It is not enough for ICBC to simply plead a pre-existing condition in order to obtain a claimant’s medical history after a car accident. The obligation is still on the defendant, ICBC, to make the case in the evidence. Even with a prior auto accident, if the claimant recovered to normal function before the car accident in question,…
Even the best personal injury lawyers seek expert opinion to obtain the highest results for their personal injury cases. So, it is hard to imagine how an ICBC injury claimant could obtain a fair resolution of their claim without a legal advocate. ICBC is pushing an injury cap system in which claimants will not have the benefit…
If your car accident occurred before January 1, 2019 the ICBC injury cap will not affect your claim. The current government may however change the proposal before, or if, it becomes law. It is therefore very important that all claimants obtain legal advice in the first 30 days following a car accident. Most injury lawyers still provide…
ICBC continues to show a lack of respect to the court and to claimants by refusing to pay a law society trust administration fee. The auto insurance monopoly ICBC, wanting total control over the claim process, has ignored the ongoing orders and directions of the Supreme Court. ICBC employs many lawyers to assist ICBC adjusters…
The first tip, the ICBC adjuster works for ICBC not the injured claimant. ICBC does not assign claimants their own advocates after a car accident. No one at the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia, ICBC, will look out for the claimants best interests when it comes to settling an injury case. Second tip for ICBC injury…
The Court of Appeal has ruled that admitting liability and settling a lawsuit but also denying liability in another lawsuit for the same car accident is not an abuse of process. (Glover v. Leakey,2018 BCCA 56) This case involved a car accident in which two lawsuits were commenced by different occupants. In one lawsuit ICBC admitted their…
In this car accident personal injury case the claim for past loss of earning capacity was dismissed as speculative. Even though the trial judge used the wrong and higher standard of balance of probability, the Court of Appeal still dismissed the appeal. (Rousta v. MacKay,2018 BCCA 29). The ICBC claimant was driving on Taylor Way…
In this bizarre personal injury case a security guard was run over and injured by a fleeing vehicle after a shoplifter stole a pair of sunglasses. ICBC then tried to blame the security guard for being contributorily negligent.(MacKenzie v. John Doe,2018 BCSC 104) The security guard approached the shiplifter’s passenger side and opened the door, saying “store security”. He…
This was application to have the claimant attend a defence medical examination with a rheumatologist, Dr. Wade in relation to a car accident injury claim. There have been a number of expert reports tendered by the claimant, and two defence medical examinations done by agreement by Dr. Sovio, an orthopedic surgeon, and Dr. Dahi, a psychiatrist. The claimant provided most…
It is rare that the court will order any further medical examinations after the 84 expert deadline. It was the court’s view in Falbo v. Ryan, 2015 BCSC 2452 that a physical examination was not necessary in order to provide a responsive report. Master Harper said that, “These types of orders are discretionary. They ought…