Next year, auto insurers in Ontario will begin profiteering off of those residents who are disabled and injured in motor vehicle accidents.
As horrible as it sounds, the recent passage of legislation will cut in half the coverage for those victims who are most seriously injured in wrecks. The taxpayers will then be forced to cover the rest of the injured parties’ expenses, which can be extensive.
A victim’s group outraged by the situation has called on the Ontario Ombudsman and Auditor General to launch an investigation into the matter.
Auto insurance companies in the province have found a way to deny the claims of their insured based on the biased medical opinions of the insurer’s assessors. Seriously hurt crash victims have had the legitimate diagnoses and prognoses of their attending physicians invalidated by these assessor’s opinions.
This results in delays of service and denials of claims of customers who have paid their premiums and deserve better treatment. The "favourable" opinions straddle the medico-legal boundaries and minimize and trivialize legitimate injuries.
These assessments prevent injured parties from accessing their Statutory Accident Benefits. Those injured but untreated accident victims then get dumped on the OHIP and other public support systems as taxpayers subsidize the medical bills of car wreck survivors through both the Ontario Disability Support Program and Ontario Works.
If you find yourself in such dire straits after an accident, please know you are not alone. Ontario personal injury lawyers can assist you with fighting for the insurance coverage for which you are eligible and the insured parties have already paid.
Source: northumberlandview.ca, "Provincial News: Ontario’s Shame and Scandal – how the injured and disabled are punished by government policy," Nov. 17, 2015