Pre-Existing Injuries
It is rare that a person injured in a car accident, medical malpractice claim, or some other accident doesn’t have some pre-existing health problems or conditions that may – or may not – play a part in the injuries that are the subject of litigation.
What Caused the Injuries?
Nova Scotia’s NDP Government has acted on one of its campaign promises to ensure that the Province’s Insurance Act is updated.
Graham Steele, Minister responsible for the Insurance Act, has announced that former Deputy Minister Ron L’Esperance will chair a committee that will examine six areas relating to automobile insurance and recommend changes:
Section B Benefits
Perhaps the biggest myth of brain injury is that mild traumatic brain injuries are not disabling.
They Look Okay
Since persons with traumatic brain injuries do not look obviously injured and many can function reasonable well in society, there is a common misperception that a traumatic brain injury is not as disabling as more obvious physical injuries.
Concussions Have Long Term Effects
It was once thought that the effects of concussion, (mild traumatic brain injury) were temporary. Doctors assumed patients could recover from the effects of concussion after a few minutes or hours.
However a famous research study published in Neurology, the Journal of the American Academy of Neurologists, found that after one year, 10% to 15% of mild traumatic brain injury patients still had not fully recovered. In fact, the study determined that many patients had more symptoms than immediately after the accident.
Pain Specialist Concerned About Minor Injury Cap
Dr. Richard Dumais is a pain specialist working at the Dr. Georges L Dumont Pain Clinic in Moncton New Brunswick. Today he voiced his concerns on the broadness of New Brunswick’s definition of a “minor injury” under the provinces car insurance laws that caps compensation for pain and suffering.
According to Dr. Dumais:
Consumer’s Group Calls For Review of Minor Injury Cap
The CBC has reported that a group of concerned citizens has formed a new consumers action group calling for a review of New Brunswick’s “minor injury” cap on car accident insurance claims.
Frances McConnachie is a member of N.B. Consumers for Insurance Fairness. McConnachie was quoted as saying she received $2,500 following an accident in 2004 that has left her with back and neck problems that limit her activities and make her reliant on therapy and pain killers.
Injured Victim’s Constitutional Appeal Fails
Today the Supreme Court of Canada refused to hear an appeal of a decision that upheld the constitutionality of Nova Scotia’s cap of $2500.00 compensation for injured car accident victims deemed to have suffered a “minor injury”.
The Applicant MacDonald was involved in a car accident in November, 2003. She suffered soft tissue injuries to her neck, shoulders and back. Her insurance company claimed that she had suffered a “minor injury” under Nova Scotia’s new auto insurance provisions and offered a settlement that included the capped amount of $2,500 for pain and suffering.
Nova Scotia has a cap on the amount of compensation that innocent victims are entitled to receive when they have been injured in a car accident.
I have posted before about the unfairness of Nova Scotia’s minor injury cap. For example, see Benefits of “Minor Injury” Cap Legislation does not Justify Discrimination
Promise to Scrap the Cap
Darrel Dexter’s NDP Government pledged to remove the unfair $2,500.00 cap on compensation for motor vehicle accident victims who have suffered a “minor injury”.
Constitutional Challenge Unsuccessful
A constitutional challenge was filed against the legislation arguing that the cap of $2,500.00 for persons who have supposedly suffered a minor injury was contrary to the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The constitutional challenge failed at both the trial level and the Nova Scotia Court of Appeal. Leave to appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada has been filed.
