40-year career<\/a> as a pioneering fulltime nurse clinician in the electrophysiology program at Toronto General Hospital. <\/p>\n\u201cThe neck discomfort, despite getting all kinds of ergonomic assessments at my desk and stuff, really affected my neck and my work,\u201d Buckman says. \u201cSo I actually retired March 31.\u201d<\/p>\n
Early retirement was a blow, she says, because she\u2019s had a fulfilling career at UHN, where she helped establish the electrophysiology triage program. She\u2019s since managed to go back to work one to two days per week because she misses it. <\/p>\n
She says the ordeal \u201cwas incredibly scary\u201d and \u201cit\u2019s a wonder that I ever got behind the wheel again.\u201d<\/p>\n
She adds she probably waits \u201ca lot longer than most people\u201d now before making a left-hand turn. <\/p>\n
While she says she believes the police and the city were wrong in finding her at fault, she was the only one they could send a bill to. While the bill shocked her, she said she doesn\u2019t plan to dwell on it. <\/p>\n
\u201cI just deal with stuff and move on because otherwise it affects your life,\u201d Buckman says. <\/p>\n
Insurance rules \u2018cut and dry\u2019 <\/p>\n
It\u2019s not yet clear how much her premiums will go up when it comes time to renew her insurance in a couple of years. <\/p>\n
According to Anne Marie Thomas, Director of Consumer and Industry Relations at the Insurance Bureau of Canada, insurers\u2019 hands are mostly tied when it comes to putting up rates following an at-fault collision, even if there are extenuating circumstances such as criminality. <\/p>\n
\u201cI can\u2019t imagine her (Buckman\u2019s) frustration, but when you look at the fault determination rules for accidents in the province of Ontario, she was making the left-hand turn, so ergo she\u2019s considered to be at fault,\u201d Thomas says. <\/p>\n
There\u2019s little wiggle room, she adds, to insert additional context or reasoning. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt is very cut and dry because insurance companies must file their underwriting rules with the financial services regulator authority,\u201d she says. <\/p>\n
While it\u2019s obviously difficult to anticipate all circumstances, Thomas says there are some steps drivers can take to give themselves extra protection in a collision where they are technically deemed to be at fault. <\/p>\n
\u201cCompanies call it many different things. It could be accident forgiveness, accident protection, something like that,\u201d she says. \u201cIt\u2019s sort of an agreement between you and your insurance company that if you get into an at-fault collision, your insurance rates won\u2019t increase as a result of that incident.\u201d<\/p>\n
The extra feature can cost around $50 more per year, she says, though she notes some policies only make allowance for a single at-fault incident and it still becomes part of one\u2019s driving record. <\/p>\n
\u201cIf you have a car, check your own insurance policy to see if you do have that coverage,\u201d Thomas says. \u201cIt can save you six years of premium increases because of that one loss.\u201d<\/p>\n
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