In an understated but significant reduction in the injury award Judge Verhoeven made the following comment about the failure to use antidepressant medication, In this modern age such treatment does not have the stigma it once did, and I find that her refusal to take treatment is unreasonable and the defendant should not have to…
Can ICBC reduce an injury award because you did not attend recommended therapy or treatment for depression or anxiety? We explore the answer in the following injury case review. The claimant was injured in a rear end motor vehicle accident on the Seymour Parkway driving towards Deep Cove in British Columbia. She suffered ongoing chronic pain in her neck, shoulder…
Even if an injury claimant wins at trial in an ICBC injury claim, defendant’s have a right of appeal. In this case even though the defendant lost at trial they alleged that the trial judge was wrong and should have blamed the claimant for her own injuries (failure to mitigate) and should have drawn an adverse…
Our Supreme Court Judges have no power to deal with the rights of employees and the liability of employers when car accident personal injuries are suffered in the course of employment, concludes Judge Burnyeat after an extensive review of the law (Pinch v. Hofstee,2015 BCSC 1888). The claimant was injured in two motor vehicle accidents ( MVA#1 and…
In this whiplash soft tissue injury case the claimant was injured in three motor vehicle accidents and fault had been admitted by the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia ICBC (Gupta v. ICBC et al, 2015 BCSC 608). The judge however awarded the claimant $45,000 for pain and suffering but reduced it to $30,000 stating: [the claimant] has…
Personal injury lawyers in Vancouver and the rest of BC need to consider taking a new approach to making allegations of injury. Overstating injuries in a personal injury lawsuit, as found in this case (Rasmussen v. Blower,2014 BCSC 1697) can lead to a poor outcome. The claimant in this personal injury case was a passenger…
Pain and suffering after a car accident is often claimed by personal injury lawyers for clients but can the award be reduced if the claimant fails to take medical marijuana? The Supreme Court of BC said the injury claimant’s personal injury award should not be reduced for failing to take medical cannabis (Glesby v. MacMillian,2014 BCSC 334).…
In this failure to mitigate personal injury case(Maltese v. Pratap,2014 BCSC 18) the car accident occurred on Hastings Street in Burnaby after the claimant was driving home from a Vancouver Canucks hockey game. Another vehicle failed to stop and struck the passenger side of the claimant’s vehicle in a T-bone fashion. The Claimant suffered neck and lower…
This was an assessment of the costs following the settlement of personal injury litigation. The only issue was the $2,000.00 cost of an MRI of cervical and lumbar spine done privately.(Kumanan v. Achim,2013 BCSC 1867) The injury claimant was in a motor vehicle accident sustained soft tissue injuries. Despite two treating doctors recommending an MRI,…
In this relatively minor personal injury case (Hunter v. Yuan) the claimant, represented by a car accident lawyer, was injured in an accident at the intersection of Berwicke Street and 3rd in North Vancouver, British Columbia. The injury claimant was waiting in line to turn left at the intersection and the light changed from green to…
“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.”