Offers to Settle Considered after 50% Fault for Car Accident

There were  two offers to settle made by the claimant in this case: one in the amount of $800,000 before trial and the other during the course of trial, in the amount of $1,010,000.  The defendant offered to settle for $55,000.00. At trial the claimant was found 50% at fault for a car accident and…

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Failure of Expert to Testify Weakens Personal Injury Claim

Successful ICBC personal injury claims require expert medical opinions, especially  in the Supreme Court of British Columbia.  As we learn in today’s case review, not calling an important medical expert as a witness at trial can led the Court to infer that the evidence of the medical expert would not have assisted the claimant’s  case (Espinoza…

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What to do when Rear-Ended: An ICBC Claim Checklist

With 25 years experience as a lawyer working for rear-ended injury Claimants, I have a few suggestions about ICBC injury claims and dealing with ICBC. “I just got rear-ended today should I call ICBC?”- if this sounds like you or someone you know, read on. Rear end collisions are common but different than most other…

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$95,000 Pain and Suffering Award for Wrist Injury- Re-open Trial Refused

This personal injury claimant suffered a severe fracture to his right wrist when the vehicle in which he was a front-seat passenger was involved in a car accident, running head-on into a hydro pole. He also sustained some soft tissue injuries to his back and neck which fully healed over the course of about six…

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$75,000 Award for Pain and Suffering- L1 Vertebra Injury Accepted

In this low back personal injury case the claimant was driving southbound on Willingdon Avenue  in Burnaby, B.C. when he was struck on the driver’s side as he approached Maywood Street. At issue were claims for pain and suffering, past and future wage loss, and the cost of future care. A key issue was  whether an L1…

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$100,000 for Psychological Injury- Aggravation of Stuttering Condition

The claimant was rear-ended in a car accident and alleged he suffered chronic pain, with physical and psychological consequences, arising from neck and back injuries. The claimant had a longstanding stuttering condition since he was a young boy. The cause of this condition remained unknown and he continued to stutter to the date of trial (Karim v.…

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Injury Settlement of $77,400 Reduced by Investigation Costs

In this personal injury case a formal ICBC offer to settle in the amount of $77,400 was accepted by the claimant just two weeks before an 8 day trial. ICBC conducted surveillance of the claimant starting the day after the defendant made the offer to settle.  The defendant’s therefore claimed the cost of the investigation…

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Making An ICBC Injury Claim- A Case Study into What Not to Do

The following personal injury case will be used as a case study into what not to do as a personal injury claimant. Almost everything a personal injury claimant should not do after a car accident, is contained in this injury case (T. v. ICBC, 2015 BCSC 359). The trial judge should be commended, if not compensated…

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Teen awarded $8,500 for Cuts, Scrapes, Bruises and Scar

  The 15 year old Claimant in this personal injury case was one of nine teenage passengers in a vehicle travelling at a high rate of speed, planning to throw eggs at people. She had drunk from a shared 2‑litre bottle of alcohol cider and sat in the vehicle wearing no seatbelt. Before the accident…

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Factors for Valuing a Personal Injury Case

Understanding how to put a proper value on a personal injury case requires understanding the essential basics of estimating and assessing in personal injury law. Accidents after April 1, 2019 are subject the the ICBC Minor Injury Caps.First, the purpose for civil damages is to put a victim back in the position they were before…

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