01 July, 2016

Multiple Accidents

When a party is involved in more than one motor vehicle accident, the question to be determined is whether and to what extent each of the accidents caused or contributed to the pain suffered by the injured party. In the case...

29 June, 2016

Mitigating Your Losses

If you are involved in a motor vehicle accident and you don’t do everything you can to mitigate your losses, ICBC may try to argue that your damages should be reduced as a result. In Biefeld v. Neetz, 2016 BCSC 689, the...

27 June, 2016

Defendant is a Novice “N” Driver

What are some of the issues a Court looks at when the motor vehicle accident is caused by a novice driver? The case of Nahal v. Ram, 2016 BCSC 39, involved a novice driver involved in a single vehicle accident. The Plaintiff...

24 June, 2016

Plaintiff Has Complex Pre-Collision History

No-one’s life is perfect, but some people do have more difficulties in their lives than others. Even if a person’s life is complicated before their accident, those difficulties may not prevent them from making a successful personal injury claim. In Birkich...

22 June, 2016

Who is Responsible If You Slip and Fall?

When a person slips and falls, it’s not unusual to want to place the blame on the owner or occupier of the premises where you slipped. Whether or not an owner/occupier will be responsible for your injury depends on whether...

20 June, 2016

Lay Witnesses are Very Important

We cannot stress enough how helpful friends and family can be to your personal injury case. If their testimony corroborates yours, it can have a significant impact on the outcome of your case. In Olson v. Yelland, 2016 BCSC 216, the Plaintiff...

17 June, 2016

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

In the case of Shongu v. Jing, 2016 BCSC 901, the Plaintiff, Mr. Shongu, was injured in a motor vehicle accident which caused his prior post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) to resurface, leaving him severely disabled. By all accounts the Plaintiff had had...

15 June, 2016

Driving Without the Vehicle Owner’s Consent

The recent decision of Schoenhalz v. ICBC, 2016 BCSC 661, considered the issue of whether the Plaintiff, who was a passenger in a vehicle, knew or ought to have known that the driver did not have the vehicle owner’s permission to...

13 June, 2016

The Danger of Representing Yourself at a Personal Injury Trial

The recent decision of Mather v. MacDonald, 2016 BCSC 948, is an example of the difficulties that can arise when individuals represent themselves at personal injury trials. In this case, the Plaintiff’s lack of familiarity with the process meant that his...

10 June, 2016

ICBC Disability Benefits

In Symons v. Insurance Corporation of British Columbia, 2016 BCCA 207, the Court of Appeal upheld the judge’s interpretation of the legislation governing ICBC disability benefits. ICBC disability benefits provide partial wage replacement to those unable to work following a collision. ...