In a dramatic admission of medical illiteracy the Court of Appeal conceded that absent expert medical opinion evidence, a judge is not qualified to say what is, or is not, an illness (Saadati v. Moorhead,2015 BCCA 393). The trial judge refused to accept the claimant had suffered a brain injury but found that he had…
This personal injury lawsuit arose from a motor vehicle accident which occurred when a trailer swayed in the wind and broke off injuring the claimant. This was a successful application by the claimant pursuant to Rule 9 – 7 of the Supreme Court Civil Rules for judgment against the defendant on the issue of liability. The court concluded…
In British Columbia it is assumed that every personal injury claimant is entitled to the confidentiality implicit in his or her attendance in a physician’s examining room and protection of his or her privacy on a personal matter, absent serious concerns relating to health or safety, or express legislative provisions compelling release of the information in the…
Fueled by a drunken rage, the defendant drove over to the claimant’s house in Mission B.C. armed with a metal pole intent on inflicting grievous bodily harm. The claimant said that the truck came bouncing down the driveway towards the house with its horn honking. A fight ensued in which the claimant suffered a serious blow to…
Money awarded for pain, suffering and loss of enjoyment of life for injury to the human body appears to be worth less than being unjustly jailed says the Supreme Court of Canada (Hinse v. Canada (Attorney General, 2015 SCC 35 ). The Supreme Court of Canada in the Andrews trilogy set an upper limit of $100,000 for…
When injured as a passenger on a public bus, public carriers and bus drivers have a heavy burden to establish that they used all due, proper and reasonable care and skill to avoid or prevent injury to the passenger. This principle was reaffirmed in the personal injury case of Hutchinson v. Dyck, 2015 BCSC 1039. The claimant was…
A new cost-benefit analysis for admission of expert reports introduced by the Supreme Court of Canada expands the gatekeeping role of judges in Canada (White Burgess Langille Inman v. Abbott and Haliburton Co., 2015 SCC 23). This development will change the landscape of expert evidence in personal injury lawsuits, especially when it comes to the hired guns such as…
Understanding how to put a proper value on a personal injury case requires understanding the essential basics of estimating and assessing in personal injury law. Accidents after April 1, 2019 are subject the the ICBC Minor Injury Caps.First, the purpose for civil damages is to put a victim back in the position they were before…
BC auto insurer, ICBC, must decide what happens to death benefits and survivor insurance if a person chooses to have a doctor assist ending their life as a result of a catastrophic injury. Will ICBC death benefit insurance be excluded even if death would have occurred within the policy term anyway? Will ICBC pay for assisted death…
After a car accident in British Columbia the cost of care awarded by the court can include medical marihuana. However, in the following personal injury case there was not enough evidence to make the connection between the car accident injuries and the need to smoke pot(2015 BCSC 57). This case also gives an excellent checklist for…