In this bizarre personal injury case a security guard was run over and injured by a fleeing vehicle after a shoplifter stole a pair of sunglasses. ICBC then tried to blame the security guard for being contributorily negligent.(MacKenzie v. John Doe,2018 BCSC 104) The security guard approached the shiplifter’s passenger side and opened the door, saying “store security”. He…
Ms. Joan Gadsby, sole shareholder of Seaview Villa Estates Ltd., provided a covenant in respect of a mortgage. Joan Gadsby defaulted under the mortgage and foreclosure proceedings were commenced against Ms. Joan Gadsby and her company. She never honoured the required payments and an order nisi of approximately $1,000,000 was granted and the property sold. (Gadsby…
Making an settlement offer agreeing to agree is unenforceable. Likewise if ICBC makes an offer to settle which is an agreement to agree then this offer is not a true offer to settle. In a pithy statement on the power of the Court to enforce out of court settlement agreements, the Court of Appeal had…
The claimant was rear ended when stopped in traffic which caused her vehicle to strike the rear of another vehicle in front of her. This personal injury case settled on the Friday prior to the commencement of trial the following Monday. The settlement was for payment of $736,807.00 new money, plus assessable costs and disbursements for…
In this important and first Supreme Court personal injury case of 2018 the court accepts that a claim for past loss of earning capacity involves a consideration of hypothetical events. Therefore an ICBC injury claimant is not required to prove these hypothetical events on a balance of probabilities when claiming loss of past opportunity to earn.(De Groot…
This was application to have the claimant attend a defence medical examination with a rheumatologist, Dr. Wade in relation to a car accident injury claim. There have been a number of expert reports tendered by the claimant, and two defence medical examinations done by agreement by Dr. Sovio, an orthopedic surgeon, and Dr. Dahi, a psychiatrist. The claimant provided most…
The Rear Ender: Mechanics of Whiplash Associated Disorder The neck acts as a stationary marker during an average rear end impact collision. When hit from behind by a car the spine and torso load the seat and the torso begins to accelerate. Significantly high shear forces develop in the neck and brain, the spinal curves straighten and the…
It is rare that the court will order any further medical examinations after the 84 expert deadline. It was the court’s view in Falbo v. Ryan, 2015 BCSC 2452 that a physical examination was not necessary in order to provide a responsive report. Master Harper said that, “These types of orders are discretionary. They ought…
The Calderbank offer to settle has been enshrined in our Rules of Court since 2010 and since 1975 has been the best way to legally enforce cost consequences for reasonable offers to settle. Emerging and imminent injury lawyers alike must understand and apply these principles of settlement. History of the Formal Offer Prior to…
This Christmas story involves four motor vehicle accidents all occurring within 2.5 years. In a previous accident the claimant also sustained a serious brain injury. To make it more jolly, between the third and fourth accidents in issue, he was involved in two additional accidents. (Lamb v. Fullerton, 2016 BCSC 1694) Claims were made for pain and suffering,…