ICBC Must Pay Benefits Despite Prior Neck and Back Pain

This ICBC injury insurance Appeal case concerned the nature of the claim for injury benefits under Part 7 of the Insurance  Regulations and the interpretation of s. 96(f) of the Regulation when a claimant has a pre-existing condition . The case stands for the proposition that ICBC must prove that but for the pre-existing condition, the Claimant would not have become totally disabled(Kozhikhov…

Insurance a Factor in an ICBC Offer to Settle

In this personal injury case ICBC was denied their costs despite the claimant failing to beat a  pre-trial offer to settle. ICBC made an offer of $93,500 to settle the lawsuit on behalf of the defendant 2 weeks before trial. The claimant refused the offer and was awarded $91,700 at trial (Zhao v. Yu,2015 BCSC 2342).…

$250,000 Loss of Earning Capacity Award in Rear End Accident Upheld

The Court Appeal has made it clear in this personal injury case that an award for loss of future earning capacity reflects the exercise of judgment framed by clearly articulated factual findings. To require the trial judge to say more than he did in this case would be to impose an impossible burden on trial judges (Fadai…

Medical Examination Ordered For Rebuttal Report After 84 Day Deadline

The Court accepted that the Neurologist in this ICBC car accident injury claim needed to perform a physical exam of the claimant in order to properly prepare a report in response to claimant’s medical experts (Ram v. Chhina, 2015 BCSC 2193). This despite the examination taking place only 2 months before the personal injury trial was scheduled to begin. This…

Settlement Privilege Attached to the Documents Prepared by Previous Lawyer

This was a court application to force a claimant to disclose the details of a prior auto insurance settlement (Gamble v. Brown,2015 BCSC 1873).This lawsuit arose out of a motor vehicle accident which occurred  in Surrey, British Columbia in which there was a claim for injuries and loss suffered by the plaintiff. The matter was set for a…

Worker in Car Accident Must Divide Indivisible Injuries

Our Supreme Court Judges have no power to deal with the rights of employees and the liability of employers when car accident personal injuries are suffered in the course of employment, concludes Judge Burnyeat after an extensive review of the law (Pinch v. Hofstee,2015 BCSC 1888). The claimant was injured in two motor vehicle accidents ( MVA#1 and…

ICBC Lawyer Denied Social Media Vacation Photos In Personal Injury Claim

In this fast track personal injury claim the defendants sought an order for production of various documents and records, including photographs and videos from the claimant’s social media accounts or platform (Wilder v. Munro,2015 BCSC 1983). ICBC has been known to use social media photos against innocent victims of personal injury in an attempt to discredit their injuries. This…

ICBC Accused of Fabricating Evidence to Support Charges

The court has allowed the late admission of policy guidelines as ICBC is sued for maliciously prosecuting charges of uttering false statements. The allegation is that the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia, and its investigators ignored evidence, mischaracterized evidence, and fabricated evidence to support charges of uttering a false statement against the claimant and her husband…

Settlement of Fast Track Injury Case Results in Full Legal Costs

In this Fast Track personal injury case, the claimant settled 5 months before trial and was successful in seeking the full amount allowed for legal costs pursuant to Rule 15-1(15) (Karp v. Kalsi,2015 BCSC 1949). The car accident in question occurred 4 years before the scheduled trial after the parties had exchanged documents and the claimant was examined for discovery.…

Fall on Bus Results in $40,000 Award for Pain and Suffering

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…