BC has a tort system for personal injury claims, including car accident injury claims. A tort system is a legal way of saying that it's an adversarial system.  In other words, you sue the wrong-doers who caused your injuries. Sometimes there may be more than one person at fault for causing injuries.  An example of a car accident scenario where there may be more than one person at fault is a passenger who is hurt in a car accident that is … [Read more...]

Given the higher volume of traffic on Highway 1 (Trans-Canada Highway) and the extensive construction, it's no surprise that there are many car accidents on Highway 1. A common type of car accident on Highway 1 are rear-end style car accidents ... almost always occurring where traffic slows down either due to rush hour (or should I say rush hours) and/or construction delays. Highway 1 car accidents can be severe Frequently the rear-end style … [Read more...]

Part of most ICBC injury claims include the cost for treatment such as chiropractic treatment, physiotherapy, and massage therapy to name a few treatment modalities. Yes, ICBC usually pays for part of the treatment up-front, but not all of it (chiropractic care being an exception where you can opt in to a program where ICBC will pay the full cost for a predetermined duration/number of visits). The portion you pay up-front is called a user … [Read more...]

All personal injury lawsuits in British Columbia don't proceed exactly the same and on the same timeline.  That said, most lawsuits have similar steps along the way.  Here's some of the common steps you could expect when advancing a personal injury claim, including an ICBC claim. The lawsuit process can last anywhere from 12 months to several years - depending on the nature of your injuries, how you were injuries, and your recovery, to name … [Read more...]

Your ICBC claim's worth is based on what you've lost and the amount of harm done to you as a result of your car accident.  Your harms and losses are called damages. Harms and losses form your claim from the time of your accident until as long as you are expected to suffer each particular harm and loss.  The following are the most common harms and losses: pain and suffering and loss of enjoyment of life; loss of past income; loss of … [Read more...]

If you've been in a car accident, or suffered any type of personal injury that may result in a lawsuit, seriously consider deactivating your Facebook and other social networking sites. The best thing to do is deactivate your sites.  Don't delete them (you can't destroy evidence); instead deactivate them so there can be no more activity on them going forward.  This way no "post accident" photos or material can be posted on a site in your … [Read more...]

Short answer: not very private – especially content created after you were injured.  You may be forced to provide some or all your Facebook pages to the other side – even if you have private settings.  In some instances, (factors set out below), you may even be forced to hand over your computer hard drive to the other side. In February 2009 the Superior Court of Justice of Ontario ruled that any Facebook pages “that relate to any … [Read more...]

Most safety features in vehicles recent years were designed to help protect from injury when a car accident happens.  However, thanks to technological advances, some vehicles are being outfitted with features that help avoid a car accident in the first place.  This new generation of safety features is frequently referred to as Intelligent Vehicle Safety Systems (IVSS). The new Volvo XC60 will feature City Safety, Volvo's newest technology … [Read more...]

What if the person who causes your crash in British Columbia doesn't have any or enough insurance through ICBC to pay for your accident's harms and losses? Then you can access the insurance coverage provided through ICBC's Autoplan called underinsured motorist protection, usually referred to as UMP.  Fortunately many British Columbians and motorists/passengers/cyclists/pedestrians in BC automatically have $1 million in UMP coverage.  Some … [Read more...]

Recently ICBC set out the following top 5 things to do after a car crash (source: ICBC’s website – click here to review it).  What follows are our comments on ICBC’s top 5 things to do. 1.    Stop at the scene: If it's safe to do so and you aren't injured, pull over to the side of the road so you don’t block traffic and can safely exchange information with the other parties. If you can't get to a safe area to get out of your … [Read more...]