future earnings

Valuing Past and Future Loss of Earning Capacity: What Lewis v. Gibeau Reveals

Distinction Between Capital Asset and Earnings Approach In Lewis v. Gibeau, 2025 BCCA 127, the Court of Appeal addressed the trial judge’s error in applying the capital asset approach rather than the earnings approach to assess Ms. Lewis’s loss of earning capacity. The earnings approach is typically used when a plaintiff has a clear, established…

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Rear-Ended Collision Verdict Overturned Due to Faulty Jury Instructions

In this motor vehicle accident case, Gandha v. Beauchesne, 2025 BCCA 122,  the claimant appealed a jury verdict that found the defendant not liable despite assessing $752,000 in losses. The collision occurred when the defendant rear-ended the claimant’s vehicle after she merged onto the highway from her driveway at a speed below the limit. The…

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Expert Opinion on Medication Refusal Central to 70% Reduction in Award

In this review of Padgham v. Ram, 2025 BCCA 100 I focus on the key legal issues applied by the Court of Appeal in this personal injury claim. Failure to Take Recommended Medication The claimant appealed a personal injury damages award arising from a 2016 motor vehicle accident caused by a TransLink bus. While the…

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Revoked Settlement Offer Still Justifies Double Costs

In MacFarlane v. Gustafson, 2024 BCCA 400, the injury claimant sought personal injury damages arising from a serious car accident injury.  The claimant made a reasonable offer before trial which was rejected.  One key matter concerned the trial judge’s decision to award double costs to the claimant under Rule 9-1(1)(c) of the Supreme Court Civil…

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Cost of Future Care Increased by Court of Appeal

In  the personal injury case of Sharma v. Sagoo (2024 BCCA 319), the claimant  appealed the trial judge’s award for various heads of damages, including the cost of future care. The trial judge had awarded $6,600 for future care, a figure that included reduced amounts for treatments such as physiotherapy, massage therapy, custom orthotics, and…

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Hit and Run Subjective Legal Test Clarified

In the personal injury appeal of Takhar v. Insurance Corporation of British Columbia, 2024 BCCA 275, the appellant sought an award for injuries sustained in a motor vehicle accident. The appellant was sideswiped by an unidentified vehicle while driving. Since the other driver could not be identified, he named the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia…

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ICBC auto insurance Monopoly

ICBC and False Claims of Judicial Bias

ICBC claimed bias of the trial judge in the following ICBC injury case. The Court of Appeal disagreed with ICBC,  BC’s auto insurance monopoly. In particular ICBC claimed, without success that it was unfair that the judge: Expressed cynicism about the legislature’s motives in limiting the number of expert reports that can be commissioned; Commented…

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Liability and the Last Clear Chance Doctrine

This Court of Appeal personal injury case, Ferrill v. Cockburn, involved an accident at an uncontrolled intersection. The appellant was driving a vehicle and attempted a left turn when he collided with the respondent, who was riding a motorcycle at an excessive speed. The jury at trial apportioned liability equally between both parties. The appellants…

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future earnings

The Rab Test for Loss of Earning Capacity Claims

In this personal injury appeal, the Court of Appeal addressed the quantum of damages for past and future loss of income arising from a motor vehicle accident (Tigas v. Close, 2024 BCCA 223). The injury claimant alleged a loss of over $3 million at trial and was only awarded under $500,000. The appellants contested the…

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Exaggerated ICBC Injury Claim Leads to Case Dismissal

The primary issue in this personal injury appeal was the trial judge’s finding of causation for damages awarded to the claimant following a motor vehicle accident. The case was heard before the Honourable Justices Stromberg-Stein, Voith, and Skolrood. The appellants sought to overturn the damages awarded, arguing that the trial judge made a palpable and…

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