this list carefully to make sure that the same mistakes don’t happen do you or your loved ones. Your health is important and so is your case. Don’t get hurt twice.

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99% of personal injury cases settle without going to trial. Between the time a notice of the claim is given, right up to the commencement of trial, there are many opportunities for your personal injury lawyer, the insurance lawyer, and the insurance adjuster to settle your case.

One of those big opportunities to settle your case is through mediation. Mediation presents a great opportunity to do so because for one entire day, all of the lawyers and adjusters set aside their other files and focus solely on getting your case settled.

Mediation is not a trial. Mediation is not an arbitration. Mediation does not involve a Judge or Jury making rulings on your case. Nobody “wins” at mediation. Mediation involves compromise.

Mediation is a confidential, without prejudice settlement meeting between the parties which is presided over by a neutral third party mediator. The mediator can be a retired judge, a lawyer or a non lawyer who now work as a mediator. Having a mediator with expertise in the area of law being litigated is important. So, if the mediator is a retired family lawyer, but they are mediating a long term disability claim, the mediator may not have the requisite expertise to get the job done.

Plaintiff personal injury lawyers, insurance defence lawyers, and insurance adjusters attend at mediations frequently. Plaintiffs (ie injured accident victims and long term disability claimants) do not.

For most Plaintiffs, they may have heard of the term mediation before, or they may have participated in a mediation in a different sort of case (family, work, union, etc.); but their personal injury mediation is likely the first time they have participated in a personal injury mediation. The process can be intimidating. After all, it’s likely your first time going through this and there is a lot at stake (your case and livelihood).

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Goldfinger Injury Lawyers has assisted countless long term disability clients with their denied LTD claims against large insurers in fibromyalgia, chronic pain and depression cases.

If you are reading this installment of the Toronto Injury Lawyer Blog Post, you likely have some questions about fibromyalgia, chronic pain, or Long Term Disability Cases in general.

If this entry does not answer the questions you may have, don’t hesitate to give us a call toll free across Ontario at 1-877-730-1777 or email Brian Goldfinger at brian@goldfingerlaw.com or our law firm at info@goldfingerlaw.com. Brian Goldfinger and our long term disability lawyers would be pleased to answer your questions, whatever they might be. All of our communication is confidential; and there is no charge; so don’t hesitate to ask away.

And with that pre-amble out of the way, it’s now on to demystifying fibromyalgia and chronic pain in the context of a long term disability claim in Ontario.

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The wheels of justice turn slowly. Why is that?

Do you have all day to listen to the rantings of a personal injury lawyer?

Likely not.

The reality is that some of the delay can be blamed on the inherent nature of modern day personal injury litigation. It’s complex. It’s combative. It’s document heavy; and getting documents produced from the police, hospitals, treatment facilities or a doctor is not the most expeditious process. There are also significant privacy concerns as well which take time to deal with.

Other times you can blame the Courts. Most urban ones are slow without adequate resources to meet demand. Don’t believe Brian Goldfinger? Have you visited your local Courthouse lately?

Some times there simply aren’t enough Judges to hear cases. It’s true and it happens more that you would expect.

The focus of this Toronto Injury Lawyer Blog Post will be tactical delays by insurance lawyers to slow down the progression of a car accident case in Ontario.

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If you read the last instalment of the Toronto Injury Lawyer Blog, you would have read all about the confusing world of Long Term Disability policies, how they work; how they don’t work; and how ordinary people find them confusing. If you didn’t catch the last instalment of the Toronto Injury Lawyer Blog; don’t fret! You can read up on it here. Brian Goldfinger thinks that you will find it interesting and informative.

What makes our long term disability lawyers mad or frustrated, is when we see what appear to be otherwise meritorious cases, fail on account of a technicality not caught by the innocent disability claimant who doesn’t know any better.Goldfinger-logo-icon-300x300

Enter the recent decision out of Kitchener of Wiles v. Sun Life Assurance Company; released February 15, 2018 by the Honourable Justice G. E. Taylor.

In this case, the Plaintiff commenced an action against Sun Life Insurance for Long Term Disability Benefits. Prior to her disability, she worked at a company called Spaenaur.

The plaintiff states that she became fully disabled as of October 15, 2015, she continued to work full time and perform her employment duties until the date of termination of her employment at the beginning of November 2015. Prior to the termination of her employment, the plaintiff did not request of anyone at Spaenaur to be placed on disability.

In the Attending Physician’s Statement Salary Continuance Services, the plaintiff’s primary diagnosis was stated as “major anxiety disorder”. In the Attending Physician’s Statement Claim for Long-Term Disability benefits, the plaintiff’s symptoms were described as severe anxiety and depression which first appeared on November 3, 2015. The form also described the plaintiff’s symptoms as the result of being dismissed from her employment.

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Long Term Disability cases are complicated. Most people don’t even know what a Long Term Disability Claim even is. To take it one step further, some people who have Long Term Disability coverage don’t even know that they have it, or which insurance company it’s with, how much coverage they have, or the duration of their coverage.

To be fair, the monthly long term disability amount is normally not a fixed amount, rather it’s a fixed percentage based on your annual salary or income. This fixed percentage/amount is subject to a variety of set offs such as CPP Disability benefits, WSIB Benefits, other collateral income benefits etc. The Long Term Disability Benefit can also be subject to a Cost of Living Allowance (COLA) which would increase the monthly LTD benefit based on a fixed inflation calculation.

In any event, calculating the LTD benefit can be tricky, and can be a mathematical challenge for even the finest actuary.

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Today is Bell Let’s Talk Day! Mental illness is a leading cause of disability in Canada.

For every text, mobile and long distance call, tweet using #BellLetsTalk, Bell Let’s Talk Day video view on social media, use of the Bell Let’s Talk Facebook frame or Snapchat filter, Bell will donate 5¢ to Canadian mental health initiatives.

This is a super fantastic initiative which has helped to raise $86,504,429.05 since September 2010 towards mental health.

But, sometimes it’s not all about the Benjamins. Sometimes, it’s about raising awareness, ending negative stigma, and helping people feel more comfortable in their own skin. Perhaps greater than the money, is the very fact that people are more comfortable joining the conversation and talking about mental illness.

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A costs endorsement in the case of Persampieri v. Hobbs was just released by the Honourable Justice Sanderson after a three week jury trial of a car accident case.

This costs endorsement reflects everything that’s wrong with car accident law in Ontario.

You should know that in jury trials, jury decisions are not reported. Only the Judge’s endorsements/rulings from in-trial motions or costs decisions are reported. It’s through those endorsements/decisions which lawyers and insurers alike can pick up on what happened at trial (unless they are in the Court room to observe the trial as it takes place).

This case encapsulates EVERYTHING that’s wrong with the current state of tort claims for car accidents in Ontario. The system is simply grotesque, and tilted so far towards insurers it acts as a deterrent for innocent accident victims to seek the compensation which they deserve.

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