$75,000 Award for Pain and Suffering- L1 Vertebra Injury Accepted

In this low back personal injury case the claimant was driving southbound on Willingdon Avenue  in Burnaby, B.C. when he was struck on the driver’s side as he approached Maywood Street. At issue were claims for pain and suffering, past and future wage loss, and the cost of future care. A key issue was  whether an L1…

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The Truth about ICBC Injury Settlements

As a personal injury lawyer dealing with ICBC since 1995, having settled hundreds of injury cases, there are three certainties I have come to expect in every case.  No matter the age, sex, or work ability of the claimant, here are three realities claimants should know about ICBC settlements: The claimant will be required to sign…

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Making An ICBC Injury Claim- A Case Study into What Not to Do

The following personal injury case will be used as a case study into what not to do as a personal injury claimant. Almost everything a personal injury claimant should not do after a car accident, is contained in this injury case (T. v. ICBC, 2015 BCSC 359). The trial judge should be commended, if not compensated…

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ICBC Claimant with Uncertain Grasp of the Law Loses Appeal

Personal injury claimants without lawyers should avoid long and unclear court submissions, a lesson from the following ICBC injury claim. This was an appeal from the dismissal of a lawsuit against ICBC for disability benefits related to a car accident which occurred in British Columbia. The Appellant went to court without a lawyer against ICBC…

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$160,000 Pain and Suffering for Mild Complicated Brain Injury

  Mild traumatic brain injury, MTBI, is often difficult to diagnose and as a result insurance companies like ICBC often refuse to pay proper compensation for this injury without judicial determination. In the following personal injury claim the Court acknowledges that patients who sustain complicated MTBIs generally exhibit long term or residual symptoms that often affect…

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Settling your Injury Claim Under Duress Without a Lawyer

As a personal injury lawyer since 1995 I have had many personal injury claimants call and regret settling their ICBC injury claims without a lawyer. It is very difficult to re-open a case after a settlement agreement release has been signed by the claimant. If the injury claimant has sought the advice of a lawyer…

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$150,000 Awarded for Somatic Symptom Disorder DSM-5

Determining the appropriate amount of money in a personal injury case for pain and suffering is and assessment and not a calculation. This assessment was made difficult in the following personal injury case when the court was forced to consider the opinion of an argumentative ICBC paid doctor (Redmond v. Krider, 2015 BCSC 178). Mindful of the…

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Judge Awards over $650,000 for Chronic Myofascial Pain

In this ICBC personal injury case the claimant sought injury compensation of over $865,000, with loss of future earning capacity at over $618,000.  ICBC, the insurer, argued that the claimant should not receive more than $89,000( Camilleri v. Bergen, 2015 BCSC 124). The claimant was injured in a motor vehicle collision and there was largely consensus…

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ICBC Injury Claims include Cost of Functional Capacity and Cost of Care Reports

The Insurance Corporation of BC, ICBC,  seems to have adopted the practice of settling ICBC claims and then fighting the claimant’s necessary and reasonable litigation expenses after settlement. However, the following ICBC injury claim stands for the proposition that claimants have a duty to ensure that all areas of the injury claim are supported with…

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Injury Claimant Beat Offer to Settle But no Double Costs

In this personal injury case the Claimant made an offer to settle which was rejected by ICBC (the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia). He proceeding to trial and beat his offer by $920. However the Judge was not satisfied that the claimant’s formal offer was one that ICBC ought reasonably to have accepted (Saopaseuth v.…

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