jmcleish@mollp.com
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Lawyers at McLeish Orlando LLP, in their role as members of the Personal Injury Alliance (PIA), have taken a stand against proposed cuts to auto insurance benefits that will make life much more difficult for those who have suffered catastrophic injuries.
The proposed reduction in benefits redefines the definition of ‘catastrophic injury’ to exclude many individuals with serious injuries, says Toronto critical injury lawyer and firm partner John McLeish. The proposed cuts also reduce available medical, rehabilitation, and attendant care benefits from $2 million to $1 million, he says.
“The cost of round-the-clock care is expensive and $1 million is not enough,” says McLeish.
The proposed changes, which were outlined in the provincial budget, will shift the financial burden of accident-related health-care costs from insurance companies to taxpayers, says McLeish.
‘Draconian changes’
“With such draconian changes to the definition of catastrophic injury and the reduction of medical, rehabilitation, and attendant care benefits, the financial burden of taking care of these seriously injured individuals shifts from the insurance companies to taxpayer-funded programs such as OHIP, the Ontario Disability Support Plan and Ontario Works,” says McLeish.
The lawyers at McLeish Orlando, and the other firms of the Personal Injury Alliance, together with the rehabilitation community and organizations representing injured individuals, are working to try to prevent the proposed changes.
“Insurance companies are going to see their profits go even higher. Premier Kathleen Wynne’s Liberals have left the very constituency they say they want to protect out to dry. This government has truly put profits before people,” says McLeish.
The firms of the PIA are asking that concerned citizens send an email to their local MPPs and Premier Wynne to speak out against the proposed changes.
A petition at Change.org has more than 17,000 signatures calling for Ontario’s finance minister to reverse the “unethical” changes, and a rally has been organized for June 3 at noon at Queen’s Park in downtown Toronto.
