This Court of Appeal decision assists appellants by not requiring leave for dismissal of juries in ICBC personal injury cases. The lawyer representing ICBC in his closing argument in front of a jury alleged that the claimant told half truths in her testimony about the car accidents and her injuries. This was in itself…
This personal injury award, $186,000 for injuries suffered in two motor vehicle accidents, was appealed by ICBC, the defendant’s insurer. The judge found the ICBC appellants liable for the two car accidents but ICBC argued that the judge had made serious mistakes in her findings of fault for the injuries and her findings of fact supporting the…
The ICBC personal injury appellant was sitting in the back of a vehicle when it overturned at high speed along with other teenage passengers. The teenagers were drinking alcohol in the back of the car and planning to throw eggs at pedestrians . After the car crash the appellant made no complaints of headaches, neck…
This personal injury case was raised from the dead by a rather direct referral to Access Pro Bono by Madam Justice Bennett allowing the claimant to obtain important free legal advice. The lawyer from Access Pro Bono agreed to continue to act for the unrepresented claimant and the appeal was reinstated. The claimant was indigent and did not…
Progressive insured the Washington State claimants in two separate personal injury actions in British Columbia. The claimants were riding a motorcycle in British Columbia when they collided with a rental vehicle. The claimant’s insurance policy provided that Progressive would pay “reasonable expenses incurred for necessary medical services” received by the plaintiffs as insureds “within three years of the date…
Prior Consistent Statements are Admissible to Rebut ICBC Claims of Fabrication This incredible win by the injury claimant on appeal reaffirms the evidence rule that prior consistent statements of injury claimants are admissible to rebut an allegation of recent fabrication (T. v. ICBC et al, 2016 BCCA 373). Prior consistent statements can include ICBC dial-a-claim reports, signed ICBC…
Personal injury lawyers and claimants need to know that a “without prejudice” letter from an insurance adjuster containing a request to settle does not extend the limitation deadline to start the lawsuit, says the Court of Appeal (Trombley v. Pannu,2016 BCCA 324). The trial judge dismissed this personal injury case as statute barred, finding that the letter from the adjuster did not acknowledge…
An annoyingly slow overtaking vehicle cannot be blamed for the bad driving of others. The Court of Appeal has ruled that the overtaking another vehicle as quickly as reasonably possible standard is now inappropriate in British Columbia ( Borgfjord v. Boizard, 2016 BCCA 317). The slow defendant, driving 25-30 kph under the speed limit, was in the far left lane…
Even the most experienced personal injury lawyers need to pay attention to this case. The Court of Appeal has made it clear: When finding a pedestrian 100% at fault the court must analyze not only the pedestrian’s duty but also the driver’s duty of care (Vandendorpel v. Evoy, 2016 BCCA 270). Statutory provisions and the duties imposed by…
Injuries caused by fire can often be prevented by the use of fire alarms, commonsense. However, the Court of Appeal does not accept this as commonsense, and dismissed this renter’s injury appeal on the basis that there was no evidence that the use of a fire alarm would have reduced or eliminated the harm. In this injury…