Is your seatbelt buckled?

You probably remember being asked this question when you were a child waiting patiently in the backseat of a car for your next adventure to begin. For most of us, wearing our seat belts is automatic anytime we are in a moving vehicle. If it’s not, it should be.

Seat belts are crucial to protecting the safety of you, and other passengers in the event a crash occurs. So much so, the law has recognized for several years now, that a driver or passenger who is not responsible for a collision but suffers injury, will be held responsible to a certain degree for their own injuries.

New Brunswick’s Insurance Act automatically reduces compensation claims by 25% for people who are injured or die in a motor vehicle accident if they failed to properly wear a seat belt at the time of the collision. The only way to rebut the automatic deduction is by proving the failure to wear a seat belt did not contribute to the bodily injury or death – a feat that is rarely successful.

So, next time you gear up for your next adventure remember to ask yourself “is my seatbelt buckled?”

Correia & Collins represents accident and injury victims. Contact us by phone at 506-648-1700 or online for advice. Your first consultation is free. 

Reference: Insurance Act, RSNB 1973, c I-12.

The rules that apply to roads and highways also apply in parking lots

Most have been told the popular myth that fault for an automobile accident in a parking lot is always 50/50. However, contrary to popular belief, fault for a parking lot accident does not have an automatic liability split.

In fact, it is important for drivers to know that the rules of the road apply to parking lots just as they do highways. This is why many parking lots are equipped with traffic controls such as stop signs and lanes – they are not designated free-for-alls.

For example, New Brunswick’s Motor Vehicle Act says that a driver who fails to drive without due care and attention in a parking lot commits an offence.

With that said, parking lots can make fault determination more complicated if their designs do not have marked lanes or signage. The way liability is determined for a parking lot automobile accident will largely depend on how that specific accident occurred. Therefore, when driving through a parking lot always be sure to:

• wear your seat belt;

• drive slowly;

• stick to designated lanes (do not drive through marked parking spots);

• respect stop signs and intersections as you would on a main road;

• be attentive to pedestrians – especially small children; and

• check your surroundings to make sure you can back up slowly before reversing out of parking spot.

Correia & Collins represents accident and injury victims. Contact us by phone at 506-648-1700 or online for advice. Your first consultation is free.

Look out for the symptoms of a concussion

In the last decade, you’ve probably noticed hearing a lot more about concussions in relation to sports injuries. In our practice, many of the victims we represent have received concussion and/or post-concussion syndrome diagnoses’ following motor vehicle accidents.

Concussions are the result of the brain shifting within the skull. This can be caused from direct impact to the head, or an acceleration-deceleration injury (whiplash). Concussions can occur without loss of consciousness. The recent growth in the amount of research on concussions (medically known as mild traumatic brain injuries) has been crucial to the diagnosis and treatment of concussions.

The impacts of a concussion and length of treatment varies from person-to-person and is known to impact men and women differently. It’s important to recognize the signs of a concussion to ensure you receive early and proper treatment. Symptoms to look out for include:

– headache
– ringing in ears
– nausea/vomiting
– dizziness/vertigo
– fatigue or drowsiness
– blurry vision and/or sensitivity to light
– memory loss, confusion or feeling “brain fog”

More information on concussions can be found here: https://bit.ly/3jxymsq.

If you or someone you know has been in a motor vehicle accident, it is important that you look out for the symptoms of a concussion. If you are experiencing symptoms that may signal a concussion, be sure to report it as soon as possible to your physician who is trained to investigate, diagnose, and treat.

Correia & Collins represents accident and injury victims. Contact us by phone at 506-648-1700 or online for advice. Your first consultation is free. 

Get to know No-Fault Benefits

Many people who are injured in motor vehicle accidents are faced with an overwhelming amount of new medical treatments and expenses. These can include doctor visits, physiotherapy, and massage therapy.

Section B of your insurance policy provides what are called “no-fault benefits” to persons injured in automobile accidents. The medical portion of no-fault benefits includes coverage for treatment such as:

– physiotherapy

– massage therapy

– pain medication

– adaptive aids/reequipment (TENs machine, walking cane, etc)

– mileage for travel to treatments

If you have private health insurance, you are required to process it through private insurance first, and then any remaining cost to your automobile insurance company.

To qualify for the medical coverage, the treatment must be recommended/ordered by a doctor to treat injuries resulting from your motor vehicle accident.

We often receive calls from people injured in car accidents whose car insurance company has refused to pay for medical treatment (especially physiotherapy or massage therapy) even though the family doctor has ordered it.

New Brunswick Courts have been clear that reasonable expenses for those types of treatments are in fact recoverable – regardless of whether the insurer or the insurer’s medical advisor agrees.

The patient also has the right to choose the clinic at which the treatment is received.

If you are having issues getting your insurance company to cover medical expenses recommended by your doctor, we encourage you to contact a lawyer to assist in enforcing your benefits.

Correia & Collins represents accident and injury victims. Contact us by phone at 506-648-1700 or online for advice. Your first consultation is free.

New Brunswick’s Limitation Period for Personal Injury Claims

We’re often contacted by injury victims who are concerned because they have been told there is a two-year anniversary approaching and they need to settle their claim before that date. This is not true.

For injury victims in New Brunswick, there is a “limitation period” of two years to sue the person who caused your injury. This does not mean that a settlement must be reached within two-years from the date your injuries were caused. It simply means you must file a lawsuit in court before the two-year expiry if you have not settled your claim before that time. In other words, you file a lawsuit to preserve your claim.

The best time for settlement depends entirely on the victim and their recovery. For some, settling within two years from the date of incident/accident can be too soon. Settlement should only be pursued when you have reached the end of your recovery – what is commonly referred to as “maximum medical improvement” (MMI). It is important to wait until MMI to be able to have a grasp on what your future is going to look like following your injuries. This can include a variety of costs such as those related to treatment, lost income, retraining expenses etc.

The two-year period is described as a “general” limitation period and applies to personal injuries and car accidents.

For minors, the limitation period does not begin to run until they have reached the age of 19.

If the two-year anniversary of your date of incident/accident falls within the period March 19, 2020 to September 18, 2020, you may have extra time to sue because of an exception created during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In New Brunswick, there is no limitation period on civil actions for victims who have been sexually assaulted.

If you’ve been injured and are concerned about a limitation period, we encourage you contact a lawyer to advise you on whether your claim may be barred.

Correia & Collins represents accident and injury victims. Contact us by phone at 506-648-1700 or online for advice. Your first consultation is free.

5 Things to Remember in Case of an Accident

No matter how minor, being in a motor vehicle accident can be an overwhelming event.

Here are a few important things to remember if you are involved in a motor vehicle accident:

1. Report to Police  

It’s common for people to not want to go through the process of calling the police to an accident scene. However, having the police report to an accident is important for two reasons. First, it results in an official record that the accident happened. Second, the police will identify all parties involved, including getting the registration and insurance information for each vehicle.

Reluctance to call the police is often due to the fear of getting someone in trouble, or not feeling that you may be injured. Often, it is hours to days later when a victim realizes they are experiencing injuries from a motor vehicle accident. Therefore, we always recommend exercising caution and calling the police just in case.

2. Exchange Identification  

It is helpful for all drivers involved to exchange information such as names and phone numbers. Even better, use your phones to take a photo of each others’ driver’s license to eliminate any room for error.

3. Exchange Insurance Information  

Following your accident, it is important to know the insurance information of the other driver(s). This is particularly important for reporting the accident to your own company. It will also be useful for you and your legal counsel to know which companies are involved if you decide to pursue legal action.

4. Exchange Vehicle / Registration Information  

The more information you can share upfront, the better.

Having Vehicle and Registration information helps you better identify the vehicle(s) involved and identifies who the registered owner of the vehicle is.

5. Seek Medical Attention 

If you are injured at the scene of the accident, be sure to seek medical attention for assessment as soon as possible, either by ambulance and/or hospital.

Seeking medical attention is important to diagnose any injuries and to rule out anything serious you may not identify right away.

Correia & Collins represents accident and injury victims. Contact us by phone at 506-648-1700 or online for advice. Your first consultation is free.

Chronic pain: a victim’s roadmap following a personal injury.

One of the most challenging outcomes for accident victims are injuries that result in chronic pain.

We typically categorize clients as suffering from chronic pain where pain lasts six months or more from the date of injury. When the injury is catastrophic (e.g., loss of limb or severe spinal cord injury), chronic pain is often expected.

However, most other chronic pain victims face two common obstacles for compensation and treatment:

1. their pain extends beyond the “typical” recovery period; and
2. their disability is “invisible” in that there often is not obvious evidence of disability both to the average person, and on diagnostic testing, such as MRIs.

Helping chronic pain patients requires us to keep in mind that statistics used to establish a “typical” recovery apply to majority of the population, but there are those who fall outside of that grouping.

Those suffering from chronic pain have a range of options for medical treatment including:

• physical treatments (physiotherapy, massage therapy, chiropractic treatment, occupational therapy, and kinesiology etc);
• medicinal treatments (various types of injections, nerve blocks, cannabis products etc); and
• psychological treatment including consulting on acceptance and pain management techniques.

Which treatments are explored depends on the individual patient and should be discussed with your medical treatment provider. It is important to know that no-fault benefits (Section B) run out 4 years from the date of a car accident.

Three important things we, as your lawyers, must consider in valuing your claim for compensation as it relates to your chronic pain are:

1. Lifestyle – impact on your lifestyle, relationships, and activities.
2. Income – whether it has and/or will impact your employment/income.
3. Treatment – any ongoing cost of care/treatment.

Your treatment providers, along with your family physician, play important roles in assessing and documenting ongoing suffering from chronic pain and how it impacts your employment, daily activities etc.

In some circumstances, we may use qualified experts outside of your medical team to help assess/prove any degree of pain and disability to ensure fair compensation for income, retraining, and cost of care. This can include physiotherapist examiners, specialist physicians, forensic accountants, and vocational specialists.

Correia & Collins represents accident and injury victims. If you or someone you know is suffering with chronic pain from a personal injury, contact us by phone at (506) 648-1700, or online for advice. Your first consultation is free.

Section D: Navigating Injury Claims When the At-Fault Driver is Uninsured or Unidentified

Although automobile insurance is mandatory in New Brunswick, the sad reality is that many drivers are uninsured.

Further, hit-and-run accidents are common, and the drivers are not always located or identified.

Accident victims (drivers, passengers or pedestrians) should know that there is coverage to pay their claims against the at-fault driver if the victims are occupants of an insured vehicle or have their own automobile policy.

In New Brunswick, your own insurance policy includes “Section D”, which provides for coverage in circumstances where you are injured in a motor vehicle accident and the person who caused the accident:

1. Does not have insurance; or
2. Left the scene of the accident without being identified.

When it is determined that the at-fault driver has no insurance or cannot be identified, Section D coverage is in place to make a claim, having your insurance company assume the role of the at-fault person.

Important things to note about Section D claims:

– It can be accessed under your own automobile insurance policy, even if the accident does not involve your vehicle (i.e. you are a passenger or a pedestrian);

– It can also be accessed by victims who do not have their own automobile policy, but fall under another’s (i.e. belonging to a parent);

– Section D claims will not impact premiums for the policy owner; and

– The maximum recovery that can be obtained under a Section D claim is $200,000.

If you have been injured in a motor vehicle accident and are concerned that the person at-fault has no insurance or you are unable to identify them, we encourage you contact a lawyer to advise you on your options.

Correia & Collins represents accident and injury victims. Contact us by phone at 506-648-1700 or online for advice. Your first consultation is free.