The New Brunswick Minor Injury Cap

The New Brunswick minor injury cap limits what can be recovered for pain and suffering when a motor vehicle injury meets a definition set out in regulation under the province’s Insurance Act. It has applied to New Brunswick collisions since the 2003 automobile insurance reforms, and the definition has been reworked since then. The cap applies only to the general damages part of the claim and nothing else.

Which Injuries the New Brunswick Minor Injury Cap Catches

The regulation describes a minor personal injury by reference to sprains, strains and whiplash associated disorders that do not produce a permanent serious impairment of an important bodily function. The label an adjuster puts on a car accident file does not decide the question. The medical record does. An injury that begins as a strain and settles into a permanent limitation on work or daily function is outside the definition, and the ordinary assessment described in the general damages guide applies to it instead.

How the Amount Is Set and Indexed

The regulation states a base amount and provides for annual adjustment, so there is a separate figure for each accident year. The governing number is the one in force on the date of the collision, not the date the claim resolves, and it is confirmed against the regulation when the file is valued. Because the figure changes every year, no amount is printed here. The regulation itself is published with New Brunswick’s other legislation on CanLII.

Permanent Serious Impairment Is Where the Argument Happens

Most disputed cap files turn on whether the impairment is both serious and permanent. What settles that is the evidence built in the first year after the crash: the family doctor’s notes, the physiotherapy records, the specialist opinion, and a plain account of what the injured person can no longer do at work or at home. Gaps in treatment are read against the injured person, so consistent attendance matters more to a cap argument than any later report does.

What the Cap Does Not Limit

Wage loss is outside the cap entirely. So is the cost of treatment and future care. The no fault benefits in the policy are also unaffected, and they are paid whoever caused the crash, as set out in the Section B benefits guide. A capped file can still be a substantial claim once income loss and care costs are counted.

Where This Sits in a New Brunswick Claim

The cap is applied at the valuation stage, after liability and after the medical picture has settled. Bringing the claim itself follows the steps in suing after a car accident in New Brunswick. The firm runs cap arguments on New Brunswick car accident files, with no fee unless the claim resolves.