COVID-19 Update: How We Are Serving and Protecting Our Clients

Articles Posted in Brian Goldfinger

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I suppose the title of this edition of the Toronto Injury Lawyer Blog Post is slightly misleading. It may suggest that I, Brian Goldfinger, am going back to school. While this sounds like a great and enlightening idea, I am not going back to school.

Rather, this Toronto Injury Lawyer Blog Post will deal with Brian Goldfinger’s observations on students returning to school earlier this week.

My children began school on the Tuesday after labour day. Other began school on Wednesday, September 7th. Older university students got settled in their dorms and residences over the Labour Day Long Weekend.

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A personal injury case starts and ends with a Plaintiff and his/her personal injury lawyer.

Without a Plaintiff and his/her personal injury lawyer making a claim, there is no personal injury case to begin with.

This has an industry wide impact.

That means there is one less claim for an insurance adjuster to handle; which can translate into one less job if you really think of it.

That means there is one less Statement of Claim, Motion Record, Trial Record for a process server to serve/file.

That means there is one less medico-legal assessment for an expert to evaluate.

That means there is one less examination for discovery for a reporter to book and to transcribe.

That means there is one less file for a mediator to mediate; one less board room to be booked; one less lunch booking for a caterer.

That means there is one less file for a insurance defence lawyer to defend and to bill on.

That means there is one less legal assistant or law clerk to help the lawyer do his/her job on the file.

The entire personal injury industry, as we know it; is built upon innocent accident victims reaching out to a personal injury lawyer; and that personal injury lawyer advancing the accident victim’s rights to get him/her the compensation which s/he deserves. Hundreds of millions of dollars are spent and exchanged in handling, managing, litigating and adjudicating those claims.

There is no better example of this than a recent case we had. Let me illustrate.

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Throwing my name “Brian Goldfinger” into the title of the Toronto Injury Lawyer Blog posts makes the post sound like a Young Adult mystery novel. My daughter has found the titles to the Toronto Injury Lawyer Blog posts with my name in them quite interesting. But she has told me that the content of the posts doesn’t quite live up to the hype of the title. Let’s see if we can change that with this instalment.

There are a lot of Long Term Disability Insurance companies out there. Sometimes you get the chose which company you can go through by purchasing individual benefits outside of work directly from an insurer or an insurance broker. Other times, the individual has no choice and goes through their company benefit plan which was negotiated by the company or through the Union. Sometimes a company will switch benefit providers; so you may have stared with one private insurer; and then the entire company switches over to another long term disability insurer.

Sometimes there is choice. Other times, there isn’t choice.

It all depends on the individual facts and circumstances of employment.

Some examples of insurance companies which provide long term disability benefits in Ontario or Canada for that matter include, but aren’t limited to:

  • SunLife
  • Manulife
  • Canada Life
  • Great West Life
  • SSQ
  • La Capitale
  • Blue Cross
  • Industrial Alliance
  • RBC Insurance
  • Co-Operators Insurance
  • Desjardins Insurance
  • Equitable Life

Most auto insurers don’t offer long term disability insurance; the same way that most long term disability insurers don’t offer auto insurance. Although, there are a few companies which offer both. But this is not ordinary in the world of long term disability insurance.

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Goldfinger Injury Lawyers is seeking a Plaintiff Personal Injury Lawyer (New Call to 2 Years Experience) for our busy practice. We handle all sorts of car accident (tort + AB), long term disability, slip and fall, dog bite and professional negligence cases. Our clients come from all across Ontario; with our central office located at Yonge & Sheppard in North York. Job duties have changed dramatically on account of COVID as most hearings, discoveries, mediations, and meetings have been taking place by way of video conference. If these trends continue, this will mean a reduction in travel time for our associates. We offer a competitive compensation package commensurate with market rates and experience. We also offer a collegial work environment with great mentorship. If you want to become a great personal injury lawyer, this is the place for you.

Job Type: Fixed term contract

Contract length: 12 months

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Even personal injury lawyers don’t talk about personal injury law 24/7. Check out Brian Goldfinger’s appearance with Zarar Siddiqi on the Raptors Republic Vlog where they discuss the current Raptors season; where the team is going; and where the team has been. It was a fun and enlightening chat which we hope you enjoy. A link to the Vlog can be found here. 

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We made it. Post # 500!!!!

It’s one thing to prepare posts of few words. But we’ve been pretty consistent here at the Toronto Injury Lawyer Blog. Each post has on average 1,000 words.

So 500,000 words later, do we have any greater insight than when we first began? Do we have any new words of wisdom for those trying to prepare a successful legal blog?

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One of the most depressing things about living through COVID is that we don’t know when it’s going to end (if ever). The number one question which my clients, staff and lawyers want to know is when and how or even will we ever get back to our normal lives?

I can’t answer that question. None of the experts can.

It’s that uncertainty which drives us all mad on the inside, despite putting our best foot forward; along with our best face for the social media hives to which we belong.

I exchange many pleasantries over the phone with fellow lawyers, insurance adjusters, clients and prospective clients. We are accustomed to saying standard, pre-programmed responses during these exchanges part out of common courtesy, part out of custom.

These exchanges go something like this:

Lawyer: Hello. Its (insert name of personal injury lawyer here) calling from (insert name of personal injury law firm here). How are you?

Insurance Adjuster: I’m doing well. How are you?

Lawyer: I’m fine thanks for asking. I’m calling you about the (insert name of personal injury client here) file…..

And thus the conversation flows regarding the specifics of the case.

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The global COVID-19 pandemic has had a severe impact on the way lawyers serve their clients, with many opting for remote meetings through phone calls and videoconferencing rather than in-person, says Toronto personal injury lawyer Brian Goldfinger.

In Ontario, across the country and around the world, governments have declared states of emergency, advocating that people work from home where possible and practice social distancing to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus.

“We’re not conducting any in-person meetings,” Goldfinger says. “We’re doing as much as we can over the phone and on email. We have cancelled all meetings that required an appearance, including examinations for discovery and mediations, if we can’t do them over the phone or using videoconferencing. We don’t want to put anyone at risk.”

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After a serious accident or collision, the injured party will require treatment.

Sometimes the treatment is covered by OHIP. Seeing your family doctor, getting surgery, assistance through LHIN, seeing a specialist, publicly funded physiotherapy; these are all examples of treatment which is covered under the OHIP system. That means that regardless of who was at fault for the accident, that you don’t need to pay for the treatment. This type of treatment is of particular important for all manners of accident and injury cases. If you hold a valid Health Card, there is no excuse for not at the very least, seeing your doctor. It’s free.

Sometimes treatment is NOT covered under the publicly funded OHIP system. Seeing a psychologist, a physiotherapist, occupational therapist, chiropractor, speech language pathologist, massage therapist; these are examples of treatment which is NOT commonly covered by OHIP.

To get these forms of treatment which are not covered, accident victims have a few options to access treatment.

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Part of Brian Goldfinger’s focus in 2019 for his law firm, Goldfinger Injury Lawyers will be helping to educate consumers on Long Term Disability claims and getting the benefits you deserve.

It all starts with knowing your rights and knowing how your policy of insurance works.

Lots of employees know they have benefits. Detailing what those benefits are is the next step. Understanding whether or not you have private long term disability coverage, and if so, how that coverage works is best when putting your mind to long term disability claims in Ontario.

Recently, Brian Goldfinger did an interview for Advocate Daily entitled “Consumers’ Guide to Long Term Disability Insurance“. You can find the article here.

This is the first in a multi part series which Brian Goldfinger is doing with Advocate Daily to raise awareness as it relates to Long Term Disability cases in Ontario. What Brian Goldfinger has found is that many employees/consumers don’t even know that they may have access to long term disability benefits, let alone how those benefits are activated and acquired.

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