A $3.2 million personal injury award has been restored by our top court,the Supreme Court of Canada, helping to reinforce our modern approach to legal causation in medical malpractice cases(Ediger v. Johnston, 2013 SCC 18) and personal injury cases generally. Personal injury lawyers assisting the injured will applaud the clarity and brevity of this decision. This…
In this heart surgery medical malpractice case(Dosanjh v. Leblanc and St. Paul’s Hospital,2011 BCSC 1660) the claimant alleges suffering a stroke resulted in permanent physical and cognitive disabilities after open heart surgery to repair a hole in his heart. The claimant sued the doctor, nurse, technician, and hospital alleging an air embolism was allowed to enter…
In this unfortunate medical malpractice infant case (Ediger v. Johnston,2011 BCCA 253) the trial judge initially found that the surgeon had breached the standard of care and failed to obtain the injury claimant’s informed consent to the procedure, but the Court of Appeal disagreed and dismissed the claim. The surgeon successfully appealed on the issue of causation claiming that he did nothing…
In this Vancouver medical malpractice lawsuit (Fairchild v. Vancouver Coastal Health Authority, 2011 BCSC 616 ) the injury claimant settled the day before a 10 day trial for some $200,000 plus costs and disbursements. The claimant fell while skiing at Whistler, British Columbia, fractured her leg and was taken to a clinic in Whistler. She was discharged from…
This dental injury claim in BC involves three lawsuits alleging injury due to negligent dental treatment. This was an appeal from an order of a Master dismissing the injury claim. The dismissal was based on the claimant’s failure to submit for a second time to a medical examination and, more generally, on want of prosecution pursuant to Rule 22‑7(7). …
This psychological injury car accident lawsuit ( Deros v. McCauley,2011 BCSC 195) was brought by a witness to a car accident. The accident occurred on Highway 97, north of Bear Lake, B.C. the claimant was part of a crew installing rumble strips on the highway. The injury claimant said that, as a result of witnessing the accident in which a vehicle struck…
A car accident injury claim with ICBC can become complex and potentially risky. Here is a checklist of important car accident claim hints for people trying to help injured friends or family after a car accident in BC. 1. If there is a question of fault ensure that there is an investigation into the circumstances…
I learned years ago as a young lawyer that the best interest of clients is the heart of any personal injury law practice. In this post I want to present a short ethical checklist to help you find the right legal advocate for your injury case. There are ethical obligations placed on lawyers in British Columbia when it comes to…
In this consent authorization case (Nikolic v. Olson,2011 BCSC 125) the Supreme Court of BC essentially has forced an injury claimant to sign “consent” forms for release of private information from people outside the lawsuit and outside British Columbia. This presents important implications for personal injury lawyers representing injury claimants and the out-of-Province entities that…
As a lawyer I represent personal injury claimants in British Columbia and have come to appreciate how important it is to advocate for injury claimants independent of government and ICBC, which was created by government in 1972. Imagine a world where a government run insurance company could control what your lawyer was allowed to do and say. Perhaps even…