The Court of Appeal of BC has upheld the awarding of over $400,000.00 for breach of a settlement agreement(2014 BCCA 66) despite the argument that the dispute should not have been dealt with by way of summary trial due to conflicts within the evidence. A summary trial is one that is conducted, for the most part, by…
Getting an award for legal costs in car accident personal injury cases just got easier in British Columbia. At issue in this ICBC out of court settlement case(Christen v. McKenzie,2013 BCSC 1317) was whether the claimant was entitled to the full amount of $6,500 attributed to preparation under Rule 15-1(15)(a) of the Civil Rules ($8,000 total…
In this ICBC offers to settle fault case ( Currie v. Taylor,2013 BCSC 1071), the claimant suffered catastrophic injuries that dramatically changed his life after a car accident. The claimant was driving a yellow and white taxi en route to the City of Vernon when he attempted to turn left onto Highway 97 at the intersection…
Jackie Small, Civil Trial Lawyer, appeared on the Bill Good Show at CKNW AM 980 today to give some local legal perspective on the shocking conviction and sentencing of seven scientists to six years in prison. The seven went on trial for manslaughter linked to an earthquake in Italy that killed more than 300 people and the victims have…
In this Langley car accident injury claim( Charles v. Dudley, 2012 BCSC 1301) the Supreme Court Judge was critical of the injury claimant putting forward all her medical experts before she took the stand.This decision may prove somewhat controversial in civil trial advocacy circles because this approach has come to be used by some personal injury…
The injury claimant was injured when the car she was driving was rear-ended by another vehicle(Fell v. Morton,2012 BCSC 428). Fault for the accident was admitted but causation and quantum remained in dispute likely by the insurer ICBC , given that the car accident occurred in British Columbia. The questions were whether the back and neck pain and…
As a personal injury lawyer in Vancouver since 1995 I have made many without prejudice offers to settle car accident injury claims as well as other personal injury claims. Off the record settlement offers usually have a blanket protection which applies whether or not settlement negotiations succeed. Therefore, these offers cannot usually be used as…
In this Vancouver car crash injury claim (Olianka v. Spagnol,2011 BCSC 1013) the ICBC injury claimant was seeking compensation resulting from injuries he suffered when the car he was driving was hit from behind at the intersection of King Edward Avenue and Valley Drive in Vancouver. The other driver admited fault for the car accident and…
November 5, 2014- As a personal injury lawyer in BC since 1995 I can say that if you are going to stay on top of your practice of personal injury law it is important that you review all of the new requirements for expert reports, including the deadline for response reports. Before the Court Rules…
In this multiple car accident injury claim(Kailay v. ICBC, 2011 BCSC 263) ICBC, the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia, was seeking an adjounment due to new developments in the case which included a recent pregnancy and complicating psychological overlay arising from it. The ICBC lawyer asked for more time to prepare the defence case as they have to respond to fresh opinion…