Lawyer welcomes Alta. court ruling on accident payouts

The lawyer for a group opposed to Nova Scotia's cap on insurance payouts in car accidents is hoping a recent court decision in Alberta bolsters his case.

Barry Mason represents the Nova Scotia Coalition Against No-Fault Insurance and two people who are challenging the constitutionality of Nova Scotia's restrictions on payments for minor injuries.

"The Alberta decision isn't binding on Nova Scotia, but the decisions they're relying on, particularly the Supreme Court of Canada decisions, are clearly very weighty and helpful in a Nova Scotia court," Mason said Tuesday.

Alberta imposed a $4,000 cap on soft-tissue injury claims in 2004.

On Friday, Alberta Court of Queen's Bench Justice Neil Wittman ruled that that cap violated the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms by discriminating against car accident victims with injuries like whiplash.

In Nova Scotia, the $2,500cap on court settlements for soft-tissue injuries wasput in placein 2003.

Alta. has different circumstances, insurers say

Mason said there are similarities between the cases, and in both provinces, the law treats crash victims differently.

"There are certain people with certain types of pain that have been targeted by the government and their rights were limited as a result of the Automobile Insurance Reform Act," he said.

But Don Forgeron, with the Insurance Bureau of Canada, said the court decision in Alberta does not put Nova Scotia's cap in jeopardy.

"The circumstances of each case are different in terms of the injuries that are presented, circumstances surrounding how the legislation and the regulations are worded," Forgeron said.

"There are quite a few things that are significantly different that[don't] allow you to draw too many parallels."

Forgeron said lifting the cap would drive up costs for insurance companies, though he said that doesn't necessarily mean premiums for drivers would increase.

Mason's case will come up in court in October. The Insurance Bureau of Canada plans to intervene.