The settlement amount offered to ICBC and the timing of the offer is important to a claim for double costs, even in “Fast Track” cases. As a general rule, the successful party in a fast-track personal injury case is awarded $6,500 in pre-trial costs and $1,500 in costs for each day of trial. Where an offer to…
Doctors and therapists that want to avoid earning the label of “hired gun” should: (1) limit the amount of work they do for one insurance company; (2) keep up to date with changes in medical research; (3)avoid unnecessarily criticizing medical colleagues without adequate justification; and (4) diagnose a condition in the same way they would…
Even the most experienced personal injury lawyers need to pay attention to this case. The Court of Appeal has made it clear: When finding a pedestrian 100% at fault the court must analyze not only the pedestrian’s duty but also the driver’s duty of care (Vandendorpel v. Evoy, 2016 BCCA 270). Statutory provisions and the duties imposed by…
Dr. Renn O. Holness, has received the Canadian Neurosurgical Society’s (CNSS) Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of his outstanding career and significant contribution to Neurosurgery. Dr. Holness attained the Gold Medal in the 1968 Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery, obtaining Honours in Medicine and Surgery. Dr. Holness has saved numerous car accident victims from the catastrophic results of…
The last game of the 2011 Stanley Cup Hockey series was broadcast on a live television outside the CBC building at Georgia and Hamilton Streets in Vancouver BC. When the game ended, a riot erupted here and several cars were burned outside the adjacent Canada Post Office building. Numerous vehicles were destroyed here, some of which…
The factors to be considered when valuing a personal injury claim with ICBC or other insurance companies will change according to the stage of your case. Some of the factors that may be important early on, such as claim reporting and notification, will give way to symptom documentation and medical diagnosis. Beware of the ICBC…
The personal injury claimant was driving his Porsche Cayenne and entered the intersection of 203rd Street and Logan Avenue in Langley, BC on a yellow light. Another driver turning left failed to see the claimant and turned in front of him causing the accident. A witness videotaped the entire car accident and forwarded the recording to the investigating RCMP…
Injuries caused by fire can often be prevented by the use of fire alarms, commonsense. However, the Court of Appeal does not accept this as commonsense, and dismissed this renter’s injury appeal on the basis that there was no evidence that the use of a fire alarm would have reduced or eliminated the harm. In this injury…
Astonishing new communication rule from our Court of Appeal will effect all personal injury cases in the Province: When parties agree to the use of email as a form of communication, once delivered to the email inbox of the other lawyer, the delivering party now has a “legitimate expectation that the email would be read”. (Great…
Innocent car accident victims must now face the prospect of a court ordered medical examination conducted by doctors that are potentially unfair, impartial, not credible and not objective. In a stunning Masters decision of the Supreme Court requiring an ICBC claimant to attend a medical exam, the Master stated, “Questions of fairness, partiality, credibility, and…