Wow what a year, it has gone by so fast I cannot believe that December is almost here.

The pandemic has had a tremendous impact on the legal business. I am sure now that all typewriters are really gone!

We have continued to provide our clients with the highest level of service possible in the current circumstances. The number of collisions is significantly down as there have been a whole lot less cars on the road especially during the “first wave”. This is a good thing as during this period of time it was a lot more complicated for persons injured in car accidents to access treatment. All in all it would seem even taking into consideration the paltry premium refunds given by insurers to drivers for driving less the conditions were ripe for insurers to make considerable profits.

That being said after the first wave drivers were heard to be complaining that their insurance premiums were not going down. A recent study involving involving individuals who suffered brain injuries or other catastrophic injuries in car accidents and who were treated at McMaster Hospital concluded that generally these individuals felt their interests were poorly served by their insurers and that who their insurer was did matter and more emphasis should be placed on the reputation of the insurer and how they treat motor vehicle accident claimants than cost of insurance premium.

I am not sure what to takeaway from that but in my opinion insurance premiums are already too high and claimants trying to access the treatment they need to get better are quickly embroiled in an insurer litigation driven process that is poisonous to recovery. The early involvement of a lawyer is imperative as it is not reasonable to expect claimants who are also injured to be trying to navigate such an obtuse process without the assistance of counsel.

The courts are of course even more behind schedule due to the pandemic and remain the last resort in terms of reaching a timely and reasonable resolution to your accident claims. It remains unknown if and when Jury trials will resume in the “new normal”. I certainly am hopeful that a positive outcome of the pandemic will be the end of Jury trials as Jury trials are prohibitively expensive for claimants and in my view benefits associated with Jury trials are outweighed by negative impacts associated with Jury trials which in my opinion include an unnecessary and unwarranted breach of privacy that claimants have every right to maintain as it relates a to their private lives, health and tax records.

We remain hopeful that the New Year will bring a vaccine and end to the economic, social and educational hardships that are unfortunately an inevitable reality of this situation for many in our community. Morell Kelly will be continuing its role as significant community donor to the Food Bank as will many other community players who will be doing whatever they can in terms of time and money to help the less fortunate in the community.

Most importantly we look forward to providing the best possible service to our clients in 2021. We pride ourselves in serving a relatively small number of client’s well and providing them with personal attention and advice with respect to all matters relating to their claims in a timely fashion. Although accident are down we are very lucky to get most of our referrals from previous clients.

Complimenting all of our clients and readers for their efforts in doing everything they could to alter their behaviour to comply with what were sometimes confusing or nonsensical recommendations from medical experts to flatten the curve, to help their neighbours and to stay positive. Wishing everyone a better year in 2021, with good wishes most importantly for the health, safety and well being of you and your family members. If there is anything that you think I could help you with please do not hesitate to reach out to me by calling my direct line 519-497-7421.

**for the foreseeable we are having our office open by pre-arranged appointment only and conducting our day to day business virtually and electronically to do our part to curb the spread of Covid, we do however remain committed and available to you with our services

Sincerely

Lisa and Bruce