If you receive a settlement from a personal injury lawsuit you will likely owe OHIP funds to cover your medical costs.

November 07, 2019, Kitchener, Ontario

Posted by: Robert Deutschmann, Personal Injury Lawyer

A Recent CTV News story highlighted a common occurrence that most people are not aware of. If you are in a slip and fall accident or other personal injury accident and you sue, your settlement will have the cost of OHIP deducted from it. This is a little-known fact that catches many people by surprise.

In the case of Guy McMurray who fell on black ice in front of his workplace he broke both kneecaps and severed tendons. He was in the hospital for 80 days recovering from injuries and complications. He sued successfully and received a settlement from his employer for $350,000. He was shocked when the he saw the amount of his cheque. He knew was required to pay his lawyers fees but had no idea that OHIP would take $55,000 of the money back to cover incurred costs.

CTV News Reported,

“Ontario’s Ministry of Health told CTV News Toronto that when people win lawsuits for personal injury, OHIP will seek funds to cover their medical costs.

“By law, the money that was paid by OHIP, out of public funds, to provide health care services to the injured person is to be paid back to OHIP by the person who caused the injury,” a spokesperson said Wednesday.

The spokesperson said that this includes boating, air and rail accidents, product liability or manufacturing defects, medical malpractice, dog bites, assaults and class action lawsuits.

McMurray said that, as a taxpayer, he feels he is being double charged for the care he received.

“They had no part in my extreme discomfort, they had no part in my loss of income, they had no part in the things I can't do anymore. They just want part of my claim," McMurray said.

McMurray said he wants OHIP to return the money taken from him, and has asked the provincial government to review his case.

The Ontario Health Insurance Plan said that over the past two years it has recovered more than $30 million in public health costs from Ontario citizens who were hurt in personal injury accidents.”

About Deutschmann Law

Deutschmann Law serves South-Western Ontario with offices in Kitchener-Waterloo, Cambridge, Woodstock, Brantford, Stratford and Ayr. The law practice of Robert Deutschmann focuses almost exclusively in personal injury and disability insurance matters. For more information, please visit www.deutschmannlaw.com or call us at 1-519-742-7774.

It is important that you review your accident benefit file with one of our experienced personal injury / car accident lawyers to ensure that you obtain access to all your benefits which include, but are limited to, things like physiotherapy, income replacement benefits, vocational retraining and home modifications.