Province’s benefits cut plan an ‘attack’ on the disabled

The Ontario Liberals’ plan to revamp the province’s auto insurance system through benefit cuts is, simply put, “an unnecessary and unjustified attack on the dignity and independence of the seriously disabled,” Toronto critical injury lawyer Patrick Brown writes in Lawyers Weekly.

The government announced its proposal in April, which includes reductions in benefits to car-crash victims who suffer catastrophic injuries in amounts that represent more than $1 million per victim, writes Brown.

“The sting is even worse given a report from Fred Lazar and Eli Prisman of York University’s Schulich School of Business, which estimates that consumers in Ontario may have overpaid between $3 and $4 billion for auto insurance from 2001 to 2013,” writes Brown.

This isn’t the first time benefits have been the target of cuts, he says.

Monetary limits reduced

In 2010, despite the outcry of many in the legal and rehabilitation community, the government reduced the monetary limit of $100,000 for medical/ rehabilitation benefits to $3,500 for all minor injuries, which represent the majority of claims within the system, writes Brown, a partner with McLeish Orlando LLP.

“No other province or territory has a lower cap on medical and rehabilitation benefits for these types of injuries. The so-called balance appeared to be either restored, or certainly tipped in favour of the insurance industry. The Lazar report would no doubt support that.”

The justification given by the government at the time was that more funds would be available for the catastrophically injured, which is ironic given the latest proposal, says Brown.

Ontarians want lowered premiums

“The average Ontario citizen wants to drive a car and they want lowered premiums. But premiums are going down. The impact of the 2010 changes has not been fully realized,” writes Brown. “The new overhauled dispute resolution system will come into play in April of next year. This simplified and proportional system of dealing with benefits is expected to save millions in unnecessary costs and expense. Why not see what impact it has?”

This change is not a response to fraud or sports medicine clinics popping up at every corner, nor is it about lawyers having billboards on the highway, says Brown.

“Simply put, this is an unnecessary and unjustified attack on the dignity and independence of the seriously disabled,” he writes.