What to do after a Car Accident a Checklist for the Injured

First Steps After an Auto Accident If you are at the accident scene: Move away from traffic; Make sure the police and paramedics have been called; Take photographs and video at the scene before the vehicles are moved; Obtain witness names and contact information- don’t talk to witnesses about how the accident occurred; Record details…

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Maximum Amounts For ICBC Injury Claims

Part of my job as a personal injury lawyer often is to help claimants understand how much money they are entitled to receive from ICBC after a car accident injury.  The Insurance Corporation of British Columbia is a Province wide government created insurance company responsible for compensated victims of personal injury on behalf of their…

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Credibility and not New Brain Science to Blame for Loss

After a car accident, a mild traumatic brain injury case usually relies heavily on the credibility of the claimant. With a normal MRI and no objective signs of injury, the court must rely on the credibility and reliability of the claimant and the strength of any corroborating evidence. The following appeal of a Brain Injury…

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$130,000 Pain and Suffering for PTSD

In this post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) personal injury case the Claimant was driving along Como Lake Road in Coquitlam  when a van hit into the side of his vehicle. The other driver admitted liability, but disputed that the car accident induced PTSD in the claimant (Kim v. Khaw,2014 BCSC 2221). In many ICBC injury claims the insurance…

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Injury Claimant’s Failure to use Hazard Light Results in 60% Fault

This was  an appeal from a personal injury case apportioning 60% of the liability for a motor vehicle accident to the injury claimant. The car accident occurred on the Ironworkers Memorial Bridge on the Trans-Canada Highway between Vancouver and North Vancouver (Langille v. Marchant, 2014 BCCA 430). The claimant rear-ended a vehicle  after passing the crest on…

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Important Tips when Reporting a Car Accident in BC: Online and On Time

In British Columbia reporting a motor vehicle accident is different than anywhere else in Canada. The Insurance Corporation of BC, ICBC, is the only insurance company in the Province that is permitted, upon notice, to provide accident benefits to people injured in motor vehicle accidents. As a personal injury lawyer in Vancouver since 1995 my…

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Drunk Gyrating Passenger Hits Steering Wheel Causing Crash

Driver and passenger were both drunk returning from an alcohol fueled weekend in the Okanagan. Four friends from the Lower Mainland were all drinking in the car when the injury claimant, the front seat passenger, began gyrating wildly to loud music which resulted in her hitting the steering wheel. The speeding vehicle swerved into a ditch…

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The Truth About Distracted Driving and ICBC’s Rate Increase 2014

ICBC gets a failing grade in my books when it comes to road safety expertise and providing accurate data about road safety. Their most recent attempt at obtaining a 5.2% rate increase is filled with misleading propaganda trying to convince drivers that there is suddenly a distracted driving catastrophe about to occur in our Province.…

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Personal Injury Claimant Without Lawyer Loses Appeal

This unrepresented personal injury claimant was a passenger involved in a car accident for which fault was admitted. At the Vancouver trial the Judge awarded the claimant $25,000 for pain and suffering, $2,066 for lost wages, and $1,084.45 in out of pocket expenses, much less than she sought.  The claimant therefore appealed alleging that the trial judge…

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Settlement of Two Personal Injury Claims means Double the Legal Costs

In this personal injury case involving two motor accidents occurring 6 months apart(Wang v. Dhaliwal,2014 BCSC 1662) the court awarded two set of legal costs totaling $13,000 in addition to the $59,000 out of court settlement. In British Columbia money you get for legal costs as a successful litigation are awarded to to help off-set the actual…

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