Settlement of less than 10% approved by Court of Appeal.
On November 29 2018, BC Court of Appeal approved the settlement of a claim which was potentially worth more than $400,000.00, for the all inclusive sum of 35,000.00. In Deo v. Vancouver, 2018 BCCA 464, a child suffered serious injuries at school, leaving him partially blind. He sued for damages and was largely unsuccessful on proving liability at trial. The child’s lawyer valued the claim at over $400,000, but before the liability appeals could be heard a settlement of $35,000 was reached. The child, being a minor, could not legally agree to any settlement and judicial approval...
read moreUse social media at your peril.
On June 7, 2016, a judge of the BC Supreme Court rejected claimed damages in a personal injury lawsuit due, in part, to concerns about the plaintiff’s credibility arising out of Facebook photos entered as evidence at trial. In Brennan v. Colinders, 2016 BCSC 1026, the plaintiff was involved in a 2012 motor vehicle accident for which the defendants admitted fault. The plaintiff claimed that the accident caused chronic problems which continued up to the time of trial. The judge rejected this claim, finding that the collision-related injuries had resolved. In awarding $20,000 in non-pecuniary...
read more$90,000 damages for chronic neck and back pain.
On March 30, 2016, the BC Supreme Court assessed damages for chronic soft tissue injuries suffered in two motor vehicle accidents (“MVAs”). In Niijar v. Hill the plaintiff was involved in two MVAs, the first in 2010 the second in 2012. The defendants admitted liability for both accidents. As a result of one or both of the accidents, the plaintiff suffered from chronic neck and back soft tissue injuries which continued to the time of trial and were expected to continue into the future. The Court assessed non-pecuniary damages at $90,000, but reduced this amount by 15% on the...
read moreCFL concussion case fails for lack of jurisdiction.
On March 11, 2016, the Chief Justice of the BC Supreme Court dismissed a case brought by a former BC Lions football for concussion related injuries, on the basis of wording in the league and player’s collective bargaining agreement. In Bruce v. Cohon, 2016 BCSC 491, the plaintiff, who played professional football with the CFL from 2001 – 2014, sued the league and its individual teams alleging that his career led to multiple concussions and sub-concussive injuries and he was negligently allowed to continue playing while displaying these symptoms. The defendants argued that the Court had no...
read moreTrial adjourned due to uncertain prognosis.
On February 16, 2016, the BC Supreme Court granted an application to adjourn a personal injury trial in the face of uncertain medical evidence about the plaintiff’s prognosis. In Gee v. Basra, 2016 BCSC 427, the plaintiff was injured in a 2011 motor vehicle accident for which the defendant admitted liability. The plaintiff suffered chronic headaches and the her physician was uncertain as to her prognosis, noting that a course of Botox injections may prove helpful, stating that: Jodene [the plaintiff] is now four years post injury and has fully participated in the range of therapy...
read moreIf causes are not “divisible” damages will flow.
Ms. K. suffered whiplash type injuries in a 2007 car accident. Her pain became chronic and she became depressed. The consensus of the medical experts at her trial was that “her chronic pain is unlikely to resolve and the focus of her treatment should be on pain management, not cure.” Ms. K. admitted that she had a troubled childhood. also, a few years after her accident she experienced a torn rotator cuff, then shoulder surgery and then a frozen shoulder which were all unrelated to her accident. In K. v. Galasinao, 2015 BSSC 1532, Mr. Justice Blok concluded that “there is a significant...
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