"Treatment of Chronic Low-Back Pain" appeared in a recent edition of the Spine Journal, acknowledged as the leading musculo-skeletal journal in the world.  A study compared the efficacy of attendance at a chronic pain clinic costing $5,000 to $15,000 with a 24-session program for back muscle strengthening supervised by a therapist at a cost of about $2,000.

The conclusion of the report was that there was no significant difference in outcomes between the two groups, validating the active rehabilitation program as the most cost-effective way of dealing with chronic low back pain.  It is arguable that the study can be extrapolated to the treatment of chronic pain in general.

The active rehabilitation model used in the study was a program of 24-sessions at a frequency of twice a week for 12 weeks.

Chiropractors, physiotherapists and massage therapists should be encouraged to include active rehabilitation components to their treatment regimen for patients with longstanding soft tissue injury complaints.

A complimentary copy of the research article is available upon request.

Commencing July 1st of 2010, the new Rules of Court take effect.  There are major changes in almost every process and procedure in the civil law system.  The changes that affect personal injury health care practitioners and patients are as follows:

1. There is a new compulsory preamble to medical legal reports that attests to the writer's neutrality in the proceeding.  A report will not be admissible without the specifically worded preamble.
2. All cases involving damages less than $100,000 (approximately 90 to 95% of car accident cases) will now be heard in three days or less by a judge without a jury.  Due to the time restraints in this process, it would be difficult for either side to have more than two experts.  This will greatly decrease the occasions where a report from a non MD health practitioner will be requested.  Most cases will proceed with a report from the patient's family doctor and one specialist.  In the rare cases where the patient had no family doctor and the chiropractor, for example, was the primary caregiver, a medical legal report from the chiropractor would be necessary.
3. Cases with a value of less than $100,000 will now be heard within eight months of the filing of the lawsuit.  Since lawsuits are generally filed about eighteen months after the accident occurred, we will be seeing trials occurring just after the two year post accident date.  This is a marked change from the present system where trials occur three to four years post accident.  The fact that trials will occur closer to the accident dates will certainly reduce damage awards in soft tissue cases, which comprise the vast majority of car accident cases.

If you have any questions about the new Rules of Court and how they may affect you, please feel free to contact Dr. Cowley.

The personal injury firm of Cowley & Company is celebrating its 10th anniversary this fall.  It is only fitting that we have finally made our move to new premises in North Surrey.  Our new location is on 104th Avenue, about a block and a half east of King George Highway, and only a 10-minute walk from the Surrey Central SkyTrain Station.

Cowley & Company occupies the entire third floor of the 18,000 square foot office building, which is partially new and partially substantially renovated.

The first floor is occupied by a general practitioner and cosmetic surgeon, as well as a therapy clinic.

With this move to our new location, Cowley & Company has been able to combine its operations which were formerly housed at two local offices in Surrey, both of which we outgrew a number of years ago.

Our new premises have the capacity for 36 employees, including lawyers, support staff and administrative staff.  Cowley & Company presently has 27 employees, so we are pleased to have additional space for future expansion.  Once we have reached the capacity of our new space, we will be the largest car accident firm in the province in terms of the number of staff and files handled.

Cowley & Company would like to  take this opportunity to thank all of the health care professionals who have supported us over the years.  The firm extends an invitation to those health care professionals who have not worked with us before to refer their car accident patients to us in the future.  Lee would like to extend an invitation to all of you to give him a call at your convenience.  He would love to give you a tour of the new facilities and to treat you to lunch at the same time.

Question:

"What is an Examination for Discovery?"

Answer:

An Examination for Discovery is an oral testimony given under oath before trial.  It is an opportunity for the opposing lawyer to meet your patient, observe him/her, learn about the case, and determine how well your patient would present his/her evidence to a judge and/or jury at trial.

The opposing lawyer will ask your patient questions, and the answers will be recorded by a court reporter.  The lawyers for both sides will order transcripts of the Discovery and will scrutinize them before trial.

Your patient's lawyer will be at the Discovery to protect him/her from unfair or misleading questions.  If the opposing lawyer asks such a question, your patient's lawyer will object before your patient provides an answer.

Your patient's lawyer will meet with your patient before the Discovery to prepare him/her fully.  The lawyer will give some examples of the types of questions that will be asked, pointers for answering those questions, and general information on how to conduct oneself during the Discovery.  If you or your patient have any questions regarding the process, please be sure that the patient asks the lawyer in the pre-Discovery meeting so that he/she is comfortable with the process and what will be expected of him/her.

Ms. N. was offered nothing by ICBC for her car accident claim as it fell under ICBC's LVI program.  After hiring Cowley & Company, Ms. N. was awarded over $38,000 by the Court for her case.

Mr. R. was also offered zero dollars by ICBC while handling his case himself.  Cowley & Company was able to negotiate an out-of-court settlement in the amount of $40,000.

Mr. S. was not being treated fairly by ICBC and decided to hire a lawyer.  Cowley & Company recently negotiated a settlement of $700,000 for his case.

As most of you know, Cowley & Company has its roots in personal injury, primarily the prosecution of car accident claims.

In 2009, the firm expanded to embrace other areas of law, including family law, criminal law, employment law, Human Rights issues, administrative law, and immigration law including federal appeal work.

If you or someone you know needs to speak with a lawyer regarding these issues, please do not hesitate to contact us to arrange for a free half hour consultation with one of our lawyers.  There is no cost, no obligation and nothing to lose.