Reducing the risk of bicycle accidents.
Many BC residents are health conscious citizens that embrace cycling. BC continually ranks as the healthiest province in Canada, according to reports by the Conference Board of Canada. Cycling is fun recreation with considerable health benefits and, for some, it is a means of daily commuting. BC has a network of over 300 lane kilometres of bike infrastructure in Vancouver alone. Outside of Vancouver, there are many bike paths as well and some cyclists try out exceptional mountain bike trails through Revelstoke, Whistler, Squamish and Vancouver Island. Unfortunately, cycling comes with...
read moreConduct money rates set Sept. 14, 2015.
The BC Supreme Court has determined the rates a defendant should pay when a plaintiff is compelled to travel to see a defense selected physician. In Nieman v. Joyal, 2015 BCSC 1980, the defendant wished to have the plaintiff examined by an occupational therapist int he course of an injury lawsuit but could not agree on various terms including appropriate conduct money. In finding 50 cents / km is reasonable Master McDiarmid provided the following reasons: [28] A careful reading of Rule 7‑6 reveals that it refers to an order that the person submit to examination by a medical...
read more$800,000 for serious whiplash injury.
On August 28, 2015, the BC Supreme Court awarded nearly $800,000 in damages to a a plaintiff who suffered a serious whiplash injury. In Kanters v Galasinao, 2015 BCSC 1532, the plaintiff Kanters suffered a whiplash injury to her neck following a 2007 motor vehicle accident. Despite having treatment with several chiropractors, massage therapists, physiotherapists, acupuncturists and seeing numerous specialists, the pain persisted. The plaintiff attended an active rehabilitation program and was enrolled in a pain clinic where she was administered nerve blocks. At the time of trial in 2014, the...
read more“Low Velocity Impact” evidence found unhelpful.
On August 12, 2015, the BC Supreme Court considered ICBC’s favourite defence, the “low velocity impact”. In Pitcher v. Brown, 2015 BCSC 1415, the plaintiff was involved in a 2004 collision and sued for damages. The impact was a modest one. The Court rejected much of the plaintiff’s claim following credibility/reliability concerns in her testimony. The Court was equally dismissive of the defence strategy of calling engineering evidence to discuss the modest forces of the collision. The Court concluded, as have many previous judgments, that demonstrating forces are modest...
read moreWorsening prognosis not enough to allow late DME.
On August 7, 2015, a master of the BC Supreme Court ruled that a plaintiff’s failure to recover from injuries is not enough for a defendant to secure a late defence medical exam. In Dzumhur v. Davoody, 2015 BCSC 1656, the plaintiff was injured in a a collision and sued for damages. In the course of the lawsuit the plaintiff served an expert report opining that the plaintiff ought to recover provided the injuries are responsive to recommended treatments. The defendant did not obtain a defence medical report and as the deadline approached for exchanging expert evidence the plaintiff served an...
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