After being injured in two cars accidents, the first on the Alex Fraser Bridge, this litigant swaggered into court without a lawyer. ICBC offered him $75,000 but he refused and was awarded $60,000 at trial, all of which will have to be paid back to ICBC as costs. In this article learn about the costs consequences for self-represented litigants…
In this ICBC personal injury case the claimant was awarded $622,500 after she was injured by a vehicle that turned left across the path of her vehicle. The claimant had however made an offer to settle to ICBC one week before the trial for $315,000 plus costs and disbursements, which was rejected. The claimant was therefore entitled to an…
If an ICBC offer is made after an auto accident first get the offer in writing and second confirm the deadline. Understanding offers of settlement is ephemeral for most people but personal injury lawyers gain an enduring knowledge of the ICBC settlement process. It does not matter whether it is the first, second, third or fourth offer…
For ICBC personal injury claims, and other personal injury cases, the laws governing settlement offers are more confusing than any time in history. The Supreme Court Rules changed in 2010 and judicial interpretation since then has set settlement negotiations on a new course. The consequences for failing to accept a reasonable offer are now left to judicial…
Formal offers to settle in personal injury cases, including ICBC, filed in the Supreme Court are regulated by the Supreme Court Rules. Rule 9-1 is very specific about what is considered an offer to settle. An “offer to settle” is an offer that: (i) is made in writing by a party to a proceeding, (ii) has been…
The factors to be considered when valuing a personal injury claim with ICBC or other insurance companies will change according to the stage of your case. Some of the factors that may be important early on, such as claim reporting and notification, will give way to symptom documentation and medical diagnosis. Beware of the ICBC…
What happens if a claimant does not accept an ICBC offer and the court awards less than the amount offered? Are you forced to accept whatever ICBC offers? Is it a factor that ICBC is a big fish in the small pond of personal injury? Today’s ICBC offer to settle case shows that not accepting an offer…
ICBC is now forced to pay double costs on behalf of their insured after failing to accept several reasonable offers to settle this personal injury claim. ICBC’s unreasonable conduct forced this claimant to pursue this car accident litigation for over 10 years to obtain an award of over $700,000.00 from the court for soft tissue injuries to her…
Developments in personal injury law for 2015 are exciting and range from the new and approved claim of moral injury to new limits on sanctions that can be leveled against injury claimants. ICBC claimants that fail to accept a reasonable offer no longer have to pay double costs and Masters cannot impose financially crippling sanctions against claimants in the document…
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).…