Loss of Earning Capacity Awarded Despite Part Time Work History

In this personal injury case the claimant was injured when a car made a left-hand turn into his path while driving northbound on Nelson Avenue in Burnaby. The claimant suffered tinnitus predominantly in his right ear, dizziness, balance issues, jaw pain, and soft tissue injuries to his chest, neck, shoulders, back, and right shin. The soft tissues…

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Train Owner Faulted for $2.4 Million Railway Crossing Injury

The injury claimant suffered a spinal cord injury and a traumatic brain injury  when a train owned by the Canadian National Railway, CNR,  struck her car as she crossed the railway tracks on Smith Crescent close to Glover Road in Langley, BC. The judge found CNR failed to maintain adequate sightlines at the Crossing by allowing an overgrowth of…

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$185,000 in Pain and Suffering for Permanent Soft Tissue Injury

In this left turn car accident injury case the 23 year old claimant was awarded over $1.8 million in damages, including $185,000 for pain, suffering, loss of enjoyment of life and $1.28 million for future loss of earnings. The Supreme Court judge required only three weeks to deliver her written decision, creating new expectations that justice should…

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Loss of Future Earnings Awarded Despite Increase in Salary

When a claimant suffers a personal injury in a car accident the loss of income may not occur right after the injury but can take years to manifest. In this case review we examine the case of a young lawyer suffering a chronic pain condition at the beginning of her career.(Harry v. Powar,2018 BCSC 845) The…

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Loss of Past Earning Capacity on “Real and Substantial Possibility” Threshold

In this car accident personal injury case the claim for past loss of earning capacity was dismissed as speculative. Even though the trial judge used the wrong and higher standard of balance of probability, the Court of Appeal still dismissed the appeal. (Rousta v. MacKay,2018 BCCA 29). The ICBC claimant was driving on Taylor Way…

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First Injury Case of 2018 Applies Possibility Test to Past Losses

In this important and first Supreme Court personal injury case of 2018 the court accepts that a claim for past loss of earning capacity involves a consideration of hypothetical events. Therefore an ICBC injury claimant is not required to prove these hypothetical events on a balance of probabilities when claiming loss of past opportunity to earn.(De Groot…

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Nurse Awarded $450,000 for Future Income Loss

This injury claimant was involved in 2 car accidents. In the first she was rear-ended by a cement truck. In the second accident she was in Victoria, on her way to the airport, when the taxi she was in was struck on the side by a minivan driven.(Lauriente v. Schoonhoven,2017 BCSC 2246) The claimant worked as an emergency…

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Claiming Loss of Future Income in Personal Injury Cases

In this personal injury case study the issue of greatest disagreement was the appropriate award for future loss of earnings or loss of income-earning capacity. The ICBC claimant, 42 years old at trial, was involved in a motor vehicle accident in the city of Maple Ridge, British Columbia. The claimant was driving about 10 km an…

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Lower Burden of Proof for Future Events in Personal Injury Cases

This case provides an important restatement of the law of evidence regarding the burden of proof in personal injury cases: [110]   The burden of proof of actual past events is a balance of probabilities. An assessment of loss of both past and future earning capacity involves consideration of hypothetical events. The plaintiff is not…

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Large Award for Minor Car Accident due to Medical Condition

This car accident claimant with born with spina bifida, scoliosis and kyphosis. When she was three she had her fibula taken from her left leg and fused into her spine. All her life, she has suffered pain, primarily from the kyphosis. However, she has always managed that pain (Cantwell v. Warren, 2017 BCSC 856). The car accident…

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