No, There is no such limit on the compensation available to ICBC whiplash claimants or others suffering from neck injury and soft tissue injury in British Columbia. Howver, Accidents after April 1, 2019 may be subject to the 2019 ICBC Minor Injury Cap. ICBC is now allowed to call serious injuries minor to limit compensation.…
This case affirms, despite what ICBC says to claimants without lawyers, an award for loss of future earning capacity is available in soft tissue injury cases in which claimants have suffered little or no loss of income: Hu v. Tan,2016 BCSC 908. The Supreme Court was convinced this personal injury claimant would not have considered retiring early had it not…
Age is a factor for compensation for older and retired adults after a motor vehicle injury and is considered in today’s personal injury case: Bardua v. Han, 2016 BCSC 861. As it relates to compensation for pain and suffering for retired individuals Judge Griffin famously stated: [88] The retirement years are special years for they are at a time…
This personal injury claimant was awarded over $700,000 after ICBC failed to take her injuries seriously following six “minimal damage”, also called by ICBC “low velocity”, motor vehicle accidents. ICBC relied on Dr. William Koch, a registered psychologist in B.C. to argue that the claimant had pre-existing psychological disorders not related to the car accidents. Dr. Koch…
Another walloping to the auto insurer ICBC as they seem to continually refuse to make reasonable offers of settlement. The Court has awarded $411,158.00 after a 2 week trial in Vancouver to a claimant involved in a motor vehicle accident while driving on Highway 1 near Kamloops, B.C. (Biefeld v. Neetz,2016 BCSC 689). As a result…
In a dramatic turn-around the Court of Appeal has allowed the appeal and set aside the order below dismissing this personal injury case . The car accident was at a very low speed and resulted in only approximately $100 in damage to the bumper of the claimant’s van. The defendant’s car was behind the claimant’s van in…
The purpose of an award for pain and suffering, called “non-pecuniary damages”, is to provide money compensation that ameliorates the condition of an injured claimant. In making such an award, the following factors are relevant: age of the claimant; nature of the injury;severity and duration of pain; disability; emotional suffering; loss or impairment of life; impairment of family, marital and social…
The claimant suffered injuries as a passenger on a bus operated by the South Coast British Columbia Transportation Authority, doing business as Translink and/or Coast Mountain Bus Company Limited (“Translink”). The claimant was 76 years old at the time of trial and claims that he fell when the bus on Translink’s route number eight stopped suddenly…
This ICBC personal injury claim arose out of two rear-end motor vehicle accidents. The claimant was involved in a third accident in which he was at fault. The question arose as to what impact, if any, the claimant’s responsibility for the third accident should have on the defendants’ liability for the consequences of his injuries (Derksen v. Nicholson,Insurance…
In this whiplash soft tissue injury case the claimant was injured in three motor vehicle accidents and fault had been admitted by the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia ICBC (Gupta v. ICBC et al, 2015 BCSC 608). The judge however awarded the claimant $45,000 for pain and suffering but reduced it to $30,000 stating: [the claimant] has…