Legal Help After a Car Accident in Vancouver and Anywhere in British Columbia

As a practicing lawyer in British Columbia since 1995 much of my legal work has been done assisting claimants after car accidents. I want to make just a few comments in this article on the type of legal assistance a claimant needs after being involved in a car accident in our Province. Lawyers to help with the first steps following…

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Personal Injury Claimant Wins Award for Loss of Farm Earning Capacity

In this loss of farm earning capacity car accident case(Verge v. Chan,2012 BCSC 876) the claimant’s vehicle was hit head-on at the intersection of Summit Drive and Chilcotin Crescent in Kelowna. The injury claimant suffered soft tissue injuries to her neck and back, a fractured right talus, bruising to and pain in her chest, and…

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ICBC Defends Car Injury Case and Massage Therapist Still Wins $300,000 Award

The claimant, a registered massage therapist, was injured in a motor vehicle accident(Combs v. Moorman,2012 BCSC 1001) when her car, which was stopped, was struck from behind  in New Westminster, BC. Her vehicle was pushed into oncoming traffic and struck again head on by another vehicle.   ICBC participated directly in the personal injury lawsuit as a Third Party and the…

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Car Accident Injury Claimant Wins Case Despite ICBC Statements

This personal injury case involved four car accidents for which liability was admitted(Demidas v. Poinen, 2012 BCSC 416). The Insurance Corporation of British Columbia (ICBC), on behalf of the defendants, said that the injury claimant was an unreliable witness and deliberately exaggerated his claims.  In each of his ICBC statements following the four accidents, he listed numerous complaints…

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Offer to Settle Car Accident Injury Claim Rejected and Winning Claimant Gets Legal Fees Paid

In this offer to settle personal injury case(Bartel v. Milliken,2012 BCSC 971) the court makes it clear that withdrawing an  offer does not weigh against the awarding of double costs.  In this car accident personal injury case the injury claimant made an offer to settle her claim one week before the trial. The offer was not…

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Loss of Earning Capacity Award Upheld in Winning Car Accident Injury Case

This BC Court of Appeal case reiterates the distinction between loss of earnings and loss of earning capacity(Ibbitson v. Cooper, 2012 BCCA 249) in BritishColumbia personal injury cases: While in many cases the actual lost income will be the most reliable measure of the value of the loss of capacity to earn income, this is not…

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“But for” Test in Motor Vehicle Accident Cases Beefed-Up By Supreme Court of Canada

In this legal causation personal injury case, (Clements v. Clements, 2012 SCC 32) the Supreme Court of Canada  has done its best to clarify for lawyers and claimants when the “but for” causation test can be replaced by the material contribution to risk test in car accident injury cases stating:   “[46]  The foregoing discussion leads me to the…

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Information about Making an ICBC Injury Claim

Making a personal injury claim after a car accident in British Columbia can be, at best, confusing because there is usually more than one claim to be made with the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia, ICBC, and others. In addition to personal injury claims, you also have other potential claims such as collision coverage claims, private…

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Claimant with Lawyer Wins Personal Injury Case and gets Legal Fees Paid

In this Fast track three month personal injury case(Johnson v. Keats,2012 BCSC 751) the claimant was  rear-ended during rush‑hour traffic on Hastings Street in Burnaby, British Columbia. The claimant was in stop and go  traffic in a stretch of Hastings Street which had multiple traffic lanes. There was only $560.00 damage to the claimants vehicle but he claimed neck,…

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Car Accident Injury Claimant Awarded $125,000 for Persistent Cough arising from Disc Herniation

Immediately following this car accident the injury claimant began to experience a cough that would not go away(Reilander v. Campbell,2011 BCSC 1848). She did not associate it with the car accident and thought it was asthma, although use of  her Ventolin was not working.She visited her family doctors many times, complaining of pain in her…

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