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Posted On: January 29, 2011

McKiggan Appointed to Provincial Insurance Review Committee

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

This covers reimbursement for medical expenses incurred for necessary treatment and indemnity for income loss suffered when injured persons are unable to work;

Treatment Protocols

In some provinces in Canada there is a defined plan of treatment for persons who have suffered so called soft tissue injuries.

Creation of a “full tort” Insurance Product

This means the possibility of being able to buy additional insurance coverage that would allow a person to have the right to fully recover for their injuries instead of being limited by the $7500.00 “minor injury” insurance cap.

Coverage and Premiums for Young or Inexperienced Drivers

Insurance Coverage for Volunteer Firefighters

Vicarious Liability for Vehicle Leasing Companies

Currently insurance companies for car rental agencies are held responsible for paying benefits when a person who rents one of their vehicles is involved in car accident

Asked to Sit on Review Committee

I have been asked, as President of the Atlantic Provinces Trial Lawyers Association, to volunteer to sit on the review committee that will be conducting the review of the Insurance Act.

Changes Long Overdue

There is no doubt that the Insurance Act in Nova Scotia is long over due for changes. The last time the Insurance Act saw a major overhaul was in 1974.

Poverty Level Payments

The maximum income loss benefits currently paid to people who have been injured in a car accident borders on the poverty line. The maximum benefit that someone injured in a car accident is entitled to receive from their own insurance company is $140 per week.

Medical Coverage Inadequate

Similarly, the amount of coverage for medical and rehabilitation expenses is woefully inadequate. The current cap is $25,000.00. If you are catastrophically injured and require 24 hour care this fund can easily be exhausted within a year.

Fast Answers

The NDP government is looking for a final report by the end of May, 2011. The committee will have a lot of work to do between now and then.

If you have any suggestions as to how Nova Scotia’s Insurance Act should be changed or updated, please leave a comment or feel free to contact me directly.

Posted by John McKiggan | | Email This Post

Posted In: Car Accidents , Insurance Claims , Minor Injury Cap , Personal Injury

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Posted On: January 28, 2011

Social Networking and Personal Injury Claims

I have posted before about how insurance companies and defence lawyers are now using Facebook against personal injury claimants.

Facebook Being Used Against Personal Injury Victims

Posting About Your Car Accident on Facebook? Better Think Twice!

Spying on Plaintiff's Through Social Media

There are a growing number of cases where insurance companies have used so called “social networking” sites and the information they have collected online against accident victims.

Therefore, I thought it might be helpful to post a short check list of what you need to know about social networking sites so as not to do anything to harm your personal injury claim.

Check Your Settings

Check the privacy settings on your profile. Make sure it is not open for viewing to the public. For example, on Facebook there are privacy settings that allow anyone in the world to look at your entire website. You can also limit the information to your “Facebook friends” or allow friends of friends to be able to see the information on your website.

Don't Chat About Your Claim

Do not post anything publicly that discusses your personal injury claim or your injuries. Talking about your lawsuit down the line could possibly violate solicitor/client privilege. It may also provide information that could be used against you later on if your claim has to go to court.

No Pictures Please

If you have been seriously hurt, do not post any pictures engaging in physical activities that you are not able to do as a result of your injuries. It is also important that you don’t allow your friends to post these types of pictures.

For example, in one case the personal injury claimant claimed that she suffered from serious back injuries. However, the insurance company defending her claim downloaded pictures from her Facebook account showing her riding on a jet-ski during a vacation in Mexico.

No New Friends

Do not accept “friend” invitations from people you do not know. While this may seem like common sense, there are people out there who accept friend invitations from anyone that contacts them. It is possible that someone working for the defendant's insurance company may be posing as a friend in order to obtain access to your social networking account to find out information about you that they can use against you in your claim.

Make Sure Friends Are Really Friends

Take a second look at your “friends” list. If there is someone on a list that you don’t know or recognize “un-friend” them or delete them from your account. Don’t worry about hurting someone’s feelings. Would rather miff someone you really don’t even know or do something that could potentially damage your personal injury claim?

Remember Shakespeare

Social networking is growing exponentially and more and more people are posting information online that they would never consider talking about publicly at a cocktail party.

William Shakespeare said it best: "...all the world's a stage". When we participate in Facebook, Twitter and My Space we are all part of a worldwide play.

Before you post something to the web think about how you would feel if you were standing in front of a stadium with 100,000 people in it. Would you want all those people to see the pictures you were posting?

Posted by John McKiggan | | Email This Post

Posted In: Facebook , Personal Injury

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Posted On: January 18, 2011

McKiggan Invited to Present at CBA Professional Development Conference

Cross Examination of Experts
I am privileged to have been asked to help organize and present a panel discussion involving cross examination of experts at the Canadian Bar Association’s 2011 Annual Professional Development Conference in Halifax.

I was honoured to be a part of a panel including Chief Justice Joseph Kennedy and Glen Anderson Q.C. Justice Kennedy and Mr. Anderson both provided interesting and insightful advice regarding cross examination.

A great deal has been written on the topic of cross examination in general and cross examination of experts in particular. Most authors and scholars refer to cross examination as an art. While I am far from an artist, I thought it might be helpful to post what I view to be some general principles of cross examination of experts.

So here are 7 Tips on Cross Examination of Experts

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Act like John Wayne:

I’m a big fan of western movies. There are few actors who are more famous for their rolls in westerns than John Wayne. John Wayne was once asked what the secret of his success was as an actor. I think his advice is equally valuable to anyone preparing for cross examination:

“Talk low, talk slow, and don’t say too much.”

The courts have indicated that preference for expert testimony that is clear and concise. Your cross examination should illicit information the same way.

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Remember the Cat:

Lawyers by nature are curious. We often can’t resist asking “why?” However, we should all remember what curiosity did to the cat. It can do the same thing to your case.

A lawyer should never ask a question that they don’t know the answer to because the answer could kill your client's case. (By the way, before I get any comments from PETA, no cats were harmed in the taking of this picture.)

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Be a Leader:

The Green Bay Packers is one of my favourite NFL teams. Former quarterback Brett Farve is the all time passing leader with more than 76,000 yards as well as the NFL's all time touch down leader.

When conducting their cross examination lawyers should ask leading questions. You want the evidence to be limited to the point that you want to confirm. Asking open ended questions simply encourages the witness to expound upon the evidence they have already provided through direct examination and to reinforce the defendant’s theory of the case.

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One Step at a Time:

An ideal cross examination should only introduce one new fact or point per question.

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Be the Turtle, not the Hare

Sometimes we are tempted to rush through our cross examination to get to the question that (we think) will crush the opposing expert. Unfortunately, it doesn’t work that way. Building your cross examination slowly allows the judge or the jury to see how the expert’s evidence supports the theory of your case.

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Drilling for Oil
When conducting a cross examination, it is useful to remember the advice of Texas oil drillers:

“When you strike oil, stop digging.”

When you get the answer you were looking for in cross examination, stop talking. Sit down.

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Think like Irving

Irving Younger is a famous American lawyer and law professor. He is the author of The Art of Cross Examination and is famous (at least among lawyers) for his Ten Commandments of Cross Examination.

Younger supposedly once said that the first rule of cross examination should be “DON'T”!

Don’t proceed with cross examination unless doing so will advance your client’s case. If the witness has not done anything to damage the theory of your case, or has not said anything that cannot be addressed by other witnesses, there is no need to conduct cross examination. Doing so only increases the chance that the witness will say something that can harm your client’s case.

Conclusion

I had a great time at the CBA conference and, as usual, I learned a lot. I'm looking forward to next year.

Was this information helpful? Is it was, please let me know by leaving a comment.

Posted by John McKiggan | | Email This Post

Posted In: Cross examination

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