Personal Injury Archives - Page 2 of 13 - Halifax Personal Injury Lawyer Blog

May 22nd, 2014

Halifax Police Looking for Hit and Run Driver after Woman Hit in Crosswalk: Hit and Run Injury Claims in Nova Scotia

Halifax Regional Police are looking for a hit and run driver who struck a 22 year old pedestrian who was crossing North Park Street at a marked crosswalk. She was hit by a car turning left from Cogswell Street that left the scene of the accident.

CTV News reported that the pedestrian was taken to the hospital with “non-life threating injuries.”

Fortunately the pedestrian in this accident does not appear to have been seriously hurt. But even non-life threatening injuries can cause long term pain, inconvenience and income loss.

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February 25th, 2014

Tracking chronic pain symptoms: There’s an app for that

by John McKiggan

One of the things I deal with every day as a personal injury lawyer in Nova Scotia are clients who have suffered significant injuries that result in long term chronic pain.

Invisible injury

Chronic pain cases can be difficult to prove because the injury is invisible. There is no X-ray that you can produce to show the client’s broken bone, no photographs of scars, and there is no such thing as a “Pain-o-Meter” to show the extent and what kind of pain the client is suffering.

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February 20th, 2014

Assessment of Damages after Default Judgment: What’s the Burden of Proof?

by John McKiggan

Reasons for judgment were issued recently in an interesting case: MacKean v. Royal & Sun Alliance Insurance Company of Canada

The plaintiffs were injured in a car accident with an uninsured driver. The plaintiffs settled their claim against their own insurer under the uninsured driver provisions of their own automobile policy. When the claim was settled, the plaintiffs assigned their claim to their insurer RSA.

The uninsured driver was sued but failed to file a defence and had a default judgment entered against him.

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April 25th, 2013

Offers to Settle in Nova Scotia Personal Injury Claims

by John McKiggan

I have been a personal injury lawyer in Nova Scotia for 23 years, and throughout this time I’ve helped my clients with high-quality legal advice and the guarantees of favorable settlement agreements. Settlement negotiations have always been an important aspect within the civil procedures of my countless cases, and it’s been a general rule of the common law to at the very least attempt to get all involved parties to settle their claims and avoid the costly consequences of going to trial.

But settlement offers can also have a significant legal impact even if a case doesn’t settle before trial. That’s why this article by Matt Maurer was of interest to us because it provides a perfect illustration of the strategic use of settlement discussions and the art of the counter-offer.

If you have any questions or concerns in terms of the offer within your personal injury claim, contact us for a free consultation so we can review the details of your claim and put you in the right direction towards your most favorable settlement offer.
Formal Offer to Settle
During any litigation, there are usually informal “without prejudice” settlement discussions designed to try to resolve the civil procedure, which takes place during the litigation process.

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March 1st, 2013

New Seatbelt Rules Coming for Canada: Using seatbelts is common sense.

by John McKiggan

Have you ever noticed that the middle-rear seat of most cars usually doesn’t have a shoulder seat belt strap? Ever wonder if the side seats that have shoulder straps are safer than the middle seat?

Studies have shown that passengers wearing lap belts alone are more likely to suffer separation of their lumbar vertebrae, causing paralysis.

Three point (shoulder strap) seat belts have been mandatory in all cars sold in the U.S. since September 2007.

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December 5th, 2012

What Does Hulk Hogan Have To Do With Car Insurance?

by John McKiggan

Hulk Hogan and the Lovely Liz

My youngest son is a big fan of wrestling. So when my wife Liz and I saw superstar wrestler Hulk Hogan (Terry Bollea) at a restaurant in Florida, I just had to ask him if I could get a photograph of him with Liz and an autograph for my son.

As you can see, Mr. Bollea was very understanding and patient with my wife and I (and all the other fans who wanted to pose with him for a picture).

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October 30th, 2012

Pfizer Zoloft Birth Injury Claims – When is a risk too small to explain?

by John McKiggan

Last month 10 couples filed birth injury lawsuits against Pfizer, who manufactures the antidepressant Zoloft. They claim severe birth injuries suffered by their children are a consequence of the mom’s taking Zoloft during their pregnancy.

Failed to Warn of Risks

The argument is Pfizer failed to warn of the risks to unborn children, and further that Pfizer did not adequately test the product.

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September 26th, 2012

New Advances in Concussion Testing Helps Protect Athletes

by John McKiggan

The hottest topic of conversation among my friends and neighbours the last two weeks has been their kids amateur hockey tryouts. The other day, I was contacted by a parent whose son suffered a serious concussion during a practice session.

Sport-induced concussions are serious business. As Sidney Crosby can testify, they can have long lasting effects, particularly if they are not diagnoses promptly and the athlete is returned to the game. As I have posted previously, there are a number of different mechanisms for diagnosing concussions: Brain Injury Claims: New Guidelines to Diagnose Mild Traumatic Brain Injury

An article posted by my colleagues at Slater Vecchio discusses a new baseline test for athletes before the season begins.

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September 17th, 2012

Motorcycle Accidents: How they happen and what you can do to avoid them.

by John McKiggan

Motorcycle Accident Compensation Claims

I am in the middle of preparing for a trial involving a motorcyclist (my client) who was injured in a motorcycle – car collision. The driver of the car made a left turn in front of my client while my client was driving through a green light. The injuries the motorcycle rider suffered were more serious than you tend see in a typical car-car collision.

While motorcycle collision cases form a relatively small part of the cases I am asked to handle, the injuries in those cases tend to be more severe and complicated. So if you spend any time on the road, as I’m sure all of you do, here is some important information regarding motorcycles and motorcycle injuries.

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November 9th, 2011

Nova Scotia Introduces New Insurance Reforms: Halifax Personal Injury Lawyer Explains

by John McKiggan

Today Graham Steele, the Minister responsible for Nova Scotia’s Insurance Act announced new legislation to improve automobile insurance coverage in Nova Scotia. The Fair Automobile Insurance (2011) Act, will be introduced in the legislature today.

I was part of the Review Committe that provided advice to the province regarding what improvements needed to be made to Nova Scotia’s Insurance system: McKiggan Appointed to Provincial Insurance Review Committee

Highlights of Changes

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Category: Personal Injury