The Open Court Process for Personal Injury Cases

  It is not surprising that in a free and democratic society we should have a public right to an open court process. Having truly a open court ensures that common values are being applied within all our British Columbia judicial proceedings. Openness is essential to accessibility and accountability in the judicial system. However, personal injury…

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ICBC Must Pay Benefits Despite Prior Neck and Back Pain

This ICBC injury insurance Appeal case concerned the nature of the claim for injury benefits under Part 7 of the Insurance  Regulations and the interpretation of s. 96(f) of the Regulation when a claimant has a pre-existing condition . The case stands for the proposition that ICBC must prove that but for the pre-existing condition, the Claimant would not have become totally disabled(Kozhikhov…

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Court Now Allowing Juries for Complex 30 day Personal Injury Trials

The Court of Appeal has effectively eliminated the ability to strike a jury on the grounds of complexity, length and  multiple conflicting medical opinion (Rados v. Pannu,2015 BCCA 459). The claimant was injured in a car accident and applied unsuccessfully to strike a Jury Notice filed by the defendants insurance company for a complicated 2…

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$100,000 Psychological Injury Award Taken Away

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…

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Passenger Grabbing Steering Wheel Insured by ICBC

ICBC has lost this important injury insurance law appeal, the court concluding that the word “use” includes the grabbing of a the steering wheel by a passenger(Felix v. Insurance Corporation of British Columbia,2015 BCCA 394). This bold decision by Madam Justice Bennett brings insurance coverage to all British Columbia passengers that take control of a vehicle, when it…

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$125,000 Pain and Suffering Award for Chronic Pain Syndrome

In this Chronic regional myofascial pain syndrome case the 35 year old ICBC claimant was stopped in her car at a red light when she was struck from behind by the defendant. Liability for the car accident was admitted. Injuries to her neck, upper and lower back, shoulders, depression, sleep disturbance, fatigue, headaches and has chronic…

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Summary Trial Judge Finds Altered Trailer Caused Accident

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…

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Patient Confidentiality in ICBC Injury Claims

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…

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$45,000 Pain and Suffering Award to 81 Year Old Car Accident Victim

A personal injury award for pain and suffering is not reduced by a limited life expectancy and according to the Supreme Court of BC, advanced age should not be a factor either way in arriving at an appropriate award. This personal injury arose from a car accident at the intersection of Inverness Street and West 41st Avenue…

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Money Award for Loss of Renovation and Landscaping Capacity

This Court of Appeal personal injury case has only affirmed, and not changed, the law surrounding loss of capacity claims, including loss of renovation, landscaping , house-cleaning, and housekeeping Capacity ( Reynolds v. M. Sanghera & Sons Trucking Ltd.,2015 BCCA 232). We focus on loss of landscaping capacity as well as loss of renovation capacity claims in motor…

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