Judge strikes down law limiting soft-tissue insurance claims to $4000

[kenny]

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/calgary/sto...ce-ruling.html

I bet there will be some insurance premium hikes on the next renewal for most people as the insurance companies prepare for higher payouts which they were protected from with the $4000 cap which has now been removed.

Heard on the news the Alberta Government is expected to appeal the decision but in the mean time, the $4,000 cap is gone and scammers are free to make bogus claims of "sore necks".

[Melinda]

I agree, the whiplash excuse is used far too often as just that, an excuse. It makes those who actually do deal with it sounds like whiners. Been there, done that, got the tissue scans and the DDD to prove it! I was torn on whether or not the $4000 cap for the soft tissue injuries was a good idea. Having suffered 3rd degree whiplash in my neck, back and shoulders in a car accident 5 years ago, the injuries suck. And in my case, (and a few others I'm sure) the effects of a soft tissue injury never go away. Granted my soft tissue 'whiplash' injury aggrivated a condition I didn't even know I had, so that plays a huge part in the lasting effects of the injury. My doctor said I may never have known I had the condition had I not been in the accident (which would have been a good thing as the damage done is not reversible)

I had other injuries aside from this though so it ended up being a non issue. This was also before the $4000 cap was put in place. Do I think removing this cap is a good thing? In a few cases, yes, but mostly no. It's hard to prove whiplash in most situations and it's used to scam SO many insurance companies, I can see it becoming a problem all over again.

[Kavy]

Wow, i no longer want to drive.

[Joe-G]

Greeat, now everyone on the road that wants money just has to slam on their brakes

[littledan]

the 4000 cap was complete bullshit. just go by how the professionals (doctor, physio, dentist, etc) evaluate you and compensate accordingly. the 4000 was just the govt fucking over the little guys in order to fatten the pockets of the insurance company execs stuffing money in the politicians pockets.

[Supa Dexta]

I blame the shitty drivers from the NE, with their gangster jdm pos's

[tom_9109]

$4,000 was a bs amount. They'd pay $40,000 to replace the vehicle the guy owned but only $4,000 to cover that he can't turn his head. It was plain and simple bs.

[Weapon_R]

This is a turn for the better. A lot of people who were seriously injured got nominal amounts of $4000 and would give that money up for the chance to get better. The government is in a lot of trouble regarding this law, as I know at least 2 other lawyers who have filed charter challenges against the government and there's probably a dozen more cases pending.

[GTS Jeff]

I've had a lecture on whiplash now...

Apparently the actual instances of people claiming fake whiplash is quite rare, as there are usually symptoms upon physical examination.

This came as a surprise to me too..

[Hash_man]

Good I say... I was very relieved to hear this last night, but at the same time agree that it could cause some major problems due to those out there who will always try to find a way to abuse the system... however for the most part I found it worked quite well before the cap was put in place.

I was recently in a car accident, and it was decently bad, no major injuries such as broken limbs or anything, but ever since I have had serious serious back pain due to the accident that is not going away with physio or any crap like that so far. However I really don't care about the money right now, I just want to feel better and not be in pain every day.

[badatusrnames]

Originally posted by Joe-G
Greeat, now everyone on the road that wants money just has to slam on their brakes

Then don't follow so closely so that if they do slam on their brakes you won't have time to stop.

It's common sense to always leave enough distance that if the car in front of you has to make an emergency stop (legitimately or not) that you will have enough time to react and come to a stop yourself without plowing through their trunk.

There's a reason that rear-enders are generally the fault of the person following - because they have put themselves in a position where they can't safely stop in time given a worst case scenario.

There is no behaviour on the road that irks me more than tail-gating - it's completely senseless and achieves nothing.

[98brg2d]

This is awesome, I have been living with upper back and neck pain for years now and the low pay out wasn't enough to do any good. Hopefully people who get hurt now will get enough to help them out.

[SNAATCH]

It is very easy to have yourself exempt from that cap. All you need is a good doctor. I think the cap is a good thing, why would you want to have to pay more than $4000 when you slide into the car in front of you going 2km/hr? If someone rear ends you and you actually are injured. All you need is a good doctor/physio therapist and lawyer to surpass the cap. IMO the cap is specific to the fuckers who slam on their brakes on purpose and try to sue you.
My mom rolled into a guy at a stop sign. Like off the throttle automatic rolling forward and bumped into the guy. At the time the guy was totally fine with it. He was driving some piece of shit mazda. Then he shows up in court with a neck brace and wins $40,000. That is what the cap is meant to prevent.

[Mckenzie]

I agree with this. Although there are obviously some frivolous claims, it really hurts the people who need it the most.


I got a paltry $2000 for being rear-ended 3 years ago because of the cap. I have been suffering back problems ever since and have spent 3 x that on physio/chiro/massage/drugs, etc. not to mention the time and aggravation of the injury and going through all the BS itself.

Good news.

[ntv1980]

If you have not been in a real accident, you will not know how painful and uncomfortable when you sleep, walking outside, doing other activities. Sure somebody may look fine (no lingering, no constant shaking, ...) after the accident, but they will have to sleep on one side for at least a year because it's hurtful to lean to the injured side. And the arm is a lot weaker, and surges of pain when they walk outside on these (cold) days, not to mention the muscle cram that causes headaches....

Since the reform of the insurance policy by the gov't in 2004, I don't see any improvement to the insurance rate. In fact, I'm lucky to have my rate to stay the same for a number of years (no tickets), a friend of mine just have her rate increased of $500 because "the government removed the raise limit" (quoted from the insurance rep), and she does not have any ticket either. She switched to a different insurance company and saved $700 from the current one.

This is good news for the injured. I hope we get a better news when the government steps in and offer the provincial insurance (just like the rest of the other provinces).

[Masked Bandit]

Originally posted by GTS Jeff
I've had a lecture on whiplash now...

Apparently the actual instances of people claiming fake whiplash is quite rare, as there are usually symptoms upon physical examination.

Wow, I don't think you could be more wrong. Talk to a BI adjuster. Well over half of the "soft tissue" injuries are either faked or over-stated.

[Masked Bandit]

Originally posted by kenny
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/calgary/sto...ce-ruling.html

I bet there will be some insurance premium hikes on the next renewal for most people as the insurance companies prepare for higher payouts which they were protected from with the $4000 cap which has now been removed.

Heard on the news the Alberta Government is expected to appeal the decision but in the mean time, the $4,000 cap is gone and scammers are free to make bogus claims of "sore necks".

Give this man a prize! He has hit the nail right on the head.

When all these BS claims start rolling through again, who do you think is going to pay for it? Do you think the insurance companies are just going to run with lower profits? That's a joke. You, me and everyone else that owns a car will be paying more.

The $4000 cap was applied to people with mild or moderate injuries. It did not apply to anyone with serious, legitimate injuries. I've had a couple of pretty bad cases of whiplash coming from two different accidents and all it took was some honest effort in physio to clear it up in a couple of months. However if all you do is sit your ass on the couch and do nothing, you probably never will heal.

[spikerS]

Originally posted by Weapon_R
This is a turn for the better. A lot of people who were seriously injured got nominal amounts of $4000 and would give that money up for the chance to get better. The government is in a lot of trouble regarding this law, as I know at least 2 other lawyers who have filed charter challenges against the government and there's probably a dozen more cases pending.

2 years ago, my wife was a passenger in a car that was slammed into by a semi truck on the trans canada. Now, my wife was checked over by paramedics at the scene, but we all figgured she would be ok, and I drove her home. within hours, she was screaming, literally screaming. her neck was so sore, that even the slightest movement caused excruciating pain. she was laid up for a month with a neck collar. With the amount of time lost for work, the amount of driving and gas used to take my wife to physio, doctor's appointments, hydro-therapy, lunches and such all over the past 2 years does not even begin to cover the $4000 that is coming.

we figgured out half-way through this that we could claim travel time and such for procedures to correct the injuries from this accident, but that only works out to be like $700, because that is all we could find receipts for.

and while it may be a $4000 cap, it actually works out to be less. standard fees for lawyers now is 33.3%. with what our settlement, my wife will get just below $3k.

I for one am happy that the cap is gone. with any luck our lawyer can argue for more, just so at bare minimum our costs will be covered.

[badatusrnames]

I guess the question is how can you eliminate insurance fraud while still making sure that people with legitimate injuries get compensated properly?

Some payouts are borderline ridiculous. A few years ago my friend was involved in an accident (someone made a bad turn in front of the car he was a passenger in) and he broke his little finger. The finger healed fine in a few weeks and there was no long term damage or suffering, etc. A couple of years later, I went with him to his lawyers office to pick up a cheque for ~$9,000.

[tom_9109]

heres an interesting fact. 4/5 claims have an 'element' of fraud.

Some people are outright lying, others exagerate, others try to claim more than they should.