In this February 2021 news segment, CBC’s Erik White investigates how the pandemic has and will continue to impact Ontario’s courts. White interviews several experts including Joseph Campisi to learn about the current suspension of jury trials and the resulting backlog of cases in the system.
Read More about CBC News with Joseph Campisi: COVID Impact on Ontario Courts
Congratulations to Campisi’s own Tracy Romanowski for being awarded the John A. McLeish Award for 2020!
Read More about Tracy Romanowski Awarded 2020 John McLeish Award by the OTLA
In Surani v. Perth Insurance Company (2018 ONSC 7254), the Divisional Court reviewed a Financial Services Commission of Ontario (FSCO) appeal that found the applicant, Mrs. Surani’s post-accident business income should be deducted from her Income Replacement Benefit (IRB) entitlement.
Mr. Cowdrey was involved in a serious motorcycle accident on September 15, 2013. He was riding alone just after midnight in Innisfil, Ontario when he struck a pothole and was thrown from his motorcycle. He suffered life-threatening injuries including a serious traumatic brain injury and extensive physical injuries including the loss of his left eye. He was airlifted to Sunnybrook Hospital in Toronto and placed in a medically induced coma for 2 weeks. As a result of the severity of his injuries, he was deemed catastrophically impaired pursuant to the Statutory Accident Benefits Schedule (SABS) under the Insurance Act.
Read More about A Campisi Success Story – Motorcycle Accident Case
When you (or someone you love) has been seriously injured in a car accident, the impact on your life is devastating. It can be difficult pushing ahead with rehabilitation, striving to establish your best new “normal” in the face of physical, psychological or cognitive obstacles which seem overwhelming.
Read More about The Power Of Perseverance During A Car Accident
Toronto, January 21, 2015 – Joseph Campisi, lawyer and advocate, is launching a constitutional challenge in the Ontario Superior Courts. Mr. Campisi is seeking a declaration from the courts that parts of the legislation that were recently passed by the Liberal Government are discriminatory and unconstitutional and should be inoperative.
In two recent decisions of the Licence Appeal Tribunal, released on consecutive days, Aviva mounted spirited attempts to broaden the scope of accident benefits claims under the Minor Injury Guideline or MIG. N.R. and Aviva, 2019 CanLII 51313, and the Reconsideration Decision in G.S. and Aviva, 2019 CanLII 51320, were both heard in writing before Vice-Chair Susan Mather released May 9 and 10, respectively. At issue in both was whether the claimant’s chronic pain was a minor injury under the MIG. Historically, Aviva had some success in demonstrating that the presence of chronic pain does not remove a claimant from the MIG unless there is evidence of functional impairment.
Read More about ACCIDENT BENEFITS UPDATE: AVIVA BEATS DEAD HORSE… TWICE!
The COVID-19 pandemic has not only made our justice system inaccessible for many but has placed an exceptional burden on disabled persons with personal injury claims.
Following the onset of the pandemic, the Ontario government suspended most court activities, including all civil lawsuits. Many injured and disabled persons with personal injury claims have had to receive that dreadful phone call from their lawyer informing them that their claim could not be issued because the courts were not accepting filings or that their scheduled trial had been adjourned until further notice.
There are no words to alleviate the stress and anxiety this causes to a disabled person or their families, especially when their injuries prevent them from working and providing for their loved ones.
The suspension of limitation periods from March 16 to Sept. 14 under the Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act has severely exacerbated the already existing backlog in Ontario’s court system.
In most personal injury claims, these types of delays severely prejudice a plaintiff who is often already at a disadvantage because of the significant disparity in resources between themselves and a defendant that is represented by a large insurance company. Typically, a plaintiff suffers a financial disadvantage before a lawsuit even begins through their loss of employment or a limited capacity to continue working, their need for treatment or personal care and other factors.
Read More about Impact of COVID-19 on personal injury claims in Ontario
In S.K. v. Aviva Insurance Canada (2019 CanLII 126203) recent Reconsideration Hearing before the Licence Appeal Tribunal (LAT), the applicant S.K. argued that the LAT had erred in fact and at law by finding that her injuries were appropriately treated under the Minor Injury Guideline (MIG). As a result of this finding, her claims for outstanding treatment plans were also dismissed.
Read More about Accident Benefits Update: Proving Chronic Pain? – a Cautionary Tale
An Ontario auto insurer involved in a priority dispute with another insurer should have used a different counsel in that dispute than the one used for the main accident benefits claim with the insureds, the Ontario Superior Court has ruled.
Read More about Same counsel can’t work for insurer on both priority dispute and AB claim: Court
