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…
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…
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…
In this personal injury case a very competent young lawyer was tragically rendered less capable overall from earning income from all types of employment due to a falling injury resulting in brain injury. She was awarded $5.1 for her loss of earning capacity (click here for full case 2010 BCSC 1111). The judge found that it was highly…
In this important Court of Appeal decision the court has upheld an award of $85,000 for pain and suffering arising out of a somatic symptom disorder, despite credibility and reliability issues. Also, and more importantly to the personal injury lawyers out there, the Court has dismissed the “higher burden of proof” rhetoric that has been read into…
This was an assessment of the claimant’s losses arising from a motor vehicle accident in Nanaimo. The claimant’s vehicle struck the other vehicle broadside, and he suffered multiple soft-tissue injuries in a very heavy collision. He was a stoic individual that did not like to complain about his injuries, which makes assessment difficult for the court. As…
Helping understand loss of earning capacity claims in BC in today’s personal injury case the claimant was a passenger when a row of cars stopped at a red traffic light. The light turned green and the defendant lifted his foot from the brake of his car, and his car began to roll forward. He did not…
The Honourable Mr. Justice Skolrood in Kweon v. Roy,2016 BCSC 2305 is the source of today’s article about evaluating loss of income in ICBC personal Injury claims. In Kweon the ICBC claimant was awarded $165,000 for Loss of future earning capacity and $175,000 for pain and suffering. The Court of Appeal in Ibbitson v. Cooper, 2012 BCCA 249…
The proper valuation of the loss of future income or earnings is critical to understanding how much an injury case is worth. When making a personal injury claim for future wage loss and loss of earning capacity in British Columbia the following legal principles are relevant: (a) General Duty to Compensate the Claimant To the extent possible,…
Compensation for psychological and psychiatric injury is recoverable in British Columbia for victims of personal injury. The Supreme Court has dealt with psychological and psychiatric factors that overwhelm the physical injuries in numerous personal injury cases. In Agar v. Leonard,2016 BCSC 1430 the court has awarded over $900,000 to the claimant, $110,000 for psychological pain and suffering. The…
“We pride ourselves on our results and our proven track record of success for over 20 years in representing thousands of injury victims throughout all of British Columbia and providing them with complete medical legal care.”