ICBC is in trouble again with the Supreme Court, found to be abusing the court process. ICBC defended a clearly at fault driver that rear ended a snowplow causing significant personal injury to his passenger. In one lawsuit ICBC admitted his fault, settling the case, in the other they denied liability forcing the case to a jury trial.…
ICBC has been stung with paying a car accident victim $155,340.86 in legal fees for failing to disclose a video showing her weakened and being taken away by ambulance! ICBC, the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia, disclosed to the jury only videos showing the claimant being active and disregarded a court order requiring disclosure of all videos in what seems…
An annoyingly slow overtaking vehicle cannot be blamed for the bad driving of others. The Court of Appeal has ruled that the overtaking another vehicle as quickly as reasonably possible standard is now inappropriate in British Columbia ( Borgfjord v. Boizard, 2016 BCCA 317). The slow defendant, driving 25-30 kph under the speed limit, was in the far left lane…
If ICBC hires a doctor to examine a claimant, the denial of the claim may be based on “junk science” and therefore can be challenged. Novelty is a measure of reliability which must be balanced against its effect on the mind of the trier of fact. The concept of ‘novel’ is used to distinguish evidence that…
Another walloping to the auto insurer ICBC as they seem to continually refuse to make reasonable offers of settlement. The Court has awarded $411,158.00 after a 2 week trial in Vancouver to a claimant involved in a motor vehicle accident while driving on Highway 1 near Kamloops, B.C. (Biefeld v. Neetz,2016 BCSC 689). As a result…
Acting correctly after a car accident can be difficult when your senses are not working properly. I have been a personal injury lawyer in Vancouver for over 20 years and I’d like to share with you 3 top things to do after a car accident in BC: First, seek medical attention – Triage by hospital staff will…
Although the claimant’s injuries were exacerbated as a result of chiropractic treatment this did not break the chain of causation. “The chain of causation will be broken where an intervening event, rather than the defendants’ conduct, is considered the proximate or legal cause of the subsequent injury. This principle, known as novus actus interveniens, recognizes that defendants…
The defendant in this personal injury claim sought liberty to add two individuals as third parties to the proceeding. On the day of the car accident a number of people attended a party in the bush near Lumby, B.C. The claimant was there and was a pedestrian. The proposed third parties were there and were also…
This car accident occurred while the claimant was making a left turn from Lougheed Highway onto Kanaka Way in Maple Ridge, BC. This was an appeal from an order made apportioning 60% of the fault for the accident to the claimant, and 40% of the fault to the respondent, a through driver (Pirie v. Skantz,2016 BCCA 70).…
Canada currently has less car accident injuries per year than any other time in recorded history yet ICBC has increased auto insurance rates. The number of fatalities, serious injuries, and total injuries is at its lowest since data was first collected by Transport Canada in the early 1970’s. Since 1994 the amount of serious injuries…