04 May, 2016

Credibility of the Plaintiff is Important

Credibility of the Plaintiff in personal injury actions is very important. In order to assess the appropriate level of compensation, the Court often must rely on the subjective evidence of the Plaintiff concerning the areas of injury, the level of...

02 May, 2016

Make Sure You Are Compensated for Your Loss of Future Earning Capacity

If there is a reasonable offer of settlement, it is often advisable to accept the offer rather than proceed to trial, since trials can be an uncertain and expensive process. However, there are situations where the Plaintiff and Defendant have...

29 April, 2016

Hard-Working Immigrant Injured in Motor Vehicle Accident

In the recent case of Manoharan v. Kaur, 2016 BCSC 692, the Plaintiff, a 47 year old immigrant from India was injured in a motor vehicle accident. At the time of the accident, the Plaintiff was working at an accounting firm....

27 April, 2016

Mitigating Your Losses

Whenever a plaintiff suffers injury due to the negligence of another person, they have a duty to take reasonable steps to get better and reduce the damages payable by the defendant. The defendant is not liable to pay the plaintiff...

26 April, 2016

ICBC Ordered to Pay Double Costs in Arsenovski Case

You may have seen the recent news report where ICBC was ordered to pay almost $400,000 in damages to a plaintiff that the corporation had falsely accused of fraud. http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/icbc-malicious-prosecution-1.3473693 In a follow-up judgement, Madam Justice Griffin has ordered ICBC to...

22 April, 2016

Double Costs

Prior to trial, the Plaintiff and Defendant normally exchange settlement offers as part of the negotiation process…and the Court rules encourage early settlement. If the matter proceeds to trial, under the Court rules the successful party is typically entitled to...

21 April, 2016

Low Velocity Impact Collision

Have you been injured in a motor vehicle collision described as “low velocity”? If so, it is important to understand the court’s view of low velocity collisions. It can be quite different than the insurance company’s policy. In Dabu v. Schwab,...

18 April, 2016

Pre-Existing Conditions

How does the Court assess personal injury damages when a plaintiff suffered from pre-existing conditions prior to a motor vehicle collision? A recent case, Matharu v. Gill, 2016 BCSC 624, provides an example. The plaintiff had been diagnosed with inflammatory polyarthritis, osteoporosis,...

14 April, 2016

Two Left-Turning Vehicles Collide – Who is at Fault?

Drivers need to be careful when turning left out of parking lots or driveways onto main roads. Not only do you have to watch for traffic on the road, you also have to mindful of other vehicles trying to enter...

11 April, 2016

Drunk Passenger Grabs Steering Wheel and Causes Accident

In July, 2006, Ms. Felix was at a soccer game with her boyfriend. At the end of the game, the boyfriend was intoxicated and argumentative. Ms. Felix decided it would be best if they left, and she got into the...