May 5, 2011

Court of Appeal Upholds Record Award for Chronic Pain - Degennaro v. Oakville Trafalgar Memorial Hospital

The Ontario Court of Appeal recently released its reasons in Degennaro v. Oakville Trafalgar Memorial Hospital. The Court of Appeal confirmed a $3 million compensation award for chronic pain stemming from a slip and fall injury.

As far as I can tell, the decision is the largest compensatory damage award from chronic pain in Canada.

Diane Degennaro was visiting her son who was a patient at the Oakville Trafalgar Memorial Hospital. A nurse at the hospital offered Ms. Degennaro a bed to sleep in while she was staying with her son. When Ms. Degennaro sat on the bed it collapsed and she fractured her sacrum (the pointed bone at the base of the spine).

As a result of the injury, Ms. Degennaro developed fibromyalgia and suffered serious chronic pain.

The trial judge awarded compensatory damages totaling more than $3 million.

Chronic pain cases are notoriously difficult to win. When the plaintiff is successful the damage awards are rarely of the magnitude seen in the Degennaro case.

Congratulations are due to Ms. Degennaro and to her trial counsel, Alfred Kwinter and her appellant counsel Paul Pape.

Posted by John McKiggan | | Email This Post

Posted In: Causation , Chronic Pain , Personal Injury , Slip and Fall Injuries , Spinal Cord Injuries

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October 30, 2010

Brain Injury Myth: Mild Traumatic Brain Injury is not Disabling

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.

But They're Not Okay

However, the National Institute of Health concluded that the consequences of traumatic brain injury can include a dramatic change in the patient’s life course, profound disruption of the family, enormous loss of income or earning potential and significant expenses over a life time.

Consequences Can be Devastating

The social consequences of mild, moderate and sever brain injury are significant and serious and include increased risk of suicide, divorce, chronic unemployment, economic strain and substance abuse.


Continue reading "Brain Injury Myth: Mild Traumatic Brain Injury is not Disabling" »

Posted by John McKiggan | | Email This Post

Posted In: Brain Injury , Car Accidents , Child Injuries , Medical Malpractice , Minor Injury Cap , Personal Injury , Slip and Fall Injuries

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October 18, 2010

Brain Injury Myth - Mild Traumatic Brain Injury Isn’t Permanent

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.

Modern medical research has found that mild traumatic brain injury can result in deficits (problems) in the speed of information processing, attention, and short term memory.

Recovery from these deficits can take several weeks or months and a small percentage of patients may never fully recover.

Continue reading "Brain Injury Myth - Mild Traumatic Brain Injury Isn’t Permanent" »

Posted by John McKiggan | | Email This Post

Posted In: Brain Injury , Car Accidents , Child Injuries , Minor Injury Cap , Personal Injury , Slip and Fall Injuries

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October 6, 2010

Brain Injury Myth - Effects of Brain Injury can be Identified Immediately

As a Nova Scotia Brain Injury Lawyer I have had a number of brain injury cases where the defendant’s experts claimed my client did not suffer a brain injury, because their symptoms did not develop until hours after their initial injury.

Symptoms May Take Time to Develop

Modern medical science now recognizes that the effects of traumatic brain injury may not become apparent until 6-12 hours after the initial injury.

Becomes Obvious When Victim Returns to Work
frustrated-worker-at-desk.jpg
The effects of traumatic brain injury can be so subtle that they do not become apparent until the victim of brain injury attempts to return to their normal daily activities or work place demands.

It is only after the brain injured person is exposed to the increased organizational demands of the work place or school that their cognitive deficits, organizational problems or memory difficulties become apparent.

Continue reading "Brain Injury Myth - Effects of Brain Injury can be Identified Immediately" »

Posted by John McKiggan | | Email This Post

Posted In: Brain Injury , Car Accidents , Child Injuries , Personal Injury , Slip and Fall Injuries

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September 20, 2010

Sports Related Brain Injuries in Teenagers on the Increase

Head Injuries Increase by 70%

The new school year is well underway and students are signing up for various sport teams. A new study from the Centre for Injury Research and Policy suggests that sports related head injuries among teenagers are increasing.

The study found that the number of young people suffering from head injuries while playing basketball had spiked 70% between 1997 and 2007.

Researchers believe that head injuries are likely caused by collisions between players, ball to head, or a players head hitting the floor.

Know the Symptoms!

As I have pointed out before, it’s important for parents, coaches and student athletes to be aware of the signs and symptoms of concussions.

See for example:

Head Injuries the Result of “Culture” Within the Sports

Traumatic Brain Injury Myth #3: A Normal MRI or CT Scan Means No Brain Injury

Brain Injury Claims: New Guidelines to Diagnose Mild Traumatic Brain Injury

Concussions can cause significant permanent injuries. Since the effects of concussions are cumulative, proper identification in order to prevent lasting disabling effects are vital.

You can find a checklist of the signs and symptoms of Traumatic Brain Injury on my website.

Continue reading "Sports Related Brain Injuries in Teenagers on the Increase " »

Posted by John McKiggan | | Email This Post

Posted In: Brain Injury , Child Injuries , Personal Injury , Slip and Fall Injuries

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July 30, 2010

What is a Pecuniary Loss in a Personal Injury Claim?

There are generally two types of losses that your personal injury lawyer will try to recover on your behalf.

Non Pecuniary Losses

Non pecuniary losses are losses or harms that cannot be precisely measured or valued. For example, the most common type of non-pecuniary loss is compensation for “pain and suffering”.

See for example Nova Scotia Personal Injury Claims: How Much Is My “Pain and Suffering” Worth?

Pecuniary Losses

On the other hand pecuniary losses are financial losses that can be precisely measured. They may involve out of pocket expenses for things like medical treatment, travel expenses or funeral expenses.

The largest pecuniary loss that most personal injury victims suffer is their loss of income. If someone is seriously injured as a result of someone's negligence they are entitled to be compensated for their pecuniary losses for their past loss of income to the date of settlement or trial, as well as any ongoing income losses they may continue to suffer in the future.

In wrongful death cases, family members are entitled to recover for the pecuniary loss of income that the deceased family member provided to support the family.

Expert Evidence

Pecuniary losses may be difficult to calculate. Typically this part of the claim requires the services of an expert. See for example, Experts in Personal Injury Claims.

In most cases your personal injury lawyer will hire an economist or an actuary to figure out exactly what your pecuniary losses have been to date and how much your pecuniary losses will be in the future. Economist and actuaries use tables, guidelines and statistics to help determine how much money you would have earned over your lifetime. Obviously, there is no such thing as a crystal ball and future losses can never be determined with absolute certainty.

Your lawyer will take into account what are called negative contingencies. For example, the chance that you may have been fired, that your company would go bankrupt or that you may have been injured in some other way.

On the other hand, the expert will also determine the “positive contingencies” like raises, bonuses and promotions that might have increased your income in the future.

Continue reading "What is a Pecuniary Loss in a Personal Injury Claim?" »

Posted by John McKiggan | | Email This Post

Posted In: Brain Injury , Car Accidents , Child Injuries , Fatal Injury Claims , Insurance Claims , Medical Malpractice , Personal Injury , Slip and Fall Injuries , Wrongful Death Claims

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July 26, 2010

Slip and Fall Claims: 10 Questions You Need To Answer

If you have been injured as a result of a “slip and fall” or “trip and fall” there are 10 questions that you should know the answer to before you call a lawyer. Knowing the answers to these questions will help the personal injury lawyer evaluate whether or not you have a claim that is worth pursuing.

10 Questions:

1. What was the weather like on the day that you fell?

2. What kind of shoes were you wearing? (Keep the shoes. Take pictures).

3. Do you wear glasses or contact lenses? (Were you wearing them when you fell?)

4. Do you have any medical history of dizziness or falling?

5. Do you take any medication that makes you dizzy?

6. What caused you to slip or trip? (Take pictures if you can).

7. Had you had any alcohol to drink on the day you fell?

8. Were there any witnesses to your fall? (Get their names, and contact information)

9. Did you file an accident/incident report with the property owner or police?

10. If your fall was caused by a dangerous condition, how long do you think the conditions existed before you fell?

Knowing the answers to these questions will help the personal injury lawyer evaluate whether or not you have a claim that is worth pursuing.


Posted by John McKiggan | | Email This Post

Posted In: Slip and Fall Injuries

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