Teenage Personal Injury Claimant Awarded $45,000 for Pain and Suffering

ICBC injury claims can often involve valuing pain and suffering for children and teenagers. This personal injury claimant was a 9 years old passenger in the front seat of her mother’s minivan when another vehicle failed to yield the right of way and collided with her right front bumper(Toopitsin v. McMullen,2014 BCSC 1486). She claims…

Read more

Maximum Injury Award for Pain and Suffering $351,000

The question in this personal injury case was whether the claimant should be awarded the maximum amount for pain and suffering, reserved for catastrophic injury, or at something lower.  On the evidence, the upper limit set by the Supreme Court of Canada, adjusted for inflation, was $351,000. This limit now applies to all ICBC personal…

Read more

Offer to Settle of $1.00 Unreasonable Despite Dismissal of Claim

This personal injury case began on Highway 1 approaching the Herrling Island exit when a sanding truck  struck the claimant’s vehicle and caused him to lose control and hit the rock face. The Insurance Corporation of BC, ICBC, denied the hit and run claim on the grounds that it was a single‑car accident and that a…

Read more

ICBC Rejects $200,000 Offer After Judicial Settlement Conference

This is a review of an award of double costs against an ICBC insured for failure to accept a reasonable offer of settlement( J.D. v. Chandra,2014 BCSC 1272) . This successful personal injury claimant offered to settle her ICBC case for $200,000 after attending a Judicial Settlement Conference.  The Insurance Corporation of British Columbia, ICBC, rejected the…

Read more

Offer to Settle Upheld Against Injured Bus Passenger

The claimant was injured when he fell while riding a bus.  We reviewed the  trial decision, Injury on Bus Fault of Driver and Elderly Passenger. The Court assessed the claimant’s total compensation at two thirds of $35,100, which is $23,376.66. This article is a review of the claimant’s  application to recover two thirds of the costs of the personal injury…

Read more

Settlement Agreement Applies to Only Tainted Blood Recipients

A  personal injury class action lawsuit was settled by agreement regarding British Columbia residents who were infected with the Hepatitis C virus by transfusion of blood from the Canadian blood supply before January 1, 1986 and from July 2, 1990 to September 28, 1998, and their family members and estates. The settlement agreement was approved by…

Read more

ICBC Offer to Settle of $450,000 Reasonable for Injury Claim

This car accident injury claimant was offered $450,000 to settle his settle her personal injury claim against ICBC and its insured(Brewster v. Li,2014 BCSC 463). When the offer was refused the case proceeded to a Supreme Court trial and after 9 days she was awarded $418,500, over $30,000 lower than the ICBC Offer. The Judge…

Read more

$400,000 Loss of Earning Capacity Award Plucked from Thin Air

An award for personal injury losses requires a trial judge, orally or in writing, to provide adequate reasons justifying the award. However this was not done in the following case, illustrating the real prejudice inadequate reasons can pose to innocent personal injury claimants. The injury claimant, riding as a front seat passenger had her feet hanging…

Read more

Traumatic Brain Injury Results in $2.5 Million Award for Teenager

This Car accident brain injury award for an 18 year old passenger (Hermanson v. Durkee, 2014 BCSC 877) arose from a single vehicle accident on a forest road in British Columbia. The vehicle left the road  which resulting  in the ICBC claimant suffering a severe traumatic brain injury and ruptured spleen. Because of the location of the motor vehicle accident there…

Read more

Family Doctor Not Required at ICBC Personal Injury Trial

No adverse inference was drawn by the judge after the claimant failed to have his family doctor testify at the personal injury trial. (Fabretti v. Gill,2014 BCSC 899). This ICBC injury case involved a car accident that occurred on the Pattullo Bridge in New Westminster. The claimant was only 12 years old at the time. He…

Read more