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The Problem With Losing An ICBC Injury Claim at Trial
When Plaintiffs have their injury claim dismissed in the BC Supreme Court, not only do they get nothing to compensate them for their injuries, they actually end up having to pay the Defendant money.  How can this be?  The reason is something called “costs“.  Generally speaking, the loser has to pay the winner’s Court costs and disbursements.
So how much money are we talking about here? Â The answer is thousands, sometimes tens of thousands, sometimes even over one hundred thousand dollars. Â Reasons for judgement were released this week by the BC Supreme Court, New Westminster Registry, demonstrating this.
In this week’s case (Pearlman v. Atlantic Trading Company Ltd.) the Plaintiff was involved in a motor vehicle collision in 2004. Â He sued the party he claimed was responsible for his injuries. Â He also sued ICBC alleging that ICBC “had requested a medical report from his family doctor whose authorization to provide the report had been revoked by the Plaintiff.”.
A jury dismissed the Plaintiff’s first claim and a Judge dismissed the Plaintiff’s second claim. Â ICBC was awarded their Court costs. Â The BC Supreme Court assessed these at $66,000 for the two claims combined. Â Â The Plaintiff then appealed these costs awards. Â Â Madam Justice Gropper dismissed the Plaintiff’s appeals and upheld the awards.
While this case does not contain any unique or novel principles of law, it is worth reviewing because it demonstrates the stark realty that people can pay a very high price if they are on the losing end of an ICBC claim in the BC Supreme Court.
If you are interested in more information on costs consequences in BC Supreme Court injury lawsuits you can click here to read my archived posts on this topic.
Tags: costs, costs consequences, Madam Justice Gropper, Pearlman v. Atlantic Trading Company Ltd.
This site is created by MacIsaac & Company, a British Columbia Personal Injury Lawfirm. This website is not affiliated in any way with the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia (ICBC).This web site is made possible through funding provided by the British Columbia law firm MacIsaac and Company. bc-injury-law.com is designed to empower individuals to better understand their ICBC Claim and the process involved in dealing with ICBC. This web site is offered for information only and is not claim-specific legal advice. Use of the site and sending or receiving information through it does not establish a solicitor / client relationship. Links to and from this website do not state or imply a relationship between MacIsaac and Company and the linked entity.
November 12th, 2010 at 8:13 am
[…] As previously discussed, when Plaintiffs lose a lawsuit in the BC Supreme Court the Defendants are typically each entitled to recover their ‘costs‘. Â For this reason Plaintiffs need to take care in selecting the Defendants to their lawsuit. Â The same principle holds true for Defendants who don’t accept blame for their actions and unsuccessfully try to pass the buck by dragging a ‘Third Party’ into a lawsuit. Â Reasons for judgement were released this week by the BC Supreme Court, Vernon Registry, demonstrating this general principle. […]
January 19th, 2011 at 8:19 am
[…] I’ve written many times about the significant costs a party can be exposed to for being on the losing end of a BC Supreme Court lawsuit. Â Reasons for judgement were released today further demonstrating this reality under the New BC Supreme Court Rules. […]