Your advantage, in and out of the courtroom.

Admitted to the Law Society of Upper Canada in 1991

Practice Highlights

In 2003, the Minister of Finance of Ontario selected David MacDonald from personal injury lawyers in the province as the authorized representative for injured persons, and appointed him to be a member of the Executive Committee to the Superintendent of Insurance for the Province of Ontario’s Auto Reforms Implementation Committee. In this role, he advocates to the government of Ontario and its Ministries on behalf of persons injured in motor vehicle accidents.

David’s practice is exclusively devoted to assisting injured persons and their families in the process of recovery from their injuries and in obtaining maximum entitlement to benefits and compensation for losses suffered. He acts primarily for pedestrians, passengers, drivers and the family members of persons injured in motor vehicle accidents.

Education

• Bachelor of Arts (Honours), University of Western Ontario (1986)
• Bachelor of Laws, University of Western Ontario Faculty of Law (1989)

Practice Areas

• Personal Injury for injured persons and their families

Professional Activities and Affiliations

• The Advocates’ Society
• The Insurance Executive Section of The Ontario Trial Lawyers Association
• The Metropolitan Toronto Lawyers Association
• Founding and Executive member of the Toronto Brain Injury Awareness Month Organizing Committee
• Served on the Board of Directors of the Hamilton Regional Brain Injury Program and the Peel Halton Brain Injury Association
• Served as Executive of the Insurance Section of the Canadian Bar Association-Ontario
• Served as Executive of the Ontario Trial Lawyers Association

Publications and Presentations

David has authored many publications on insurance law. He has presented widely to public and private health care professionals, lawyers, insurance professionals and injured persons at many conferences about practical strategies for minimizing treatment delay, maximizing recovery from injuries, and maximizing benefit entitlement and compensation for persons suffering injury.

Publications

David F. MacDonald and Lawrence H. Mandel, “The Automobile Insurance Rate Stability Act, 1996: Getting to the Bottom Line”, 19 Advocates Quarterly p.212.

David F. MacDonald, Accessing First and Third Party Funding for In-Hospital Medical, Rehabilitation and Attendant Care Needs for Severely Injured Adults and Children, September 2007

David F. MacDonald, “Motions for Interim Benefits - The New DAC?”, Accident Benefit Reporter*, Vol. 8, No. 1, Winter 2007

David F. MacDonald, “Changes to the Unfair and Deceptive Acts and Practices Regulation”, Accident Benefit Reporter*, Vol. 7, No. 1, Summer 2006

David F. MacDonald, “Attendant Care Benefits under Bill 198: Who, What, When, Where and How”, Accident Benefit Reporter*, Vol. 6, No. 3, Fall 2005

David F. MacDonald, “Current Issues in Catastrophic Impairment”, Accident Benefit Reporter*, Vol. 6, No.1, Fall 2004

David F. MacDonald and Wendy Moore Johns, “Overview of Regulatory Changes”, Accident Benefit Reporter*, Vol.5, No. 4, Fall 2003

David F. MacDonald and Leonard H. Kunka, “SABS Changes”, Accident Benefit Reporter*, Vol. 5, No. 3, March 2003

David F. MacDonald, “Proposed Changes to Catastrophic Definition”, Accident Benefit Reporter*, Vol. 5, No. 2, Fall 2002

David F. MacDonald, “Bill 59 Rehabilitation Funding Decision models. Can we do better?” Accident Benefit Reporter*, Vol. 4, No. 3, December 2001

David F. MacDonald, “Choosing Rehabilitation Professionals”, Accident Benefit Reporter*, Vol. 3, No. 1, May 2000

David F. MacDonald, “An Assessment of DACs”, Accident Benefit Reporter*, Vol. 2, No. 2, August 1999

David F. MacDonald, “Mild to Moderate Brain Injury”, Accident Benefit Reporter*, Vol. 2, No. 1, June 1999

David F. MacDonald, “Independent Medical Examinations”, Accident Benefit Reporter*, Vol. 1, No. 2, October 1998

* A Thomson, Rogers’ Publication

Presentations

David F. MacDonald, Adrienne M. Kirsh and Sloan H. Mandel, Families, Children and Health Care Professionals in Court – A Case Study Approach, presented at Sick Kids Hospital on April 23, 2008

David F. MacDonald, Wendy M. Moore Johns, Insurer-Funded Medical, Rehabilitation and Attendant Care Services for Brain Injury Survivors while in Hospital, presented at Hamilton Health Sciences Centre on March 3, 2008

David F. MacDonald, Assessing First and Third Party Funding for In-Hospital Medical, Rehabilitation and Attendant Care Needs for Severely Injured Adults and Children, presented at the “Litigating Catastrophic Disability and Damages” Insight Seminar on September 17, 18, 2007

David F. MacDonald, Defining, Assessing and Paying Attendant Care: Assessors’ and Insures’ Responsibilities, presented at NRIO Breakfast Seminar on June 26, 2007

David F. MacDonald, Wendy Moore Johns and Deanna Riddle, Car Insurers’ Responsibility to Pay for Rehabilitation and Attendant Care in Hospital, presented at Bridgepoint Health on April 13, 2007

David F. MacDonald, Sloan H. Mandel, Michael L. Bennett, Debbie Devlin, Susan Fraser and Victoria Gibbins-Verdurmen, Public and Private Partnerships for Client-Centred Care: Auto Insurer Funding for the Delivery of Private Rehabilitation and Attendant Care in and out of Hospital, presented at Credit Valley Rehab Centre on February 13, 2007

David F. MacDonald, Pre-Claim Examinations, presented at the Life after DACs II Workshop - Toronto on February 22, 2007

David F. MacDonald, Accessing Third Party Funding for Services Provided in Hospital, presented at Credit Valley Trauma on December 20, 2006

David F. MacDonald, Richard C. Halpern and Sloan H. Mandel, Meeting Patient’s Needs Approaching Discharge, presented at the Hospital for Sick Children on November 2, 2006

David F. MacDonald, Defining, Assessing and Paying Attendant Care Assessors and Insurers Responsibilities, presented to the Ontario Society of Occupational Therapists on September 29, 2006

David F. MacDonald, Rehabilitation Support Worker and Attendant Care – Documentation, presented to LAWLOR on September 27, 2006

David F. MacDonald and Leonard H. Kunka and Patricia Howell, New Motor Vehicle Regulations, presented at Bridgepoint Health on May 24, 2006

David F. MacDonald, Leonard H. Kunka, Sloan H. Mandel and Patricia Howell, Solutions for Injured Children and Their Families under the New Motor Vehicle Regulations, presented at the Hospital for Sick Children on May 3, 2006

David F. MacDonald, Attendant Care in Hospital, presented at the Insurance Institute Canada on April 26, 2006

David F. MacDonald, Practice Approaches to the March 1/06 SAB Changes: Lawyer’s Perspective, presented at the Four Counties Brain Injury Association on March 03, 2006

David F. MacDonald, Practice Approaches to the March 1/06 SAB Changes: Lawyer’s Perspective, presented at Rehabilitation Management Inc. on March 02, 2006

David F. MacDonald and Anna Greenblatt, The March 1 2006 Changes: Approaches to Assessment, Treatment and Attendant Care, presented at Interaction on February 28, 2006

David F. MacDonald, Attendant Care in Hospital, presented to the Ontario Society of Occupational Therapists on February 10, 2006

David F. MacDonald, Developments in Accident Benefit Entitlements Affecting Neurotrauma Patients, presented at Herrold & Vernon EvalWorks on January 05, 2006

David F. MacDonald, Developments in Accident Benefit Entitlements Affecting Neurotrauma Patients, presented at Karen Rucas and Associates on November 18, 2005

David F. MacDonald and David R. Tenszen, Catastrophic Impairment Designation: How is this determined, why is this important and how can the ABI team assist in the process? presented at Toronto Rehab Institute on November 10, 2005

David F. MacDonald, Richard C. Halpern and Sloan H. Mandel, Child Trauma Accessing Benefits to Promote Healing, presented at the Hospital for Sick Children on October 20, 2005

David F. MacDonald, Richard C. Halpern, Wendy Moore Johns and Sloan H. Mandel, Developments in Accident Benefit Entitlements affecting Neurotrauma Patients, presented at Sunnybrook Hospital on September 21, 2005

David F. MacDonald, David R. Neill and Leonard H. Kunka, Accident Benefits for Spinal Cord and Severely Brain Injured Clients/Patients, presented at Hamilton General Hospital on July 28, 2005

David F. MacDonald, Wendy Moore Johns and David A. Payne, Accident Benefits & Spinal Cord Injuries under Bill 198, presented at Lyndhurst on June 23, 2005

David F. MacDonald, “Client, Family and Treating Healthcare Professional Concerns”, Paediatric Head Injury Claims: Litigate or Settle. Ontario Bar Association 2004

David F. MacDonald and Leonard H. Kunka, Thomson, Rogers on Bill 198 for Acute Care Patients, presented at Hamilton Health Sciences Centre on November 11, 2004

David F. MacDonald and Leonard H. Kunka, Ontario Auto Insurance - Bill 198 and Other Change, presented at Bridgepoint Health on November 28, 2003

David F. MacDonald, Changes to Ontario Auto Insurance Bill 198 and Other Changes Reducing Delay and Obtaining Payment, presented at the Canadian Academy of Psychologists in Disability Assessment on October 24, 2003

David F. MacDonald, Changes to Ontario Auto Insurance - Bill 198 and other changes affecting Brain Injury Survivors, presented at Hamilton Health Sciences Centre on October 22, 2003

David F. MacDonald, Wendy Moore Johns and Sloan H. Mandel, Bill 198: What the Health Care Professional Needs to Know, presented at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre on September 15, 2003

David F. MacDonald, Sharon E. Ramsden and Carmen Spano, Changes to Ontario Auto Insurance - What the Health Care Professional Needs to Know, presented at Neuro-Rehab Services Inc. on September 24, 2003

David F. MacDonald, Proving and Costing Chronic Pain, presented to the Canadian Society of Medical Evaluators on June 12, 2003

David F. MacDonald, David R. Neill and Michael L. Bennett, Adapting to the Changes in the Acute Care Setting, presented at Hamilton Health Sciences Centre on March 21, 2003

David F. MacDonald, DACs: Maximizing Quality and Value - Significant Legal and Arbitration Decisions, presented at the Association of Designated Assessment Centres on January, 2003

David F. MacDonald and Wendy Moore Johns, Bill 59 and Bill 198 - How Can We Use the Automobile Legislation to Support Accident Victims, presented at Lyndhurst on December 2, 2002

David F. MacDonald, Meeting the needs of the 21st Century Client, presented to the Canadian Society of Medical Evaluators on November 29, 2002

David F. MacDonald, Bill 59 in Plain Language, presented at the Brain Injury Association of the Ottawa Valley Conference on May 10, 2002

David F. MacDonald, Leonard H. Kunka and Wendy Moore Johns, Bill 59: New Solutions to an Old Puzzle, presented at the Riverdale Hospital on January 25, 2002

David F. MacDonald, Coping with Bill 59, presented at the Rosedale Chiropractic & Physiotherapy Centre on May 02, 2001

David F. MacDonald and David R. Neill, Coping with Bill 59, presented at St. John's Hospital on February 14, 2001

In the Media

Toronto Star, “Road Racing Toll Extends to Finances”, June 23, 2007

Law Times, “Criteria for Interim Relief Still a Bit Fuzzy”, April 23, 2007

Cases of Note

• Greer et al v. Kurtz et al

Testimonials

Dear Mr. MacDonald,

I would like to express to you my sincerest gratitude for the way you handled our case. You were extremely supportive, kind and professional. You were extremely helpful in answering our questions and reassuring us about our decision to pursue legal action. You treated us with respect and dignity and never stopped believing that Mark would recover. We are all very grateful for the clarity with which you explained complicated legal details to us and your foresight in recommending that Mark remain at his school.

You were able to help Mark regain much needed confidence about his ability and future prospects while at the same time obtaining compensation for the ordeals he went through. We really appreciate the way you and the staff at Thomson, Rogers supported us through this trial and the prompt and clear resolution to which you brought our case. We are very satisfied with the results that you’ve achieved and we are extremely appreciative of the great care and effort you put into your work. You safeguarded our son’s future. For this, we are forever in your debt.

Sincerely,
Tatiana Broussenko and the Broussenko Family.
December 19, 2007

---

Dear Mr. MacDonald,

I am writing to let you know how pleased Jeff and I have been with the way you handled representing Jeff’s settlement with our insurance company.

We found you and your staff to be very approachable. Your explanations, suggestions and genuine concern for Jeff’s current and future well being were conclusive and set out in terms which were easily understood.

Both you and your law clerk Diane Bregg answered our calls and emails promptly. You both were very thorough in arranging a satisfactory settlement. No doubt your expertise in dealing with brain injury victims played an important factor as you dealt with our insuring company.

We thank you sincerely for taking our case and dealing with it so well. We certainly would recommend you and your firm to others facing the issues we did.

Sincere thanks,

Pat and Jeff Barry
November 4, 2007

---

Dear Mr. MacDonald:

We sincerely thank you for the work you did for us after our daughter’s car accident.

Your knowledge of law, compassion for our situation, and prompt attention to detail helped guide us through a shocking and devastating experience. As you know, Karen is now home and continues to improve.

We chose you as our lawyer on the recommendation of a neighbour. We felt even more confident in our decision when the social worker at Sunnybrook Hospital told us we had made a good choice.

Again, we are grateful for your work on Karen’s behalf. Based on our experience, we highly recommend you.

Lorna and James Mackay
Friday, June 15, 2007

---

Dear David McDonald and the staff at Thomson and Rogers,

It has been a great support to Dave and myself to have You, and the team at Thomson and Rogers represent us, in Dave’s recovery and the claim for insurance. With his brain injury he needed so much support and daily therapy. You quickly put a team of great therapists together to meet his needs. Your involvement managed a successful settlement, of the benefits he was entitled to. It gave me the time to attend to his needs, without worrying about the legal and financial end of things. This has allowed Dave to come so much further then was ever expected to. When you brought him into the Acquired Brain Injury Art show, you brought back his will to draw. You are so aware of the needs of people with brain injury, you were able to put all the right tools for his recovery in place. From unpaid wages to housing you took care of it all. You were able to prove Dave’s needs for re-education. You put us in decent housing after being placed in housing, that could not meet my Sons needs. You made sure all his needs were met and then some. I could not have managed all the issues that came up throughout my Sons recovery without you and the staff and clerks at Thomson and Rogers. You are a special team of people. Thank-you for all your help.

In much appreciation,

Frankie Rose – Dave’s Mom
July 6, 2007