Family Legal Health Program

The IWK Family Legal Health Program (FLHP) connects IWK Health patients and their families to our community partners who may be able to provide legal information or assistance to improve access to the justice system, and in turn improving the health and the well-being patients and families.

FLHP is a partnership between IWK Health, Legal Information Society of Nova Scotia, and the law firms of McInnes Cooper and Pink Larkin.

How we help

Patients of IWK Health, or an immediate family member or guardian of a child who is a current patient of IWK Health, are eligible to apply for the FLHP if:

• they have a legal issue that is likely to affect the patient's health or general well-being.
• they have a combined family income, before taxes, of less than $100,000 per year.
• they are not able to access Legal Aid.
• the legal interest(s) of the family member is not otherwise harmful to the patient.

If you’re eligible, ask an IWK Social Worker or an IWK staff member about a referral to the FLHP. Any IWK physician or staff member can help a patient or family apply for the program.

• Information for IWK staff is located on the Social Work site on Pulse (IWK's intranet).

Completed applications are sent to the IWK Social Work Office, where an IWK FLHP Liaison Social Worker will review the application and send it to the Legal Information Society of Nova Scotia (LISNS). LISNS will then confirm family income and assess the possible legal issue. If appropriate, LISNS will send the application to McInnes Cooper or Pink Larkin. The law firm will determine if they are able to represent you as part of the FLHP. If you qualify for the FLHP, you will be assigned a lawyer from the law firm of McInnes Cooper or Pink Larkin who will work with you to try to resolve the legal problem.

LISNS may also provide general legal information if you are not eligible for referral to an FLHP law firm.

The areas of law that FLHP may cover include the following:

• Adult capacity and decision making
• Education
• Employment
• Immigration
• Access to healthcare
• Housing
• Access to government programs
• Tax
• Wills & estates
• Human rights

If you’re not sure if your concern might be a legal issue, please speak to an IWK Social Worker.

Areas of law not covered by FLHP include medical malpractice or any other complaints against hospitals or care providers; family law (e.g. disputes over custody, visitation rights, separation, divorce or division of property); child welfare (e.g. representing parents on child protection issues); representing parents or youth on criminal charges; and representing patients or family members in personal injury lawsuits.

If you qualify for help from the IWK FLHP, you will not have to pay for the lawyer's time. You will, however, have to pay any disbursements the law firm may incur as a result of representing you on your legal issue—disbursements are out-of-pocket expenses paid by the law firm on the client’s behalf.