As a personal injury lawyer in BC since 1995 I’m often asked how to settle whiplash back injury and soft tissue injury claims with ICBC and how much a case is really worth. Rear end car accidents tend to be the number one culprit and ICBC has standard procedures for insurance adjusters to follow before payments…
In Canada most believe that innocent victims injured in car accidents should obtain some amount of compensation, however minimal, for pain and suffering and other losses without an attack on the victims credibility- In British Columbia this money usually comes from the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia, ICBC, on behalf of the at fault driver- However in two personal injury appeal…
Putting the true value on whiplash claims when ICBC and other auto insurance companies offer $5,000, $10,000, $15,000, $20,000 or more can be a challenge for a personal injury lawyer in British Columbia, not to mention claimants without lawyers. Today’s topic is how headrest use can impact the value of your soft tissue injury, or whiplash claim. This can be an important consideration when trying…
In this personal injury case Insurance Corporation of British Columbia, ICBC, classified the collision as a low velocity impact case (Christoffersen v. Howarth,2013 BCSC 144). Damage to the vehicles was minor. Nevertheless, the Claimant said that she suffered unrelenting pain due to the car accident injuries . ICBC urged the court to conclude that the claimant could not have been…
Evidence in ICBC personal injury cases dictate the money award as this personal injury claimant lacking evidence (Brown v. Raffan,2013 BCSC 114) case illustrates. Although the claimant was awarded only $35,000.00 after making a claim for over $230,000.00, it appears that ICBC, insuring the at fault driver, took the position that the claimant should only get $10-20,000.00. The injury…
Before resolution, personal injury claims in British Columbia are usually filed in the Supreme Court of British Columbia. Cases that are worth less than $25,000.00 should be filed in the Provincial Court. If a case is worth less than $100,000 the Fast Track Litigation rules will apply and legal costs will be limited by the…
Can a personal injury award be reduced? The answer is yes, by the Court of Appeal when discussing a case filed in the Supreme Court of British Columbia. If you have gone through a trial and received a favourable award, ICBC or any other defendant, has 30 days to appeal this decision. You and your personal injury…
In this low velocity car accident injury case (Naidu v. Gill,2012 BCSC 1461) the injury claimant waited over one year to report his accident to the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia, ICBC. The accident took place when the claimant was rear ended near the intersection of 88th Avenue and Fraser Highway in Surrey, BC. This…
In this child soft tissue injury claim (Maya Naks v. Hesse, 2012 BCSC 1328) the 6 child’s vehicle was travelling eastbound on 49th Avenue, in Vancouver, British Columbia when another vehicle failed to stop at a stop sign and her car hit the left side of the defendant. An ambulance attended at the scene of the…
In some injury claims the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia, ICBC, may deny the claim based on the minimal car damage and low estimated speed of impact. However, the Court in BC has said many a time that damage to a vehicle is not a matter which is necessarily related to the claimant’s injuries. In…