Nova Scotia Judge Rules that Injury Lawsuits are Barred From Going to Trial, while Cap Challenge Ongoing

Earlier this month Justice Coady of the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia ruled that car accident injury lawsuits are barred from going to trial while the court challenge in Hartling v. Nova Scotia is ongoing. You can read the decision in Watkins v. Hines by clicking here.

Justice Coady's rationale was that it was a waste of the courts time and resources to have the multiple cases challenging the validity of the $2,500 cap.

The practical result for most people will be that your case will be stalled until the Court of Appeal rules on the Hartling v. Nova Scotia case. The hearing is schedule for October 2009, and we should get a decision as an early Christmas Gift (wishful thinking), or early in the new year.

This is an exception -- an injured person can take his or her case to trial, as long as he or she is not challenging the validity of the $2,500 Cap. There are cases that will fit into the "grey area", which it would be risky to go to court as you could get stuck with the $2,500 Cap, even if it was later overturned by the Court of Appeal. The best advice for most people is to hurry up and wait.