Future Income Loss More Elusive in Personal injury Claims

Determining an amount for future loss of income for ICBC injury claimants just got harder as the Court of Appeal overturns a future loss income award. No new law was created but the Court of Appeal was of the view that there was no evidence of another realistic alternative occupation that would be impaired by the…

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rear-end whiplash injuries

What to do when Rear-Ended: An ICBC Claim Checklist

With 25 years experience as a lawyer working for rear-ended injury Claimants, I have a few suggestions about ICBC injury claims and dealing with ICBC. “I just got rear-ended today should I call ICBC?”- if this sounds like you or someone you know, read on. Rear end collisions are common but different than most other…

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Suing for Moral Injury in Canada

The Supreme Court of Canada awarded a man $30,000, $15,000 of which compensated for moral injury as a result of being forced to listen to the reciting of a prayer at a municipal council meeting (Mouvement laïque québécois v. Saguenay (City), 2015 SCC 16). The Court reinstated the  Quebec Human Rights Tribunal award of $30,000 in compensatory…

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$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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No Car Damage but Judge Wrong to Ignore Medical Evidence of Injury

A new trial has been ordered for this personal injury claimant after the trial judge dismissed the case without any justifiable reason. This personal injury cases gives some assurance that claimant’s can stand up to judges that inject their own opinions in place of medical experts. This case is also a warning to trial judges…

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What does it Take to Completely Lose your Personal Injury Case

The personal injury case I review involved a low velocity motor vehicle accident on the Fraser Highway in which the Judge concluded that no injury had been established (2014 BCSC 2135) . The Claimant had a history of addiction, abused both street and prescription narcotics, endured a catastrophic industrial accident and significant injuries prior to the…

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Injury Claimant’s Failure to use Hazard Light Results in 60% Fault

This was  an appeal from a personal injury case apportioning 60% of the liability for a motor vehicle accident to the injury claimant. The car accident occurred on the Ironworkers Memorial Bridge on the Trans-Canada Highway between Vancouver and North Vancouver (Langille v. Marchant, 2014 BCCA 430). The claimant rear-ended a vehicle  after passing the crest on…

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$100,000 Award for Pain and Suffering in Chronic Headache Case

Awards for pain and suffering are not calculated but rather assessed. In British Columbia personal injury lawyers provide Judges with a range of reasonable awards based on caselaw precedent.  The claimant in this chronic headache, neck, shoulder and low back pain case (Forder v. Linde,2014 BCSC 1600)  was injured in a car accident when she…

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“Unusual Danger” in Personal Injury Liability Eliminated

Many slip and fall personal injury claims in British Columbia have been successful because the judge determined that the owner of a property had created an unusual danger. However with the introduction of the Occupier liability Act the common law concept as of “unusual danger” began to lose meaning and in Agar v. Weber, 2014 BCCA…

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