Delay not always a bar to a disability claim.
On September 21, 2015, the Ontario Court of Appeal upheld a lower court’s decision to grant relief from forfeiture in Dube v. RBC Life Insurance Company, 2015 ONCA 641. Gregory Dube worked for a Community Housing Corporation in Windsor, Ontario. As a full-time employee, Dube was insured by RBC Life Insurance Co. against the risk of suffering a long-term disability. The RBC policy required claimants to submit proof of their claim to RBC within 90 days from the start of their disability, but granted an extra year to submit proof of the claim if they could not do so within 90 days. On May...
read moreICBC punished for fraud allegation.
On September 18, 2015, a judge of the BC Supreme Court found that that unproven allegations of fraud can be used as a factor to minimize a successful party’s costs entitlement after beating a formal offer. In Gupta v. Doe the plaintiff was involved in three separate collisions and sued for damages. At trial the plaintiff was awarded just over $43,000. Priro to trial ICBC made several formal offers, the first at $90,000 and the last at $164,000. Having beaten their formal offer by a considerable margin ICBC asked for post offer costs. The Court agreed that ICBC was entitled to post offer...
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...
read moreSimple assertion of contemplated litigation doesn’t cut it.
On August 6, 2015, the BC Supreme Court effectively dismantled an ICBC claim for litigation privilege in Buettner v. Gatto. The plaintiff in that case was injured in a collision and advanced a claim for damages. The plaintiff retained counsel. Liability was initially admitted and then denied by ICBC. The plaintiff brought an application for production of various relevant documents and ICBC refused disclosure on the grounds that litigation was reasonably contemplated once the plaintiff retained counsel. The Court rejected this finding this position was based on little more than a bare...
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