Evidence in ICBC personal injury cases dictate the money award as this personal injury claimant lacking evidence (Brown v. Raffan,2013 BCSC 114) case illustrates. Although the claimant was awarded only $35,000.00 after making a claim for over $230,000.00, it appears that ICBC, insuring the at fault driver, took the position that the claimant should only get $10-20,000.00.
The injury claimant was driving a minivan northbound on Wilson Road in Maple Ridge when a pickup truck attempting to pass southbound vehicles hit the minivan. The claimant did not lose consciousness as a result of the accident and was taken to Mission Memorial Hospital and X-rays of her skull, left knee, and cervical spine were all considered normal. Although the claimant alleged to have lost income in the past and earning capacity in the future she adduced no documentary evidence concerning her employment or income. Her ICBC statement about her income was uncorroborated. Judge Verhoeven restated the often cited words of Lord Mansfield in Blatch v. Archer (1774), 1 Cowp. 63, 98 E.R. 969 at p. 970 :
It is certainly a maxim that all evidence is to be weighed according to the proof which it was in the power of one side to have produced, and in the power of the other to have contradicted.
The difficulty the judge had was that much of the evidence of the claimant was not reliable, or was entirely absent. However, the court was not satisfied that the the claimant acted unreasonably by failing to undergo physiotherapy treatment that she could not afford to pay for as alleged. There was evidence that ICBC had not paid for some of her treatment.
In a personal injury cases such as this, the credibility of the claimant’s evidence concerning her injuries and their consequences are obviously central. Unfortunately the judge did not find the injury claimant to be a reliable witness.
For more about this topic watch my short intro video, Evidence in Personal Injury Cases. ICBC cases are hard to win without a lawyer so don’t go without a legal consult.
Posted by Personal Injury Lawyer Mr. Renn A. Holness B.A., LL.B.