Law Times

Law TiMes • May 2, 2011 FOCUS PAGE 13 Changes provide opportunity to expand tort law Continued from page 8 paid from work they did two years before, like a personal injury firm that works on con- tingency fees. The difficulty is that it takes several years for the tube to fill up." Pauwels believes this is a burden that treatment and as- sessment providers shouldn't have to take on. "It puts them in an awkward financial position and it could also be attacked as a conflict of interest," he says. "Technically, the recovery of their accounts is contingent on the success of the file. We don't think they should wear both hats as credi- tors and experts on the file." Pauwels suggests law firms should approach the insurer for an advance incorporating a fi- nancing guarantee or a document Red tape continues Continued from page 12 understanding of individual circumstances." New legislation makes the permanent impairment allowance and the exceptional incapacity allowance available to more recipi- ents and introduces a monthly $1,000 supplement for permanent- ly and severely injured veterans. Injured soldiers can now choose from among a one-time lump-sum payment of up to $276,000 for their injury, annual payments or a combination of both. Vet- erans groups have been overwhelmingly opposed to the lump-sum payments that replaced monthly disability pensions when the new veterans charter came about. Reaction to the changes has been mixed. "Any infusion of money in the system, whether small, medium or great, can only help," says Brown. "Where I think the system fails the veterans is that it's still filled with red tape. They still have enormous diffi- culty moving through it. . . . The issue of judicial review shouldn't be dependent on pro bono services." Henderson Structured Settlements: Your Partners in Service® growing pains? Your disbursement investment needs are growing along with your practice but cash flow has become an issue. BridgePoint can help. No Cost /Obligation Services www.henderson.ca | 1.800.263.8537 We have designed a variety of flexible disbursement financing alternatives to help our law firm clients grow their practices while ensuring their clients realize the highest potential recoveries for their claims. In addition to our law firm and plaintiff lending services, we have financing partnerships with a growing roster of IME providers across Canada to offer deferred payment arrangements until settlement. Contact us to learn more and to arrange a presentation. Proud Sponsor of 1 888 800 4966 | bpf in.com setting out the terms the lender will offer if the application is unsuccessful. "The insurer should be ad- vised that a failure to approve the advance leaves the client with no alternative, if they are to mitigate their damages, than to seek third-party financing," he says. "Then the insurer has a full opportunity to consider the risk and provide funding themselves. There are prece- dents in other provinces where the court has looked at these situations and required insur- ers to pay the interest incurred by clients." Monforton is already re- questing advances with greater frequency. "Insurers are not generally inclined to give them, and the provision in the Insur- ance Act that provides for them is relatively toothless," he says. But the greatest burden will ultimately fall on the shoul- ders of the plaintiff's bar to re- cover all of the out-of-pocket expenses incurred since the in- jury and appropriate compen- sation for the nature and mag- nitude of it. "Certainly, there's an opportunity for expansion of tort law in all of this," says Orlando. Untitled-1 1 ntitled-11 1 9/21/10 2:45:22 PM Canadian Lawyer's much-in-demand compensation survey now includes lawyers in law firms as well as corporate legal departments. If you are a managing partner or the head of a corporate legal department, please take a few minutes to fill it out. The results of this survey are unique in Canada and will give readers a perspec- tive on who's earning what across the country. SURVEY CLOSES MAY 20. 4/28/11 10:40:19 AM To complete the survey visit canadianlawyermag.com/surveys l Untitled-2 1 h i www.lawtimesnews.com 4/28/11 11:03:14 AM Digital LT.indd 13 4/29/11 11:28:58 AM

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