The Incredible Abuse of Saskatchewan No-Fault Insurance part 1

The Incredible Abuse of Saskatchewan

No-Fault Insurance (Part 1)

Nipawin - May 31, 2000 - By: Mario deSantis and reviewed by James deSantis

Part 1
The governmental environment and their sponsored researches

Dr. David Cassidy's study on No-Fault Insurance

Dr. Cassidy's study doesn't make common sense,
it is just an adulteration of numbers

Today's report is
the first of a four part series posted each day for the
rest of this week dealing with these issues that revolve around SGI's no-fault insurance programme and their efforts to validate it through ambitious pseudo research.

Dr. Cassidy received a grant in the order of at
least a million dollar from SGI

Changing definitions of whiplash injury, and the
proxy of settlement date as the recovery date

The limitations of statistics as expressed by George H. Gallup

Conclusions

The governmental environment and their sponsored researches

researchers continue to advance the governmental agendas
I firmly believe that our governmental biggest policies of saving money and centralizing any

governmental or pseudo governmental service are killing the entrepreneurial spirit of the people

of this province. In addition, the consequential governmental focus on researches to support these

biggest policies have further contributed to the shrinking of this province to greatness. This is

why the intelligence and creativity of our people has been muffled, this is why our politicians

continue to be always busy in either speaking out and meaning nothing or lying all the way to

their banks⁽¹⁾, and this is why our researchers continue to advance the governmental agendas by

useless researches after researches⁽²⁾.

Research has become the driving
political force
We have the news today that the implementation of the latest research on municipal amalgamation

would save some $29 million⁽³⁾. How far can we go in tolerating the incompetence of this

government and the lies of their associated researchers? And if you think that our media or our

own local university can do anything to publicize what is wrong in our researches⁽⁴⁾⁽⁵⁾⁽⁶⁾⁽⁷⁾⁽⁸⁾

you can forget about it!⁽⁹⁾ Research has become the driving political force of this government

and it is time to remind Premier Roy Romanow and his politically and socially connected friend

Peter MacKinnon⁽¹⁰⁾, President of the University of Saskatchewan, that research is not politics

and that "you guys are all wet, you're full of it⁽¹¹⁾!"

statistical correlation analysis
In this writing, I want to highlight the deficiencies of the widespread use and abuse of the tool

of statistical analysis by referring to the No-Fault insurance study by Dr. David Cassidy. This

botched study represents the quintessence of the political travesty of this government when one

considers that this same government was formed by giving the finger to the Saskatchewan

electorate⁽¹²⁾, and when one considers that Honourable Jim Melenchuck, Education Minister,

lied outright when he said he would repeal the No-Fault insurance legislation once in power⁽¹³⁾.

Also, I believe that the time is mature for dismissing altogether the approach of statistical

correlation analysis for dealing with phenomena which cannot be independently repeated, and

advise Dr. Cassidy to study such phenomena through system dynamic simulation

models⁽¹⁴⁾⁽¹⁵⁾⁽¹⁶⁾⁽¹⁷⁾.

Dr. David Cassidy's study on No-Fault Insurance

This study is titled "Effect of Eliminating Compensation for Pain and Suffering on the Outcome

of Insurance Claims for Whiplash Injury⁽¹⁸⁾" and while it was directed by Dr. Cassidy it was

coauthored by Linda J. Carroll, Pierre Cote, Mark Lemstra, Anita Berglund, Ake Nygren.

purpose of
the study
Effective January 1, 1995 the government of Saskatchewan issued legislation that eliminated the

Tort-Compensation system for traffic injuries, which included for the injured the right to sue for

pain and suffering, and implemented the No-Fault insurance system under which the injured

doesn't have the right to sue for pain and suffering. The purpose of the study was to find out if

this change of insurance coverage was associated with a decrease in claims and improved

recovery after whiplash injury.

injured people recover twice
as fast
For the period prior to January 1, 1995, the study included the population of persons who filed

insurance claims for traffic injuries after June 30, 1994. The study made the conclusions that

"the elimination of compensation for pain and suffering is associated with a decreased incidence

and improved prognosis of whiplash injury," that is, in particular and in other words injured people

,recover twice as fast from whiplash and related traffic injuries if they cannot sue for pain and

suffering; and that the change to No-Fault insurance resulted with a decreased incidence of

whiplash claims as well.

-----------References & Endnotes:

Quote by Donella Meadows "challenging a paradigm is not a part-time job. It is not sufficient to make your point once and then blame the world for not getting it. The world has a vested interest in, a commitment to, not getting it. The point has to be made patiently and repeatedly, day after day after day" ftp://sysdyn.mit.edu/ftp/sdep/Roadmaps/RM1/D-4143-1.pdf http://iisd1.iisd.ca/pcdf/meadows/default.htm

General reference: Articles by Mario deSantis published by Ensign http://www.ftlcomm.com/ensign/authors/desantis.html

Dr. Cassidy's study on no-fault insurance: supporting another shock absorber, by Mario deSantis, April 20, 2000

The fight against No-Fault Insurance is a fight for our Freedom: Attend the Public Forum at the Saskatoon Public Library on May 13, 2000, by Mario deSantis, May 9, 2000

1.
Liberal vows revenge, by Murray Mandryk, The Leader-Post, September 30, 1999, Regina, Saskatchewan

2.
-
Saskatchewan Health Care Researches: A campaign to assist the Romanow's government and cheat the people, by Mario deSantis, May 7, 2000

3.
-
-
$29-million saving, by Murray Mandryk, The Leader-Post, May 25, 2000, Regina, Saskatchewan. Also refer to Consultant slams reports backing amalgamation: Studies short on hard facts, former U of M dean contends, By Neil Scott, The StarPhoenix, May 11, 2000, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan

4.
-
-
U of S to conduct preliminary review of research misconduct allegation, On Campus News, University of Saskatchewan, Volume 6, Number 17, May 21, 1999 http://cwis.usask.ca/communications/ocn/May21-99/news18.html

5.
No pain, No gain, by Les MacPherson, The Star-Phoenix, April 25, 2000, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan

6.
Folly to slag fair research, Opinions, The StarPhoenix, May 26, 2000, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan

7.
Dr. Freeman's Letter To Dr. Wigzell http://www.angelfire.com/nf/coalitionagainstnf/Dr.htm

8.
-
--
-
-
-
Dr. McLennan's Letter to Dr. Wigzell. The pompous assets of Professor McLennan can be appreciated by the following excerpt "Our respective universities have been attacked by Michael Freeman a chiropractor with a PhD from a small university in the USA". Dr. Barry D. McLennan is Chair, Coalition for Biomedical & Health Research (CBHR); Member, CIHR Interim Governing Council (IGC); and Assistant Dean, Research, College of Medicine, University of Saskatchewan http://www.angelfire.com/nf/coalitionagainstnf/Dr.htm

9.
-
-
-
-
University of Saskatchewan: Report to the Community, a commitment to change, The StarPhoenix, May 27, 2000, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. This is a one page advertising message from Peter MacKinnon, President of the University of Saskatchewan. Possibly, it is a response to the article Research focus strains U of S: prof. University cuts classroom quality, top teacher says, by Gerry Klein, The StarPhoenix, May 19, 2000

10.
-
Peter MacKinnon, President of the University of Saskatchewan, is the husband of Honourable Janice MacKinnon, Minister of Economic Development, Government of Saskatchewan

11.
-
-
-
-
-
-
Skeptic Magazine Interview With Robert Sternberg on The Bell Curve, Interview by Frank Miele, from Skeptic vol. 3, no. 3, 1995, pp. 72-80, Skeptics Society, P.O. Box 338, Altadena, CA 91001, (818) 794-3119. Robert Sternberg is Professor of Education and Psychology at Yale and the author of The Triarchic Mind. He is also the editor of The Encyclopedia of Intelligence, and he is on the editorial board of Intelligence, the leading scientific journal in the field of intelligence and mental ability. Robert Sternberg thinks that the study of intelligence is vitally important to the health and survival of our society. http://www.skeptic.com/03.3.fm-sternberg-interview.html

12.
-
Governmental coalition in Saskatchewan: a private contractual deal at the expense of the electorate? by Mario deSantis, October 4, 1999

13.
-
-
Melenchuk not off the hook, groups against no-fault say. There's no question Liberal leader promised to get rid of plan, opponents of system say, by Murray Mandryk, The Leader-Post, May 25, 2000, Regina, Saskatchewan

14.
-
-
Simulation Defined. Simulation is a powerful tool for analyzing, designing, and operating complex systems. It enables you to test hypotheses without having to carry them out, saving you thousands, even hundreds of thousands of dollars! http://www.imaginethatinc.com/frame_simulation.html

15.
Systems Dynamics in Education: Thinking Differently, by Mario deSantis, February 20, 1999

16.
-
System Dynamics in Education: Commonality of Structure and Behaviour, by Mario deSantis, March 28, 1999

17.
-
Systems Dynamics in Education: Systems Thinking and Systems Dynamics, by Mario deSantis, February 26, 1999

18.
-
-
-
Effect of Eliminating Compensation for Pain and Suffering on the Outcome of Insurance Claims for Whiplash Injury, by J. David Cassidy, Linda J. Carroll, Pierre Cote, Mark Lemstra, Anita Berglund, Ake Nygren. The New England Journal of Medicine -- April 20, 2000 -- Vol. 342, No. 16 http://www.nejm.org/content/2000/0342/0016/1179.asp

---------Additional References:

A 1997 study "Is the Choice of Care Provider Associated with Health Outcomes and Whiplash? A proposed Data Linkage Study."

A Conference held in February of 1999 dealing with the issue of Whiplash in Vancouver.

The Incredible Abuse of Saskatchewan No-Fault Insurance (Part 1)

*Nipawin - May 31, 2000 -* By: *Mario deSantis and reviewed by James deSantis*

Part 1	The governmental environment and their sponsored researches
	Dr. David Cassidy's study on No-Fault Insurance

	Dr. Cassidy's study doesn't make common sense, it is just an adulteration of numbers	Today's report is the first of a four part series posted each day for the rest of this week dealing with these issues that revolve around SGI's no-fault insurance programme and their efforts to validate it through ambitious pseudo research.

	Dr. Cassidy received a grant in the order of at least a million dollar from SGI

	Changing definitions of whiplash injury, and the proxy of settlement date as the recovery date

	*The limitations of statistics as expressed by George H. Gallup*

	*Conclusions*

The governmental environment and their sponsored researches

researchers continue to advance the governmental agendas	I firmly believe that our governmental biggest policies of saving money and centralizing any
	governmental or pseudo governmental service are killing the entrepreneurial spirit of the people
	of this province. In addition, the consequential governmental focus on researches to support these
	biggest policies have further contributed to the shrinking of this province to greatness. This is
	why the intelligence and creativity of our people has been muffled, this is why our politicians
	continue to be always busy in either speaking out and meaning nothing or lying all the way to
	their banks⁽¹⁾, and this is why our researchers continue to advance the governmental agendas by
	useless researches after researches⁽²⁾.

Research has become the driving political force	We have the news today that the implementation of the latest research on municipal amalgamation
	would save some $29 million⁽³⁾. How far can we go in tolerating the incompetence of this
	government and the lies of their associated researchers? And if you think that our media or our
	own local university can do anything to publicize what is wrong in our researches⁽⁴⁾⁽⁵⁾⁽⁶⁾⁽⁷⁾⁽⁸⁾
	you can forget about it!⁽⁹⁾ Research has become the driving political force of this government
	and it is time to remind Premier Roy Romanow and his politically and socially connected friend
	Peter MacKinnon⁽¹⁰⁾, President of the University of Saskatchewan, that research is not politics
	and that "you guys are all wet, you're full of it⁽¹¹⁾!"

statistical correlation analysis	In this writing, I want to highlight the deficiencies of the widespread use and abuse of the tool
	of statistical analysis by referring to the No-Fault insurance study by Dr. David Cassidy. This
	botched study represents the quintessence of the political travesty of this government when one
	considers that this same government was formed by giving the finger to the Saskatchewan
	electorate⁽¹²⁾, and when one considers that Honourable Jim Melenchuck, Education Minister,
	lied outright when he said he would repeal the No-Fault insurance legislation once in power⁽¹³⁾.
	Also, I believe that the time is mature for dismissing altogether the approach of statistical
	correlation analysis for dealing with phenomena which cannot be independently repeated, and
	advise Dr. Cassidy to study such phenomena through system dynamic simulation
	models⁽¹⁴⁾⁽¹⁵⁾⁽¹⁶⁾⁽¹⁷⁾.

Dr. David Cassidy's study on No-Fault Insurance

	This study is titled "Effect of Eliminating Compensation for Pain and Suffering on the Outcome
	of Insurance Claims for Whiplash Injury⁽¹⁸⁾" and while it was directed by Dr. Cassidy it was
	coauthored by Linda J. Carroll, Pierre Cote, Mark Lemstra, Anita Berglund, Ake Nygren.

purpose of the study	Effective January 1, 1995 the government of Saskatchewan issued legislation that eliminated the
	Tort-Compensation system for traffic injuries, which included for the injured the right to sue for
	pain and suffering, and implemented the No-Fault insurance system under which the injured
	doesn't have the right to sue for pain and suffering. The purpose of the study was to find out if
	this change of insurance coverage was associated with a decrease in claims and improved
	recovery after whiplash injury.

injured people recover twice as fast	For the period prior to January 1, 1995, the study included the population of persons who filed
	insurance claims for traffic injuries after June 30, 1994. The study made the conclusions that
	"the elimination of compensation for pain and suffering is associated with a decreased incidence
	and improved prognosis of whiplash injury," that is, in particular and in other words injured people
	,recover twice as fast from whiplash and related traffic injuries if they cannot sue for pain and
	suffering; and that the change to No-Fault insurance resulted with a decreased incidence of
	whiplash claims as well.

-----------References & Endnotes:

	Quote by Donella Meadows "challenging a paradigm is not a part-time job. It is not sufficient to make your point once and then blame the world for not getting it. The world has a vested interest in, a commitment to, not getting it. The point has to be made patiently and repeatedly, day after day after day" ftp://sysdyn.mit.edu/ftp/sdep/Roadmaps/RM1/D-4143-1.pdf http://iisd1.iisd.ca/pcdf/meadows/default.htm

	General reference: Articles by Mario deSantis published by Ensign http://www.ftlcomm.com/ensign/authors/desantis.html

	Dr. Cassidy's study on no-fault insurance: supporting another shock absorber, by Mario deSantis, April 20, 2000

	The fight against No-Fault Insurance is a fight for our Freedom: Attend the Public Forum at the Saskatoon Public Library on May 13, 2000, by Mario deSantis, May 9, 2000

1.	Liberal vows revenge, by Murray Mandryk, The Leader-Post, September 30, 1999, Regina, Saskatchewan

2. -	Saskatchewan Health Care Researches: A campaign to assist the Romanow's government and cheat the people, by Mario deSantis, May 7, 2000

3. - -	$29-million saving, by Murray Mandryk, The Leader-Post, May 25, 2000, Regina, Saskatchewan. Also refer to Consultant slams reports backing amalgamation: Studies short on hard facts, former U of M dean contends, By Neil Scott, The StarPhoenix, May 11, 2000, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan

4. - -	U of S to conduct preliminary review of research misconduct allegation, On Campus News, University of Saskatchewan, Volume 6, Number 17, May 21, 1999 http://cwis.usask.ca/communications/ocn/May21-99/news18.html

5.	No pain, No gain, by Les MacPherson, The Star-Phoenix, April 25, 2000, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan

6.	Folly to slag fair research, Opinions, The StarPhoenix, May 26, 2000, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan

7.	Dr. Freeman's Letter To Dr. Wigzell http://www.angelfire.com/nf/coalitionagainstnf/Dr.htm

8. - -- - - -	Dr. McLennan's Letter to Dr. Wigzell. The pompous assets of Professor McLennan can be appreciated by the following excerpt "Our respective universities have been attacked by Michael Freeman a chiropractor with a PhD from a small university in the USA". Dr. Barry D. McLennan is Chair, Coalition for Biomedical & Health Research (CBHR); Member, CIHR Interim Governing Council (IGC); and Assistant Dean, Research, College of Medicine, University of Saskatchewan http://www.angelfire.com/nf/coalitionagainstnf/Dr.htm

9. - - - -	University of Saskatchewan: Report to the Community, a commitment to change, The StarPhoenix, May 27, 2000, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. This is a one page advertising message from Peter MacKinnon, President of the University of Saskatchewan. Possibly, it is a response to the article Research focus strains U of S: prof. University cuts classroom quality, top teacher says, by Gerry Klein, The StarPhoenix, May 19, 2000

10. -	Peter MacKinnon, President of the University of Saskatchewan, is the husband of Honourable Janice MacKinnon, Minister of Economic Development, Government of Saskatchewan

11. - - - - - -	Skeptic Magazine Interview With Robert Sternberg on The Bell Curve, Interview by Frank Miele, from Skeptic vol. 3, no. 3, 1995, pp. 72-80, Skeptics Society, P.O. Box 338, Altadena, CA 91001, (818) 794-3119. Robert Sternberg is Professor of Education and Psychology at Yale and the author of The Triarchic Mind. He is also the editor of The Encyclopedia of Intelligence, and he is on the editorial board of Intelligence, the leading scientific journal in the field of intelligence and mental ability. Robert Sternberg thinks that the study of intelligence is vitally important to the health and survival of our society. http://www.skeptic.com/03.3.fm-sternberg-interview.html

12. -	Governmental coalition in Saskatchewan: a private contractual deal at the expense of the electorate? by Mario deSantis, October 4, 1999

13. - -	Melenchuk not off the hook, groups against no-fault say. There's no question Liberal leader promised to get rid of plan, opponents of system say, by Murray Mandryk, The Leader-Post, May 25, 2000, Regina, Saskatchewan

14. - -	Simulation Defined. Simulation is a powerful tool for analyzing, designing, and operating complex systems. It enables you to test hypotheses without having to carry them out, saving you thousands, even hundreds of thousands of dollars! http://www.imaginethatinc.com/frame_simulation.html

15.	Systems Dynamics in Education: Thinking Differently, by Mario deSantis, February 20, 1999

16. -	System Dynamics in Education: Commonality of Structure and Behaviour, by Mario deSantis, March 28, 1999

17. -	Systems Dynamics in Education: Systems Thinking and Systems Dynamics, by Mario deSantis, February 26, 1999

18. - - -	Effect of Eliminating Compensation for Pain and Suffering on the Outcome of Insurance Claims for Whiplash Injury, by J. David Cassidy, Linda J. Carroll, Pierre Cote, Mark Lemstra, Anita Berglund, Ake Nygren. The New England Journal of Medicine -- April 20, 2000 -- Vol. 342, No. 16 http://www.nejm.org/content/2000/0342/0016/1179.asp

---------Additional References:

	A 1997 study "Is the Choice of Care Provider Associated with Health Outcomes and Whiplash? A proposed Data Linkage Study."

	A Conference held in February of 1999 dealing with the issue of Whiplash in Vancouver.