Personal Injury Claims in Ontario When a Patient is Incapable of Making Decisions (under a disability or is a minor)

Personal Injury Law Podcast | Iacobelli Law Firm

In this episode, Andrew Iacobelli and Colton Leung from Iacobelli Law Firm will be discussing what happens in a personal injury claim in Ontario involving an individual under a disability or is a minor who cannot make decisions on their own.

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Personal Injury Claims in Ontario When a Patient is Incapable (under a disability or is a minor) - YouTube

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ABOUT IACOBELLI LAW FIRM

Iacobelli Law Firm is a dedicated personal injury law firm serving all of Ontario. If you or a loved one has been injured, you do not have to face the consequences alone. The compassionate and competent legal team at our Ontario personal injury law firm can help you and your family on your road to recovery.

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ABOUT THIS VIDEO

We're gonna be talking about how you start a claim and advance a claim if it's an individual under a disability. So that could be a situation where someone has suffered a severe brain injury and is unable to make decisions on their own. Another example would be if somebody's legally considered a person under disability, for instance, a minor that can't make legal decisions on their own.

What Is A Substitute Decision Maker?

If an individual is disabled in an accident and has sustained very traumatic injuries that renders them unable to make decisions on their own. A Substitute decision maker, usually their next of kin such as the wife or husband would step in and be listed as their guardian. and advise us that their loved one was involved in a very serious motor vehicle accident for example. More likely than not, they're gonna be listed as their guardian. As a substitute decision maker they could make not only all the legal decisions but also financial decisions such as opening or closing bank accounts and authorizing payments.

What Is A Litigation Guardian?

The litigation guardian also makes decisions on behalf of the plaintiff who's disabled or a minor. A Litigation Guardian has effective control over the case brought on behalf of a person with a disability. As a lawyer, we would take instructions from the litigation guardian over matters such as any potential settlements and decisions that would benefit the plaintiff.

What Is A Capacity Assessment?

A capacity assessment is a tool used to evaluate if an adult is capable of making personal or financial decisions on their own behalf and understand the consequences of their decisions. A capacity assessor would run tests to see if the adult understands all the facts and considerations when making a decision. It is important to assess individuals who have suffered traumatic brain injuries to determine whether or not they require someone to step in to make personal decisions for them.

What Are Structured Settlements?

Typically what would happen in a settlement, if you settled your case for X dollars, you get a check for X dollars. In a structured settlement instead of paying you directly the money. The insurance company actually buys an annuity. The settlement is structured so that it pays out whatever form and amounts you've agreed upon. These can be very helpful in cases where someone needs lifelong healthcare and there are monthly expenses required. There would just be payouts monthly to cover those expenses so that the capital's preserved.

With children that are injured, you can structure the settlements so that there are payouts when they reach the age of majority and payouts throughout their 20’s into their 30’s. So there's a lot of value to structured settlements and it’s a good way to preserve capital to protect the injured party. s. It's a good way to, like I said, preserve capital. Protect the injured party.

There's a lot of flexibility when you're representing people that are under disability or a minor. If you have any questions or think you are in a situation where you need help with an injury claim involving a disabled party or a minor. Feel free to contact us today!

Timestamps:

00:00 Intro

00:49 Substitute Decision Maker

01:47 What Does a Substitute Decision Maker Do?

02:26 Litigation Guardian

03:20 What is a Capacity Assessment?

04:34 Making Decisions on Another Person’s Behalf

06:04 Structured Settlements

08:11 Claims in Ontario Involving Minors

10:59 Minors Turning 18 During The Lawsuit

12:18 Outro

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Produced by 6Story - https://6story.ca

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This material is provided for informational use only, and is in no way intended to constitute legal advice. Nothing in this website is intended to be, and should not be construed as, legal advice or the formation of a lawyer-client relationship. You should not act on information contained in this podcast or video. If you have a legal question or issue, you should seek the advice of a lawyer. Past results are not necessarily indicative of future results and the amount recovered and other litigation outcomes will vary according to the facts in individual cases.