Car Accident Injury – Insurance Claims – Halifax Lawyer

After almost five years  – the court challenge to Nova Scotia’s $2,500 Cap on Minor Injuries is now officially over.  Earlier this morning the Supreme Court of Canada dismissed the application for leave to appeal the Hartling Case. An appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada was the last legal option open to those seeking to have the courts strike down the $2,500 Cap. This outcome was expected because the Supreme Court of Canada had already declined to hear an appeal involving the challenge to Alberta’s Minor Injury Cap.

Many people in the legal and insurance communities, including myself, were surprised that the Supreme Court of Canada chose not to hear the appeals in the Nova Scotia and Alberta Minor Injury Cap cases. The interplay between the right to equality under the law and  restricting the right s of the few to benefit the many, seemed like a perfect case for the Supreme Court to weigh in on. Law nerds and legal scholars wrung their hands in anticipation — however, it was not to be, in the end it appears the Supreme Court chose not to step into the enigma of publicly-regulated automobile insurance.

What does this mean for you? We have now reached the end of the road for the $2,500 Cap.   The $2,500 Nova Scotia Cap is here to stay and will cover people injured in motor vehicle accidents between November 1, 2003 and April 27, 2010. There is a new $7,500 Cap covering people injured in motor vehicle accidents on or after April 28, 2010.

This leaves New Brunswick as the last jurisdiction to have an ongoing challenge to it’s Minor Injury Cap. This challenge is still at the discovery stage and a trial date has not been set.