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Phone: 416.868.3155 | Cell: 647.290.7291
Fax: 416.868.3134
Admitted to the Law Society of Upper Canada in 1991
*David MacDonald Law Professional Corporation
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 & Stacey L. Stevens, "Family Members Sustain Economic Losses in Providing Attendant Care", Accident Benefit Reporter Volume 13, Issue 2, Fall, 2012
David F. MacDonald & Stacey L. Stevens, "Court Decides Family Members are Entitled to be Paid Attendant Care", Accident Benefit Reporter Updater, June 27, 2012.
David F. MacDonald, "Attendant Care Incurred Under the September 1, 2010 SABS", Accident Benefit Reporter, Vol. 12, Issue 2, Fall 2011.
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 Mandel, “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, “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, Making the Best Use of Prehearings in Accident Benefit Disputes at the Financial Services Commission, presented at the Financial Services Commission of Ontario's seminar "Succeeding on Mediations and Arbitrations", on November 23, 2012.
David F. MacDonald, Determing Catastrophic Impairment for the New SABSand Attendant Care Incurred Under the September 1, 2010 SABS, presented at the Piecing the Puzzle Together: Catastrophic Claims, Tort Claims and the New SABS Conference with Thomson, Rogers on April 14, 2011.
- Determining Catastrophic Impairment Paper
- Relevant links to Chapters 4, 14 and 15 of the American Medical Association Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment, 4th edition:
- Determining Catastrophic Impairment PowerPoint Presentation
- Attendant Care Incurred Under the September 1, 2010 SABS Paper
David F. MacDonald, September 1, 2010 Accident Benefit and Tort Legislation, presented at the Bayshore Home Health Conference on November 23, 2010.
David A. Payne and David F. MacDonald, How to Work with the New SABS, presented at Sudbury Regional Hospital on November 24, 2010.
David F. MacDonald, Determining Catastrophic Impairment - The Role of the Health Care Professional, presented at the AMA Guides to Impairment Rating: Musculoskeletal and Neurological Systems Seminar, presented by The Canadian Memorial Chiropractic College and the Canadian Society of Chiropractic Evaluators on April 30, 2010
David F. MacDonald, Catastrophic Impairment - New Directions, presented at the Navigating the New SABS: Practical Solutions Conference with Thomson, Rogers and the Toronto ABI Network on March 31, 2010
David F. MacDonald, Helping to determine if your Client is Catastrophically Impaired ‐The Role of the Health Care Professional, presented at the Back to School Conference with Thomson, Rogers and the Toronto ABI Network on September 10, 2009
David F. MacDonald, Getting Real: Assessing and Calculation Attendant Care in Hospital, presented to the Ontario Society of Occupational Therapists on May 1, 2009.
David F. MacDonald, Michael L. Bennett, Admission of Accident Reconstruction at Trial: Winning Strategies and Tactics, presented at Osgoode Hall Law School Professional Development CLE - Managing and Litigating Motor Vehicle Accident Claims on April 22, 2009 in Toronto.
David MacDonald, CAT Law Update - Catastrophic Impairment: Recent Court and Arbitral Decisions (Powerpoint converted to PDF) presented at North York Rehabilitation Centre on February 28, 2009
David MacDonald and Adrienne M. Kirsh, Future Care Costs (Powerpoint) and the accompanying: Future Care Costs conference paper, presented at the Insight Seminar on February 24, 2009
David F. MacDonald, Legal, Ethical and Practice-Based Implications: The Roles and Responsibilities of Private Rehabilitation Case Managers and Occupational Therapists in Hospital, presented at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre on December 11, 2008
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 Mandel, 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 Mandel 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 Mandel 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 Mandel 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 Mandel 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 Chanth Seyone, Recent Developments in the 'Thin Skull' Rule: Medical and Legal Implications for TBI Survivors with Pre-Trauma Impairments, presented at the Toronto ABI Network Conference - Traveling Together: Navigating the System to Achieve Success after Brain Injury on November 21-22, 2002
David F. MacDonald and Wendy Moore Mandel, 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 Mandel, 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
David F. MacDonald, “Choosing Rehabilitation Professionals”, Accident Benefit Reporter*, Vol. 3, No. 1, May 2000
In the Media
Hearing for GRT driver charged in roundabout crash
CTV News
April 24, 2012
Lam family planning suit in roundabout collision
CTV News Southwestern Ontario
October 27, 2011
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
Keyes v. Personal Insurance Company of Canada
July, 2006
Haimov v. ING Insurance Company of Canada
September, 2006
Steinhoff v. Motor Vehicle Accident Claims Fund
October, 2005
Greer et al v. Kurtz et al
On March 2, 2003, Donald Greer’s life tragically changed forever when he was involved in a serious motor vehicle accident on an icy highway near Hamilton. Mr. Greer was catastrophically brain-injured in the collision.
L. F. v. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company
November, 2003
Testimonials
Dear Mr. MacDonald,
Congratulations on your 75th anniversary.
Today is the seventh anniversary of my accident. I reflect often on a most fortunate recovery, particularly as this time of year must weigh heavily on the driver who caused the event & lost her mother. I am sure my survival was due to the quick action of an off duty policeman & the help he was able to summons. I have no recollection of the jaws of life only a face at my window giving encouragement, the helicopter from highway 89 to Sunnybrook is vague as was the signing of a consent to operate & the ten days hooked up to a lung machine & my many shattered bones. My arrival at the wonderful St. Johns, I suspect, was due in part to the very nice case worker who got me there & also retrieved my jewelry. I would like to have properly thanked them both.
I was well looked after - a nice roommate, excellent care as well as continual support from fellow Anglicans plus many other good friends who visited, setting up bridge games & a fun 75th birthday party. Fortunately, this enabled me to truly accept the things I could not change & get on with the rigor of exercises, mental & physical this still took three months mostly in a wheel chair. My kids laughed that “only their mother would take that long to drive from The Blue Mts. to Toronto”. I had three more months of sleeping in my dining room & being monitored by care givers daily, with lots of physiotherapy. Like most happenings in my life I felt totally responsible for my well being & accepted the challenge, our fine health care system can do just so much.
I am truly grateful for these past seven years particularly as I was able to get back to driving, which is one of my main volunteer functions to-day.
This past May I broke my hip (my 12th fracture) while convening a coffee hour at church, once again I was lucky with immediate surgery, home within the week & managed to enjoy my already planned Holland American trip to The Yukon & Alaska in August.
So thank you for all your efforts on my behalf have not forgotten Barbara & Michael & do appreciate the opportunity you provided to express my gratitude.
Sincere best wishes for 2012 & future success.
- E. Ross
I pondered many times as to what I could say and I decided for Curtis and myself you folks also should be mentioned. You were instrumental in keeping Curtis' dignity intact while working on his case. You kept him in the loop on the progress of his case to the degree that he could understand, never once talking as though he wasn't in the room. Curtis was always a real person with feelings to you folks. You always put things in layman's terms for us and were by our side every inch of the way. I was a legal secretary myself and I have never seen a law firm like yours with so much compassion for your clients. Your lawyers are brilliant in negotiations and outstanding in your empathy for others.
- L. Couvillon
Dear Mr. MacDonald,
We would like to take this opportunity to express our gratitude and thank you for your remarkable work and tremendous support during the period you were representing us! We truly appreciate all your efforts. We would also like to extend our gratitude to your Law Clerk, Ms. Barbara O’Gorman for her kind and compassionate support during the course of our case. The expertise and professionalism that you and your colleagues demonstrated were absolutely impressive.
Your support helped our son to take the right steps and get the right treatments for recovery, and safeguard his future. For that, we will be indebted to you forever.
In the mean time, we wish you and your family much success, and a very happy, healthy and prosperous year ahead! May God bless you and your family always.
- The Jalali Family
Dear Dave,
Mario and I would like to express our sincere thanks to you and the entire team for all you have done.
From the initial meeting at our home, we were confident that you had the knowledge, resources and compassion necessary to represent us. You always made yourself readily available and your advice, encouragement and support helped to guide us through our difficult and emotional journey. By your genuine interest, not only to our file but our lives, you’ve made us feel more like friends than clients.
While there were many people behind the scenes working on the file, Diane Bregg was incredible! Her proficiency and empathy made many a day easier! She was a pleasure to work with.
As we move forward, we appreciate your willingness to allow us to seek your counsel if necessary, and once again, we thank you for bringing our case to a successful conclusion.
Sincerely,
- A. and M. Tiberia
Dear David MacDonald,
I would hereby once again like to express my gratitude to you for having taken me on as a client and for fighting my "case" to such a successful completion.
Mr. Dabor was absolutely right in his praise of you - when he referred me to you.
You have a very efficient, loyal, kind, professional team of people surrounding you, all the more to your credit!
As an acknowledgement of your professional services rendered to me, I have donated $1,500.00 to the Tribute Program at the Sick Kids Foundation in your Honour, requesting that the money go towards the Trauma Program.
Fortunately for me, my accident wasn't as tragic as I am sure many of your other client cases are. But, nevertheless, it has altered my life in so many ways, as you are so well aware of as you fought steadfast on my behalf. For that, I am forever grateful.
- A. Szonda
Dear Mr. MacDonald:
I am writing to let you know how appreciative I am with the way you handled, represented and supported my husband and our family, especially with respect to obtaining accident benefits from our insurance company.
I found you and your law clerk Diane Bregg very approachable. Both of you answered my calls and emails promptly. The language and culture barriers and so many uncertainties were addressed by your clear explanations, thoughtful suggestions and your expertise in dealing with insurance companies.
I understand my husband has a long way to go but I am very pleased to have been able to help him by retaining you, the very best lawyer, as his legal representative! No doubt your talent in dealing with brain injury victims and your determination to pursue the case will lead to a satisfactory settlement.
A. Huang and J. Xu
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.
T. Broussenko and the Broussenko Family.
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.,
P. and J. Barry
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.
L. and J. Mackay
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.
F. Rose – Dave’s Mom
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