Halifax Personal Injury Lawyer Blog

June 2nd, 2017

Supreme Court of Canada says psych report not required to recover damages for mental injury: Saadati v. Moorhead.

The Supreme Court of Canada released and interesting decision today ( Saadati v. Moorhead) that will be relevant to anyone who claims to have suffered psychological injuries as a result of car accident, medical malpractice, or any other type of personal injury claim.

The plaintiff Saadati was injured in a motor vehicle collision. He sued the other defendants in negligence seeking compensation for income loss and nonpecuniary damages (pain and suffering). The plaintiff claims he suffered psychological injuries in the accident that resulted in personality changes and cognitive deficits that made it difficult to concentrate.

However, at the trial the plaintiff did not call any evidence from medical experts to indicate that he had ever been diagnosed with any type of psychiatric illness. Instead, the plaintiff relied upon testimony from friends and family members who said that after the car accident Saadati’s personality had changed.

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April 26th, 2017

“My Neighbour’s Dog Bit My Child. What Can I Do?”

by John McKiggan

My associate Mark Raftus was retained by a client as a result of an injury from a dog bite. Mark wrote an interesting article for our newsletter about the law pertaining to dog bite claims. I thought it was worth posting here for our blog readers. Take it away Mark…

“My Neighbour’s Dog Bit My Child. What Can I Do?”

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February 17th, 2017

Good news from the Supreme Court of Canada for injured victims of underinsured drivers

by Mark Raftus

What is SEF44 coverage?

In an article and video on the McKiggan Hebert website John McKiggan discussed how the SEF44 Family Protection Endorsement works. But a recent decision from the Supreme Court of Canada has made some important rulings that impact how SEF44 coverage can be used to protect you and your family.

Sabean v Portage Mutual Insurance Company

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February 3rd, 2017

Is my Nova Scotia “Minor Injury” claim capped at $7500.00?

by John McKiggan

Minor Injury Cap

This is a question I get asked a lot. Some people have heard that Nova Scotia has a law that places a “cap” on the amount of compensation that people can receive if they have been injured in a car accident.

The law places a cap on the amount of compensation that you can get for what lawyers refer to as “non-pecuniary damages”. Everybody else calls it compensation for “pain and suffering”. We explain this in more detail in my article: What is my Nova Scotia Personal Injury Claim Worth?

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June 30th, 2016

Let’s help make pedestrians safer on Spring Garden Road in Halifax

by John McKiggan

We have been trying to raise awareness to make Halifax a safer city for our pedestrians. See for example Mark Raftus’ recent article: Protecting Pedestrians with Innovative Ideas

Petition to Lower Speed Limit on Spring Garden

Halifax City Council recently approved a plan to improve streetscaping and lighting along Spring Garden Road to make it more pedestrian friendly. We believe that pedestrians should be able to safely walk the streets of Halifax. However, there were 208 pedestrian accidents last year (2015) and a disproportionate number happened on Spring Garden. There are three intersections on Spring Garden that have averaged 6 pedestrian-car collisions over the last few years. As business owners on this Road, we’ve launching a petition to reduce the speed to 30km per hour, ensuring a safer street for everyone.

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May 15th, 2016

How “buying Canadian” can protect your family when vacation injuries strike

by Brian Hebert

Avoid vacation litigation nightmares.

One of my pet peeves is the way many resort owners in Mexico and the Caribbean have structured their operations to shield themselves from liability for injuries they cause to their guests through their own negligence. Canadians can, and should, take steps to avoid being left empty-handed in the event of vacation accidents.

Each winter over 3 million Canadians book vacation packages to Mexico and the Caribbean. Unfortunately, many of them will be injured while at their resort or while participating in an off-resort excursion. Their injuries will range from minor cuts and bruises to quadriplegia and everything in between. Some injuries will even prove fatal. Sadly, for these travelers and their families, when an injury is caused by the fault of another, obtaining full and fair compensation can be difficult.

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February 16th, 2016

Protecting Pedestrians with Innovative Ideas

by John McKiggan

(By Mark Raftus)

Pedestrians will be pleased to hear there are new and innovative ideas emerging to make foot travel safer.

In three prior blog posts I have recommended increased vigilance on the part of both pedestrians and car drivers as the number one factor in reducing collisions and injury.
Good news in the battle against pedestrian-car collisions
WEATHER WATCH – WINTER WALKING and DRIVING in NOVA SCOTIA

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January 30th, 2016

Where do most car accidents happen in Halifax? The answer may surprise you.

by John McKiggan

After it was reported that Halifax was the most dangerous place to drive in Canada I thought I would do some investigation to see where most car accidents were happening in Halifax. After looking at Insurance company claim statistics and highway safety reports, what I found was that most collisions weren’t happening in one place, but in a number of similar locations.

Parking lots are dangerous

In Halifax, like most major cities in Canada, parking lots are the most common site for car accidents.

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January 25th, 2016

Update from Halifax Teacher of the Month Winner

by John McKiggan

Our November teacher of the month winner was St. Joseph’s A. McKay teacher, Christina Cann. Christina recently sent us an update to let us know how she spent the Staples gift certificate.
“I was able to purchase a colour printer and scanner for my classroom! We only have a black and white copier in the school and the kids really respond well to colour prints. Also, now I can scan a document and display on LCD for all the kids to see rather than holding up the small copy. It was on sale from staples for $49 so it was perfect!

Younger students (and especially primary level students) need a lot of visuals and picture references. The colour printer will help with that. High schools and other schools may have the document readers and fancier equipment, but in some elementary schools they are hard to come by so that is where the scanner will come in. It is also wireless, so I plan to share that with the other classes on the same floor as my class.”
It is wonderful to see the award is being put to such good use. Thanks for the update Christina!

Nominate a Teacher for Teacher of the Month

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January 22nd, 2016

Good news in the battle against pedestrian-car collisions.

by John McKiggan

(By Mark Raftus)

Pedestrian-car “accidents” are decreasing in Halifax!

As reported in my December 23, 2014 post “Pedestrian-Car Collisions: An Epidemic in Nova Scotia” the number of pedestrian-car collisions in Halifax [and indeed throughout Nova Scotia] increased from 2013 to 2014 with the attributed causes ranging from poor weather to poor visibility such as dark lighting conditions. In order to combat this rise in “accidents” I suggested increased vigilance on the part of both pedestrian and car drivers. One consumer advocate suggested that if more tickets were issued collisions would decrease based upon data from other provinces who went the route of issuing more tickets. I will keep an eye out for updated information on that front.

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