This injury claim first denied based on minor vehicle damage has been overturned by the Court of Appeal. The conclusion that minor car damage means no injury has therefore been debunked by our highest court. In a car accident, just because there is minor car damage does not mean there is no injury. Also, common…
This personal injury claimant was awarded over $700,000 after ICBC failed to take her injuries seriously following six “minimal damage”, also called by ICBC “low velocity”, motor vehicle accidents. ICBC relied on Dr. William Koch, a registered psychologist in B.C. to argue that the claimant had pre-existing psychological disorders not related to the car accidents. Dr. Koch…
In a dramatic turn-around the Court of Appeal has allowed the appeal and set aside the order below dismissing this personal injury case . The car accident was at a very low speed and resulted in only approximately $100 in damage to the bumper of the claimant’s van. The defendant’s car was behind the claimant’s van in…
In this minor damage car accident case ICBC denied the claim but the claimant sought a large award for personal injury damages. ICBC said that the claimant responded to ICBC’s denial of her claim by alleging injuries and losses that were not real or were not caused by the collision. The ICBC accident claim form she completed was not…
This personal injury claimant was found to have exaggerated the extent of her car accident related symptoms and failed to distinguish between her accident-related injuries and the effect on her life by her prior chronic neck and back pain (Ahmadi v. West, 2014 BCSC 2050). The ICBC injury claimant was injured in a motor vehicle accident…
For over 20 years the Insurance Corporation of BC, ICBC, has denied injury claims when there is minimal damage to the vehicles. When I started as a personal injury lawyer in Vancouver in the mid 1990’s this program was referred to as ICBC’s Minimal no Damage or No bash no Cash policy. The modern Low Velocity…
The amount personal injury lawyers can charge for a legal fee is regulated by the Law Society of British Columbia and lawyers are not free to charge whatever they want. Whether the lawyer decides to charge by the hour or based on a percentage, called a contingency fee, a lawyer cannot charge an amount that is…
Gignac v. Rozylo, 2010 BCSC 595 This was an ICBC personal injury claim resulting from a relatively minor car accident. The injury claimant testified that he was in a line of traffic waiting for the change of a traffic signal and the other vehicle plowed into the rear of his car. His car suddenly lurched forward…