Now a Halifax personal injury lawyer has called on the Nova Scotia government to bring about a sharp increase in the medical rehab benefits that are given to those who suffer serious injuries in an auto accident. These injuries are termed as ‘catastrophic’ and the medical costs involved are huge. Hence, John McKiggan of the Atlantic Trial Lawyers Association states that those who suffer such severe injuries in auto accidents require extensive treatment and they should be made eligible to receive medical benefits of at least $100,000 along with income replacement of around $1,000 per week, in case they are not in a position to work following the accident.
McKiggan has served on the advisory committee at Nova Scotia Automobile Insurance Review and states that the welcomes the recommendation to increase the current medical rehab coverage and double it up to $50,000 from $25,000. However, trial lawyers still feel that this is not sufficient for those who have suffered very severe injuries.
According to the present rules that have been brought in by the NDP government, the victims of an auto accident who have suffered minor injuries will get a maximum coverage of $7,500 for pain and suffering. The review has recommended that consumer should be given the choice and they can decide to pay higher premiums if they wish to get the right to sue (at present there is the $7,500 cap for pain and suffering). But McKiggan states that it is a good thing to give people a choice, but still not many will want to pay a higher premium in order to get the right to sue for more monetary compensation.
He states that people in general look for insurance which is the cheapest and they fail to realize the benefits until such time when they actually require the coverage.
Due to the injury cap, there are limitations on the right to sue and McKiggan states that the Trial Lawyers Association has generally been against these caps as they are opposed to any kind of legislation that may limit a person’s accessibility to justice. Besides that, he states that these caps make it more difficult for people who are unemployed at the time of the accident, and also those who don’t suffer severe injuries to engage lawyers in case they want to file for damages. If there is a cap of $7,500, no lawyer can afford to fight such a case on the percentage basis and most often people cannot afford hiring lawyers.
