Looking forward to another year serving Brantford in 2014 in the area of personal injury. In terms of motor vehicle law we anticipate that we will be continuing to move forward with respect to defining and educating client’s and insurers about the significant implications of the Minor Injury Guideline both from a legal and a practical perspective.

Legally the obligations of the insurers in terms of assessing the continued applicability of the Minor Injury Guideline are being delineated by both FSCO and the courts. Increasingly the insurers are adopting an approach that is both rigid and flexible at the same time. They are showing increased flexibility in removing claimants from the Minor Injury Guideline at an earlier stage but they are also in many cases responding to the claimant’s compelling evidence that they should not be in the Minor Injury Guideline with additional insurer exams to confirm the continued applicability of the Minor Injury Guideline.

For persons hurt in car accidents the importance of having a supportive family doctor behind you cannot be under emphasized. First, if you are in the Minor Injury Guideline you will rely upon your doctor more than ever to manage your treatment and make referrals to specialists funded by OHIP who may assist you both in terms of diagnosis and treatment. Secondly, your family doctor is the best person to provide an opinion as to the impact of the collision on your health with consideration to pre-existing conditions which may have been worsened by the collision or which may impact your recovery.

If you are not happy with your family doctor the New Year is a good time to think about finding a new family doctor. Gone are the days where we were held hostage by our doctors due to a shortage of family physicians. Due to various initiatives there are sufficient family doctors in the area. Amazingly I even heard a radio advertisement soliciting new patients to a Cambridge clinic. With primary health care being such a personal and important issue this is certainly good news for all of us as it empowers the patient.

We would like to thank everyone who helped to make our 2013 Morell Kelly Toy Drive a success, especially Sarah and Jason Picard who worked very hard doing the heavy lifting.