Law Times

No reimbursement for Texas treatment BY ALEX ROBINSON Law Times T he Divisional Court has ruled that Ontario Health Insurance's decision not to reimburse the family of a deceased Ontario man who sought treatment in Texas was reasonable. The Health Services Appeal and Review Board refused to pro- vide $320,000 in compensation to the estate of William Dykie, who died of pancreatic cancer in 2012, saying he did not "face immedi- ate risk of death" when he sought treatment. The estate challenged the find- ing, but the court sided with the board and ruled that there was no evidence the board had acted "un- reasonably." In order to successfully claim money spent on treatment in oth- er countries, applicants must ei- ther get pre-approval from OHIP, prove that they were in emergency circumstances or show that they would have suffered irreversible tissue damage. Lawyers say the case shows how difficult the process can be to get reimbursed in such applications if pre-approval is not granted. "If you want to try to get fund- ing, you better act quickly and you better have your evidence ready," says Alfred Kwinter, an insurance lawyer and founding partner of Singer Kwinter Personal Injury Lawyers, who did not act in the case. "If you don't wait for the ap- proval, you better be able to show that there was a dire emergency that required the treatment and that it wasn't available here. That's the take-away and, ultimately, it's very tough." Dykie did not seek pre-approval before leaving for Texas. His family, however, argued he was in immediate need of treat- ment. Dykie was first diagnosed with cancer in August 2010. He was told the first step of his treatment would require consulting a sur- ASHLEY SMITH DEATH How can justice system improve for women? P7 FOCUS ON Insurance Law P8 See Board's, page 2 PM #40762529 $5.00 • Vol. 27, No.32 October 17, 2016 L AW TIMES C O V E R I N G O N T A R I O ' S L E G A L S C E N E • W W W . L A W T I M E S N E W S . C O M & $#&!&jmmm$cYa[bbWh$Yec ntitled-4 1 12-03-20 10:44 AM Follow LAW TIMES on www.twitter.com/lawtimes BY ALEX ROBINSON Law Times L abour lawyers say Legal Aid Ontario is dragging its feet when it comes to allowing its articling stu- dents to unionize, following the three years it took the organization to agree to negotiate with its staff lawyers' chosen union. LAO articling students are now waiting to see the results of a vote that will determine if they join The Society of Energy Professionals, as a dispute between the union and LAO draws out the process. The Society filed a certification application in May on behalf of the articling students. The students subsequently held a vote that month over whether they wanted to be represented by the group. But the votes have not been counted yet, as the Ontario Labour Relations Board sealed the results, pending decisions in two disputes between the parties. The first dispute stems from the LAO's rejection that the Soci- ety has status as a trade union — a challenge the OLRB recently re- jected, in a decision on Sept. 21. The second dispute relates to the LAO's push for seven bargain- ing units to represent the articling students, rather than one prov- ince-wide arrangement, for which the union is pushing. A hearing date for that matter has been ten- tatively scheduled at the OLRB in December. LAO says the remaining dis- pute is just a normal part of the bargaining process, but lawyers acting for the union say LAO is trying to slow the process down. "LAO's position on the articling student bargaining unit descrip- tion is puzzling and gives every appearance of a delay tactic," says Lindsay Lawrence, of Goldblatt Partners LLP, who represented the Society of Energy Professionals in the OLRB proceedings. "It is simply inconsistent that there should be multiple articling student bargaining units, some populated by as few as two stu- dents, instead of one province- wide unit, in circumstances where LAO has agreed to a province- wide unit for the lawyers' vote." Graeme Burk, a spokesman for See Articling, page 2 Lindsay Lawrence says LAO is stalling when it comes to allowing articling students with the agency to unionize. Photo: Robin Kuniski Articling students pushing for unionization Lawyer accuses Legal Aid of stalling Gary Srebrolow says those looking to get treatment outside Canada should seek a lawyer's advice early to give their insurance claims a better chance. CONDO RULING Business judgment rule applies to boards: judge P5 When you're working, we're working. End-To-End Legal Marketing Solutions. Visit LawyerMarketingCanada.com Untitled-6 1 2016-10-12 10:29 AM

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