ICBC claimants always ask me whether they need a lawyer for their injury case. This personal injury claimant did not have the assistance of a personal injury lawyer at his trial which involved two car accidents. He was found to be totally at fault for one accident and awarded $60,000 for the other. The claimant did…
There has been much confusion in the legal community over the issue of witnesses and witness lists in civil cases. The issue is whether plaintiffs can call witnesses who are not in the plaintiffs’ trial brief has now been answered by Supreme Court Judge Steeves in the case 2016 BCSC 2038. Here is the answer: The Rules…
The Court of Appeal has effectively eliminated the ability to strike a jury on the grounds of complexity, length and multiple conflicting medical opinion (Rados v. Pannu,2015 BCCA 459). The claimant was injured in a car accident and applied unsuccessfully to strike a Jury Notice filed by the defendants insurance company for a complicated 2…
This personal injury lawsuit arose from a motor vehicle accident which occurred when a trailer swayed in the wind and broke off injuring the claimant. This was a successful application by the claimant pursuant to Rule 9 – 7 of the Supreme Court Civil Rules for judgment against the defendant on the issue of liability. The court concluded…
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…
In this sensationally important personal injury case the Court of Appeal has made it very clear that consulting reports must substantially comply with the Rules to be admissible as expert reports (Healey v. Chung, 2015 BCCA 38). This makes it very difficult for the personal injury claimant to get opinion evidence into court as “clinical records” are…
In a stunning decision the BC Court of Appeal ordered a new trial after this personal injury claim was wrongly dismissed(Miller v. Dent, 2014 BCCA 234). The trial judge failed to determine whether the traffic light was green, red or yellow at the material time and therefore the Court of Appeal found that it was wrong…
No adverse inference was drawn by the judge after the claimant failed to have his family doctor testify at the personal injury trial. (Fabretti v. Gill,2014 BCSC 899). This ICBC injury case involved a car accident that occurred on the Pattullo Bridge in New Westminster. The claimant was only 12 years old at the time. He…
In this continuing personal injury saga the claimant’s left foot and ankle were struck by a rolling mounted truck tire from an unidentified vehicle, while he was riding a motorcycle on Highway 1 near Chilliwack, British Columbia(Walker v. Doe, 2014 BCSC 746). The Insurance Corporation of British Columbia, ICBC, was a nominal defendant in this lawsuit,…
A $222,000 offer to settle a car accident injury claim was rejected and after a ten day trial a jury awarded $53,000. In light of the juries award the claimant was denied the costs of preparation and attendance at trial (Wafler v. Trinh,2014 BCCA 95). The Insurance Corporation of British Columbia had made three offers to settle…