Is our Vehicle Insurance System flawed? – The Adam Bari Story

Recently in the news is a story of a man who suffered life-changing injuries in a serious motorcycle crash, but because his accident occurred just one day after changes to Ontario vehicle insurance regulations became effective, his eligible coverage is insufficient to pay for his treatment and losses (see CBC News posting for Oct. 11, 2016).

The devastating effects of the accident were compounded by the fact that effective on the day of Mr. Bari’s collision, changes to statutory accident benefits particularly with regards to the definition of a ‘catastrophic impairment’, meant that he was eligible to receive only $86,000 in accident benefits.  If the collision had occurred just one day sooner and under the old rules, his injuries would have qualified as a catastrophic impairment and he would have been eligible to receive up to $2 million in compensation for medical, rehabilitation and attendant care expenses. The inadequacy of the eligible benefits has put the accident victim’s family in dire financial straits and worried that they may face bankruptcy.

Mr. Bari is the father of twins and was the primary care giver before the accident. He is now unable to work and requires extensive rehabilitation treatments, including the aid of a personal support worker and physiotherapy.  Also, Bari’s wife has had to significantly reduce her own work hours in order to care for her husband and take him to medical appointments and rehabilitation treatments. The family’s loss of income and significant medical care expenses mean that they could easily run out of money within the first six month of the collision.  Consider that only one item, an elevated bed, costs over $4000, and the family no longer has the same drug plan since Mr. Bari has stopped working.  The accident victim’s wife voiced frustration with an insurance system that she says provides the same amount of money to her husband as it would to a person whose toe was broken in an accident.

In order to determine whether someone has sustained a catastrophic impairment as defined under Ontario’s Insurance Act, prior to June 2016, medical practitioners referred to the Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) to assess a patient’s functionality.  Under the old rules defining catastrophic impairment, Mr. Bari’s injuries would have been considered catastrophic and as such, he would have been automatically eligible for maximum benefits under his vehicle insurance policy.  Although hospital trauma staff still use the GCS, the new insurance rules no longer use this system for evaluating car crash victims to determine their insurance eligibility.  The GCS has been replaced with the Glasgow Outcome Scale (GOS) and the Financial Services Commission of Ontario (FSCO) purports that “the revised definition uses more current scientific and medical evidence to identify catastrophic impairments”.  Now, imaging technology such as CT scans and MRIs are used to assess brain trauma; however, because these tests are often conducted weeks or months after an accident, an accident victim’s access to needed benefits may be delayed and limited.

Mr. Bari’s family has indicated their intention to file a lawsuit for damages against the driver of the vehicle that struck Mr. Bari’s motorcycle (according to the CBC News report).  Although accident victims are not eligible for double recovery for the same losses, an accident victim may be compensated in a civil suit for expenses and losses exceeding or not covered by statutory accident benefits.

Anyone would consider the type of injuries suffered by Mr. Bari to be tragic and life-changing.  Many of us also judge an insurance benefits system that fails to provide financial help to someone who is severely injured and has genuinely incurred significant financial losses as a result, to be flawed and unfair.  The new regulations place a substantial burden on seriously injured accident victims and their families, and will likely result in higher costs to our publicly funded health care system which will be required to pick up the slack for many of the costs previously paid by insurers.  Although the new system purports to reduce insurance costs for policyholders, in fact, Ontarians now face having to pay to increase their non-catastrophic and/or catastrophic injury coverage so that necessary compensation is there if and when we need it.

If you were injured in a motor vehicle accident and you would like to claim damages against a negligent driver, call a knowledgeable Hamilton car accident lawyer to find out about your legal right to compensation.  An initial consultation is free and provides a great opportunity to have your legal questions answered and to find out what’s involved in commencing a successful claim for damages.