July 28, 2011- New Civil Rules of Court came into effect July 1st, 2010 and court registries have set new protocols on how the Rules work for personal injury lawsuit. The court registry is now a little more predictable. For example, back in July, 2010 I went to obtain dates for trial and dates for a judge led conference for an injury claim but the registry requested that we book the trial date first and the judge led conference closer to the date of the trial if the case does not settle. This is how we did it prior to July 1, 2010, and it seemed to work. However, the new rules allow the case planning conferences to be set before the trial date is confirmed.
As personal injury lawyers in British Columbia change the way they file lawsuits for car accident victims many unrepresented car crash claimants will be left unaware of the changes and what it means for their injury claims. The Ministry of the Attorney General says these changes are meant to make the civil and family justice systems more responsive, accessible and efficient. However, if you were an injury claimant filing a lawsuit without a lawyer how would you complete the portion of the new Notice of Civil Claim that requires you to state the legal basis of your claim? Most claimants unfamiliar with the Negligence Act, Motor Vehicle Act and the like may just say, “the laws of Canada!” when asked to state the legal basis of their claim. Many community groups are not convinced that these changes will help injury claimants.
Now, more than ever, every injury victim in British Columbia should speak to a lawyer before filing a lawsuit. Posted by Mr. Renn A. Holness
Issue: Are the new rules really designed to make the justice system more responsive, accessible and efficient for personal injury claimants?
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