Blog – Neinstein Personal Injury Lawyers
High-profile cycling accidents prompt calls for improved road safety in Ottawa
Laurier segregated bike lane. Credit: OttawaAC/Wikimedia Commons
In Ottawa, cycling advocates have been energized by the death of 23-year-old Nusrat Jahan, who was killed September 1 in a collision on a Laurier Ave bike lane. Jahan, the daughter of a diplomat working at the Bangladesh High Commission, was ‘right-hooked’ by a Tomlinson Environmental Services truck and pronounced dead at the scene. The collision was one of three serious cycling accidents which occurred in Ottawa in a span of five days. read more…
Can inclusive classrooms improve the academic experience for children with autism?
Every child experiences difficulties during their academic careers. Some kids have trouble fitting in with their classmates; others struggle academically; some must cope with conflict in their personal or home lives. For children with disabilities such as autism, these universal issues are magnified and school can become a challenging and sometimes unhealthy experience. read more…
Understanding the pressures of caring for an injury victim
When a person suffers a serious personal injury, their life can change in a variety of ways. The most obvious impacts are physical: injury victims may be confined to a hospital bed for an extended period of time; they may require regular physiotherapy and rehabilitation; they may experience lingering or even chronic pain. Some injuries result in physical disabilities that fundamentally change the victim’s everyday life.
Beyond the physical impacts, serious injuries can lead to lasting emotional and mental challenges. Depression, anxiety, and hopelessness are sadly not uncommon in injury victims whose lives have been permanently altered by their accident. This is understandable; as we discussed in a blog last month, reintegration into society can be a daunting, even overwhelming task which demands great commitment and support.
Unfortunately, the emotional impact of serious injuries can often extend to those close to the victim. Family members, in particular, may feel overwhelmed or guilty as they adapt to new caretaking responsibilities. Providing emotional and physical support to an injured family member comes with pressures which are not widely acknowledged by the general public. Who, then, is providing care for the care-providers?
The staff at Toronto’s Runnymede Healthcare Centre includes social workers who work to address the mental challenges faced by the family members of personal injury victims.
“Our social work team helps patients and families who are in distress by restoring their coping skills so that they can regain control of their emotions, personal affairs, and most importantly, their health,” said Sharleen Ahmed, Runnymede VP of Strategy, Quality and Clinical Programs, in an interview with Hospital News. “Through assessment, diagnosis and therapy, social workers provide patient-centred care while also identifying and addressing the needs of family members.”
This work is critically important to injury victims’ chances for a successful recovery. When a family member suffers a serious personal injury, caregivers may suddenly be in charge of managing the physical and emotional health of two people. Especially in cases where the victim’s cognitive ability is impacted, responsibilities within a family may undergo a foundational change.
“In addition to guiding family members through their anxiety, we also understand that they face additional burdens in the form of grief, regret and guilt,” Susan McGrail, Runnymede’s Professional Practice Leader, Social Work, told Hospital News. “We listen to their concerns and provide the reassurance they need, when they need it most.”
The staff at Runnymede works to educate caregivers, provide guidance when making complicated decisions, and help families access the resources necessary to their loved one’s recovery.
“As with many other social systems, understanding how the healthcare system works is often complex for families, so we respond by providing the information they need,” said McGrail. “We help to raise awareness that our hospital is one step on the journey to recovery and that the ultimate goal of the healthcare system is to get patients back into the community.”
When you or a member of your family suffers a serious personal injury, experienced professionals like the team at Runnymede can simplify your recovery process. But unfortunately, they can’t handle everything: in some cases, a personal injury victim can help you access the financial resources necessary to ensure a full recovery. If you or a loved one has suffered an injury, contact Neinstein Personal Injury Lawyers today for a free, no-obligation consultation.
Will Your Homeowner Insurance Cover Bullying Offences?
The Ontario Court of Appeal was recently faced with this interesting question in Unifund v. D.E. et al. In this case, Mr. D.E. had a homeowner insurance policy with Unifund, which included liability coverage for actions that cause unintentional bodily injury.
Mr. D.E.’s daughter allegedly bullied a fellow grade 8 student causing her physical and psychological injuries. Mr. D.E. was a named defendant for his failure to control his daughter. read more…
Surviving the New Statutory Accident Benefits Schedule (SABS)
As you may be aware June 1, 2016 marked the start of significant change to the Statutory Accident Benefits Schedule and the benefits injured Ontarians can receive.
As a result of these changes we in the legal community along with the medical community need to put on our creative “thinking caps.”
How do we effectively use the minimal Medical and Rehab funds when someone is initially Non-Catastrophic ($65,000.00 in Med-Rehab benefits and Attendant Care benefits combined when it used to be $86,000.00) but serious enough that they will eventually be Catastophic ($1 million in Med-Rehab benefits and Attendant Care benefits combined versus $1 million for each pre-June 1, 2016)? read more…
How autonomous vehicles will improve road safety and disrupt the auto insurance sector
Nissan autonomous car prototype. Photo credit: Norbert Aepli/Wikimedia Commons
The automotive industry – including auto insurance providers – has arrived at a consensus: driverless vehicles are coming to roads near you. What’s less clear is when they will arrive. Although numerous jurisdictions around the world – including here in Ontario – have opened their roads to driverless vehicle testing, mainstream adoption remains an undetermined number of years away. According to the Wall Street Journal, KPMG has predicted wide availability of fully autonomous vehicles by 2025, while Deloitte has pinpointed the late 2020s. Consultancy Fehr & Peers, meanwhile, believes that up to half of American traffic will be automated between 2040 and 2050.
Much like airbags and seatbelts before it, autonomous technology will have a huge impact on vehicle safety. Volvo president and chief executive Hakan Samuelsson has called autonomous driving cars “the single most important advance in automotive safety to be seen in recent years,” and believes they will lead to “fewer accident, fewer injuries, [and] fewer fatalities.”
“If you look back at the way cars dramatically shaped the 20th century, that’s how autonomous vehicles will shape our lives in the 21st century,” said Barrie Kirk, Executive Director of Canadian Automated Vehicles Centre of Excellence in an interview with Insurance Business Canada.
Today, 93 per cent of motor vehicle accidents are caused by human error. With the gradual adoption of driverless tech, crashes are expected to decline by up to 80 per cent by 2035. And in situations where collisions are unavoidable, automated driving systems will work to reduce speed and mitigate damage.
Not all industries are looking forward to the coming influx of driverless cars, though: auto insurance accounts for more than 40 per cent of global insurance premiums, according to Autonomous Research. Last year, car insurers earned around $200 billion in premiums in the United States alone. Driverless technology puts that money at risk.
While agreed-upon numbers are scarce, experts are unified in their belief that self-driving technology will seriously impact the auto insurance sector. A report from Swiss Re and HERE Maps suggests insurers could lose $20 billion by 2020. Deloitte has predicted that US premiums will fall from $200 billion per year to a mere $40 billion by 2050. KPMG believes the industry could shrink by 40 per cent over the next two-and-a-half decades.
In addition to falling rates of motor vehicle accidents, insurers must cope with a changing auto insurance landscape. Liability is expected to shift away from drivers and towards manufacturers: Volvo, Mercedes Benz, and Google have all said they will absorb liability for motor vehicle accidents involving their cars.
“It is going to challenge our existing concepts of liability,” said XL Caitlin chief executive Mick McGavick in an interview with the Financial Times. “These are going to shift from being individual risks to systems risks. It is a whole new insurance pool that didn’t exist before.”
Until autonomous vehicles become an everyday reality, motor vehicle accidents are likely to remain a leading cause of death and serious injury in North America. If you or a member of your family has been injured in a car accident, contact Neinstein Personal Injury Lawyers today for a free, no-obligation consultation. We can help you file a personal injury claim or resolve auto insurance disputes.
Motorists’ duty to Jaywalkers
Credit: Emilien ETIENNE/Flickr
The Highway Traffic Act imposes obligations on both drivers and pedestrians using the roadway.
Jaywalking, as it is commonly known, is not legally defined and is a slang term that people use to describe a pedestrian crossing mid-block.
The Highway Traffic Act provides that if crossing at a crosswalk, the pedestrian must obey the traffic signal and cross only when permitted otherwise the pedestrian may be ticketed. A pedestrian legally can cross mid-block. The law does not speak to how far from the crosswalk a pedestrian can be to legally cross mid-block. However, when a pedestrian chooses to cross mid-block, or not at a designated cross walk, the pedestrian must yield to oncoming traffic.
At the same time, drivers must keep a lookout for pedestrians and try to avoid an accident.
The Highway Traffic Act imposes an affirmative obligation on drivers using the roadway to yield the right of way to pedestrian. Once a pedestrian enters on the roadway, the motorist must allow the pedestrian the opportunity to complete their crossing. If a collision occurs, the onus of proof is on the motorist to prove that the accident did not occur through the negligence of the motorist. In other words, the motorist must prove that they were not negligent.
When pedestrian – motor vehicle accidents do arise, the legal obligations of the driver to avoid the accident take center stage. Civil responsibility for the accident can sometimes have other considerations other than the legal obligations of pedestrians and motorists.
For more information on pedestrian rights and responsibilities, contact a Neinstein Personal Injury Lawyer.
Waivers in Ontario: Waiving Your Rights?
In the 2015 decision Levita v. Alan Crew et al. 2015 ONSC 5316, the court highlighted the importance of waivers as an effective 100% liability defense. In that case, Mr. Levita was injured while playing a hockey game in a non-contact hockey league. He sued the opposing player, Mr. Crew, for negligently causing the injury and the hockey league for allegedly allowing the opposing player to participate in the league.
Prior to the tournament, the hockey league required all players to sign a waiver. The waiver set out the inherent risks of hockey including collisions with other players, pucks, boards, or ice-related injuries. The waiver released the hockey league from any liability for loss or injury that any player may suffer while playing hockey.
During a hockey tournament, Mr. Levita and Mr. Crew contacted, causing Mr. Levita to fracture his tibia and fibula, requiring surgery. He was unable to work for three months and required substantial personal care.
With respect to liability against Mr. Crew, the court held there was insufficient evidence to find liability: “physical contact between the players which took place in this game occurred in the course of play and fell within the accepted inherent risks”. Inherent risks in the game of hockey included bodily contact, even in a non-contact league.
With respect to the waiver, Mr. Levita argued that the hockey league failed to explain properly the terms of the waiver and thus, it should be voided. The court held that Mr. Levita should have satisfied himself that he understood the content of the waiver before signing. As such, the waiver could not be voided.
The court further held that the waiver was clear and unambiguous in addressing the risks inherent in recreational hockey, and included the kind of injury that was suffered by Mr. Levita. The court held that the waiver constituted a complete defence to Mr. Levita’s claim, and the action was ultimately dismissed.
Youth concussions can lead to lasting brain damage: study
Photo credit: Mauricio Pastor/Wikimedia Commons
A team of researchers at Toronto’s St. Michael’s Hospital have published new findings regarding the impact of concussions on the brains of young athletes. The report, published July 21 in the Journal of Neurotrauma, found “noticeable changes in the brains of athletes with a history of concussions, months or even years after their last injury,” according to the Globe and Mail. read more…
How can we facilitate community reintegration for victims of spinal cord injuries?
Credit: Arnold Reinhold/Wikimedia Commons
In 2010, the Urban Futures Institute estimated that 600 new spinal cord injuries occur each year in Ontario, and that over 33,000 Ontarians were living with spinal cord injuries at that time. The most common cause? “Unintentional falls” and motor vehicle accidents, which together account for 85 per cent of all spinal injuries in Ontario. These injuries can occur at any time and effect any one.
Anthony Simas knows this better than most. At 17, he slipped on his pool deck and broke his neck when he landed in the water. Today, Anthony is a “C5 incomplete quadriplegic,” meaning he has full head and neck movement and muscle range in his upper-body, but has lost function of his legs. Now in his 20s, Anthony has become an advocate for victims of spinal cord injuries.
Spinal Cord Injury Ontario – which works to assist people with spinal cord injuries and other disabilities to achieve independence and full community participation – says that it takes the average spinal injury victim between two and three years to attain “sufficient independence.” That generally involves a period of acute hospitalization followed by an extended period of intensive rehabilitation therapy. At Toronto Rehab, where Anthony went through his rehabilitation, this process usually lasts 50 to 60 days, after which patients are discharged.
While rehab and hospitalization can be painful, exhausting experiences, the process of reintegrating into the community can be equally overwhelming. For victims of spinal cord injuries, re-entry into the community essentially means learning to live a new life.
That’s why Anthony partnered with Toronto Rehab’s Lyndhurst Centre and UHN OpenLab to develop and launch a spinal injury-specific version of the Patient Oriented Discharge Summary (PODS). The tool, developed by Toronto Rehab, “facilitates a more patient-centred discharge for spinal cord injury patients during the transition from hospital to home,” according to a recent UHN article.
“There are so many physical and emotional challenges for patients returning home, and sometimes they have not begun the process of grieving the loss of their mobility,” Sandra Mills, Patient and Family Educator at Toronto Rehab, told UHN.ca. “They’ve participated in intensive rehab where healthcare professionals are readily available. Going home post-injury is a huge adjustment and accepting that life will be different than it was before is part of the adjustment process.”
Briefly, PODS are designed to help make the transition from rehab to everyday life as painless as possible. They ensure easy access to resources like telephone contact lists, and equip patients with information on a variety of subjects, including short-term care plans; medication; signs, symptoms and pain management; outpatient referrals; and follow-up appointments. Each patient’s PODS is completed at a pre-discharge, patient-led meeting between a member of the healthcare team, a neutral facilitator, and the patient themselves.
From January to March 2015, Anthony Simas helped launch a pilot PODS program tailored to the needs of victims of spinal cord injuries. Under the program, PODS meetings also included patient advisors who offered practical advice to soon-to-be-discharged injury victims.
“There are so many things to consider once you’re on your own but you don’t think to ask until you’re faced with the situation – for example, whether you know how to jump a curb, roll up and down ramps or what to do if your wheelchair breaks down,” Simas’ told UHN.ca. “It’s also a lot easier to speak with another person with a spinal cord injury about more sensitive topics like catheterization. Having the support of a patient advisor in your discharge meeting offers a sense of comfort and support that you wouldn’t get otherwise.”
If you or a member of your family has suffered a spinal cord injury, you may be entitled to compensation which will help you follow the long path to recovery. Contact Neinstein Personal Injury Lawyers today for a free, no-obligation consultation.
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