Sivan Tumarkin
B.A. (Hons.), LL.B.
National Co-Managing Partner
Contact Information
Contact Sivan
T: 1 (844) 661-9065 (Ext.123)
F: (416) 361-0993
E: sivan.tumarkin@stlawyers.ca
Contact Assistant – Jamie O’Connor
Practice Areas
Disability Insurance Law, Personal Injury Law
Location
Calgary, Ottawa, Saskatoon, Toronto, Vancouver
Experience
Sivan Tumarkin is National Co-Managing Partner of Samfiru Tumarkin LLP and leads the firm’s Disability & Personal Injury Law practice across Canada. He is widely respected for his work helping individuals who have been denied long-term disability benefits, suffered serious injuries, or lost a loved one due to negligence.
Sivan regularly assists clients who are looking for a long-term disability lawyer in Toronto after their benefits have been delayed, denied, or cut off by an insurer.
Sivan represents clients in every Canadian province (excluding Quebec) and is frequently retained in high-stakes, complex claims where insurers or defendants dispute the extent of injury, disability, or entitlement to compensation.
Before co-founding the firm, Sivan practised at one of Canada’s leading insurance defence law firms, acting for insurance companies, municipalities, and large corporations. That experience gives him a critical advantage today — he understands how insurers assess, delay, and deny claims, and uses that knowledge to anticipate defences, dismantle weak insurer arguments, and push cases toward resolution.
Long-Term Disability & Personal Injury Practice
Sivan acts exclusively for plaintiffs, focusing on helping injured and disabled individuals recover the full compensation and benefits they are legally entitled to — not just what an insurer initially offers.
His practice includes representation in claims involving:
- Denied or terminated long-term disability (LTD) benefits
- Traumatic brain injuries
- Spinal cord injuries
- Serious orthopaedic injuries
- Psychological and psychiatric injuries
- Chronic pain and complex soft-tissue injuries
He also represents families in fatal accident and wrongful death claims, guiding them through emotionally and legally complex cases with clarity and compassion.
Sivan has litigated and resolved multi-million-dollar claims, and has extensive experience in jury and non-jury trials, arbitrations, and negotiated settlements. His strategic approach is always informed by a clear understanding of medical evidence, insurer tactics, and long-term financial impact on the client.
Mediation Practice
In addition to advocacy, Sivan is a highly sought-after mediator in long-term disability and serious personal injury disputes.
Having participated in hundreds of mediations — both as counsel for injured individuals and earlier in his career for insurers — Sivan brings a balanced, pragmatic, and results-driven approach to dispute resolution. He understands the real costs of prolonged litigation, the pressure points on both sides, and what is required to move complex cases toward fair settlement.
Parties regularly rely on Sivan to cut through entrenched positions, identify genuine issues in dispute, and help achieve resolutions that reflect the true value of a claim.
Television & Radio Hosting
The Disability Law Show on TV
The Disability Law Show is Canada’s only program focused exclusively on long-term disability rights. Hosted by disability lawyers Sivan Tumarkin and James K. Fireman, and co-hosted by broadcaster John Scholes, the show gives viewers and listeners practical, insider guidance when their long-term disability claim is denied or cut off.
Airing on Global TV and CTV across Ontario, Alberta, BC, and Saskatchewan, the program breaks down insurer tactics, explains real cases, and answers the questions disability claimants are often left asking.
👉 Watch episodes of the Disability Law Show
On radio, the Disability Law Show airs every Friday at 6:30 p.m. ET on 640 Toronto, where Sivan answers live questions from listeners dealing with LTD benefit denials and terminations.
Accident Rights
On QR Calgary, Sivan and the Calgary personal injury team host Accident Rights, a weekly program focused on the legal and financial consequences of serious injuries.
The show helps Albertans understand their options after a serious car accident in Calgary, including how compensation works and what insurers don’t want you to know.
Interviews & Media
Strong Media Presence
Sivan is often called upon to comment on legal cases (including ones he is handling) by various media outlets throughout Canada, including the CBC, Global News, Toronto Star, National Post, CTV News, Global News Radio 640 Toronto, Newstalk 1010, Newstalk 580 CFRA, Global News Radio 900 CHML, and others.
Interview Highlights
- CBC Interview about the difficulty navigating long-term disability claim denials for mental health
- Mitch Murphy’s Fight for Justice
- Class-action lawsuit launched against TD Insurance over travel canceled due to COVID-19
- Lawsuits filed against Arch Insurance and Old Republic after school trips canceled
- “Million Dollar Baby”: Insurance company denies claim for $1 million after baby born in Hawaii
- TD Insurance denies claim from nurse undergoing chemotherapy
- Rankin’s Garage found liable after teen crashes stolen car, suffers brain injury
- Edmonton cyclist faces $6,000 bill after collision with SUV
- Why the Yonge Street van attack lawsuits face issues
- Calgary father wants Tim Hortons to cool their tea after son’s injury
- Insurance company offers $8 for mileage to hospital instead of compensation for eye injury
- Global News Radio interview about a doctor who misrepresented peoples’ injuries to favour insurance companies, deny LTD benefits
- COVID-19 Long-haulers denied disability benefits (Global News)
- Sivan on Killer nurse Elizabeth Wetlauffer and issues at long-term care facilities
- Ontario government proposing ending out-of-country OHIP coverage for travel outside Canada (CityNews)
Articles & Blogs
Notable Cases
Kevin Lyons v. The Toronto-Dominion Bank
Samfiru Tumarkin LLP has launched a national class action lawsuit against TD (TD Bank and TD Home and Auto Insurance Company) over its refusal to honour travel insurance claims across Canada and provide full compensation claimants. TD is denying these claims on the basis that the claimants have been offered credits or vouchers.
Carter Adnams v. Arch Insurance Canada LTD.
Canadian families across the country have decided to take legal action against Arch Insurance as they have not been properly compensated for school trips cancelled due to the pandemic.
Chmielowiec v. Old Republic Insurance Company of Canada
A national class action lawsuit has been launched by Samfiru Tumarkin LLP against Old Republic Insurance Company of Canada on behalf of thousands of families across the country over its decision to continue to refuse reimbursement following school trip cancellations at the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Education
Sivan received an Honours B.A. in Psychology from York University and subsequently an LL.B. from Queen’s University. Recently, he completed a program on negotiation and leadership at Harvard Law School.
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