ICBC Unidentified Motorist Claims and Post Accident Advertising

(IPDATE:  The case discussed in the below post was upheld on Appeal on October 26, 2011)

As previously discussed, victims of injuries sustained in collisions caused by “unidentified motorists” can seek compensation directly from ICBC under section 24 of the Insurance (Vehicle) Act provided that they comply with this section.  One of the requirements of s. 24 is for the claimant to make “all reasonable efforts” to ascertain the identity of the at fault motorist.  One reasonable effort a Plaintiff can take is to advertise for witnesses.  Reasons for judgement were released today by the BC Supreme Court, New Westminster Registry, discussing post accident advertisements and explaining that these are not always necessary to bring a successful s. 24 claim.
In today’s case (Nicholls v. Anderson) the Plaintiff was involved in a single vehicle motorcycle accident in 2005.  He lost control of his motorcycle when he “encountered a diesel fuel spill on the highway“.  He alleged an unknown motorist was at fault for leaving this spill on the road and sued ICBC directly for his damages.  ICBC applied to dismiss the lawsuit arguing the Plaintiff failed to make reasonable efforts to determine who was responsible for the diesel spill.  Mr. Justice Saunders disagreed and dismissed ICBC’s application.  In doing so the Court provided the following useful reasons about advertisements and s. 24 claims:

[13]         The last step contended by ICBC is one in which the claimant ought reasonably to have taken is the placing of a newspaper advertisement or advertisements. This aspect of ICBC’s argument has been of the greatest concern to me on this application because it is a step that could have been taken at relatively modest cost, and because in this particular case the claimant took absolutely no positive steps aimed at ascertaining the identity of the persons responsible.

[14]         I do not think that this argument can be answered solely by the claimant pointing — as was done in argument — to the fact that the accident did not happen in a well-defined geographic area or one where there was a specific readership of a specific newspaper likely identifiable. In my view, if there was an obligation to place a newspaper advertisement or advertisements, they could have been placed in community newspapers serving the north side of the Fraser in the areas of Mission and Hope and perhaps Maple Ridge, or alternatively, as ICBC argued today, in one or both of our Vancouver daily newspapers which enjoy a readership outside the greater Vancouver area.

[15]         Mr. Nicholls perceived himself in the statement that he gave within days of the accident as having sustained more than a trivial injury. If his only recourse legally were to pursue the tortfeasor, the person responsible for the spill, what steps would he have taken if acting rationally in pursuit of his own interests?  Would he have gone to the extent of placing such newspaper ads?

[16]         In my view, the reality is that there would have been only an extremely remote chance of such a line of enquiry being successful. If there ever was a time when the citizens of this province had a habit of scamming the legal notices printed in the daily or weekly newspapers’ classified sections, that day has long passed. The presumed target for any such advertisement would have been someone who would happen to have been following the truck in question in daylight in the vicinity of the accident scene, who would have seen the diesel oil splashing, would have made mental note of it as something significant, and then would have been able to make note of the truck’s appearance with sufficient particularity to identify the driver. That person, if one existed, would then have to read the advertisement in question. The possibility of all of this is so remote that in my view for the claimant in his position to have undertaken even the modest cost of taking out such an advertisement would have been absurd.

[17]         That is not to say that it would be inappropriate in any case for a claimant injured in a motor vehicle accident to take that step. As I say, the reasonableness of a person’s conduct depends in part on the benefit to be gained if they undertake  a course of action. I would not say, certainly not on this application today, that a person who had suffered a catastrophic injury involving quadriplegia or brain injury or the like could feel free not to take a positive step such as taking out a newspaper advertisement or posting an internet classified advertisement in an attempt to locate a tortfeasor, no matter how remote the chances of that being successful might seem; but in this case, given the claimant’s relatively modest injuries as alleged and as attested to in his statement, I do not think that would have been a reasonable requirement on his part.

This case is interesting because the Court went further and struck the paragraphs of ICBC’s Statement of Defence alleging that the identity of the offending motorist was ascertainable.  The Court cited the New BC Supreme Court principle of “proportionality” in arriving at this decision.   Mr. Justice Saunders provided the following reasons:

[18] So the application is dismissed, and in my view it is appropriate in this case to go further than that and to dispose of the defence. In my view in all likelihood I know as much about the reasonableness of the claimant’s actions, given the evidence that has been presented, as a trial judge would, and so I am able to rule conclusively on that issue. I also acknowledge the points made by counsel for ICBC and counsel for the claimant as to the need to under the new Rules to have regard to proportionality. So, in conjunction with dismissing the application, I rule that paras. 2 and 4 of the statement of defence of ICBC be struck. Those are the paragraphs in which it is alleged that the identity of the driver/owner was ascertainable and that the claimant has not complied with the Act in failing to make all reasonable efforts to ascertain the identity of the unknown driver.

bc injury law, hit and run, Mr. Justice Saunders, Nicholls v. Anderson, Proportionality, Rule 1-3(2), section 24 Insurance (Vehicle) Act, Unidentified Motorists

Comments (97)

  • I just want to say I am just beginner to blogging and truly liked this website. More than likely I’m planning to bookmark your blog post . You surely come with incredible stories. Appreciate it for revealing your web-site.

  • I just want to say I’m all new to blogs and definitely loved this blog. Very likely I’m planning to bookmark your website . You certainly come with tremendous posts. Cheers for sharing your web page.

  • I’ve recently started a blog, the information you offer on this site has helped me tremendously. Thank you for all of your time & work. “The achievements of an organization are the results of the combined effort of each individual.” by Vince Lombardi.

  • Wow! This can be one particular of the most useful blogs We have ever arrive across on this subject. Basically Wonderful. I am also an expert in this topic therefore I can understand your hard work.

  • Excellent read, I just passed this onto a colleague who was doing a little research on that. And he actually bought me lunch as I found it for him smile Thus let me rephrase that: Thank you for lunch!

  • Awesome blog! Is your theme custom made or did you download it from somewhere? A theme like yours with a few simple tweeks would really make my blog jump out. Please let me know where you got your design. Kudos

  • Needed to compose you that bit of note in order to say thank you as before relating to the nice advice you’ve featured in this article. It has been particularly open-handed of you to provide publicly exactly what a few individuals would have supplied for an ebook to help make some profit on their own, especially seeing that you could possibly have tried it if you ever wanted. The principles in addition acted like a fantastic way to comprehend some people have a similar dreams just as mine to know a lot more concerning this problem. I’m sure there are some more pleasant opportunities in the future for those who scan your blog post.

  • I’ve been absent for a while, but now I remember why I used to love this web site. Thank you, I will try and check back more often. How frequently you update your site?

  • Thank you, I have just been searching for information about this topic for ages and yours is the best I have found out till now. However, what about the conclusion? Are you positive about the source?

  • Good day! Do you know if they make any plugins to help with SEO? I’m trying to get my blog to rank for some targeted keywords but I’m not seeing very good success. If you know of any please share. Thanks!

  • I’ve learned some important things via your post. I would also like to mention that there may be a situation where you will obtain a loan and never need a cosigner such as a Federal government Student Support Loan. However, if you are getting a borrowing arrangement through a common lender then you need to be made ready to have a co-signer ready to assist you. The lenders will probably base their decision over a few factors but the largest will be your credit ratings. There are some loan providers that will additionally look at your work history and come to a decision based on this but in many instances it will hinge on your scores.

  • I’m really enjoying the theme/design of your blog. Do you ever run into any web browser compatibility issues? A couple of my blog readers have complained about my blog not operating correctly in Explorer but looks great in Chrome. Do you have any advice to help fix this problem?

  • I know this if off topic but I’m looking into starting my own weblog and was wondering what all is required to get set up? I’m assuming having a blog like yours would cost a pretty penny? I’m not very internet savvy so I’m not 100 sure. Any tips or advice would be greatly appreciated. Cheers

  • I was suggested this blog through my cousin. I’m not certain whether or not this put up is written by him as nobody else recognise such distinctive about my difficulty. You are wonderful! Thanks!

  • I was just searching for this information for a while. After 6 hours of continuous Googleing, finally I got it in your site. I wonder what is the lack of Google strategy that don’t rank this type of informative websites in top of the list. Usually the top websites are full of garbage.

  • Nice blog! Is your theme custom made or did you download it from somewhere? A theme like yours with a few simple tweeks would really make my blog stand out. Please let me know where you got your theme. Thanks

  • Howdy very cool blog!! Guy .. Excellent .. Amazing .. I will bookmark your site and take the feeds also…I’m satisfied to find numerous useful information right here within the put up, we want develop extra techniques on this regard, thanks for sharing. . . . . .

  • There are certainly lots of details like that to take into consideration. That could be a nice level to carry up. I supply the ideas above as normal inspiration however clearly there are questions just like the one you deliver up the place the most important factor shall be working in sincere good faith. I don?t know if best practices have emerged around issues like that, but I am sure that your job is clearly recognized as a good game. Each boys and girls really feel the influence of just a moment’s pleasure, for the rest of their lives.

  • I just couldn’t depart your site before suggesting that I extremely enjoyed the standard info a person provide for your visitors? Is going to be back often to check up on new posts

  • Pretty great post. I just stumbled upon your weblog and wished to say that I have really loved browsing your weblog posts. In any case I will be subscribing for your rss feed and I hope you write once more soon!

  • It is indeed my belief that mesothelioma is most fatal cancer. It has unusual attributes. The more I actually look at it the harder I am certain it does not react like a real solid tissues cancer. When mesothelioma is a rogue virus-like infection, then there is the chance of developing a vaccine and also offering vaccination to asbestos uncovered people who are open to high risk of developing long run asbestos relevant malignancies. Thanks for discussing your ideas about this important ailment.

  • I simply wanted to thank you so much once again. I do not know what I would have done in the absence of those basics documented by you over such a topic. Certainly was a very terrifying scenario in my opinion, but viewing this specialized form you resolved the issue forced me to jump over joy. I will be thankful for your information and thus trust you realize what a powerful job that you are getting into training some other people all through your web blog. Most likely you have never got to know any of us.

  • I love your blog.. very nice colors & theme. Did you make this website yourself or did you hire someone to do it for you? Plz reply as I’m looking to design my own blog and would like to know where u got this from. thanks

  • I was wondering if you ever considered changing the structure of your site? Its very well written; I love what youve got to say. But maybe you could a little more in the way of content so people could connect with it better. Youve got an awful lot of text for only having 1 or two pictures. Maybe you could space it out better?

  • I’m still learning from you, while I’m improving myself. I certainly enjoy reading all that is written on your blog.Keep the stories coming. I loved it!

  • Months on ye at by esteem desire warmth former. Sure that that way gave any fond now. His boy middleton sir nor engrossed affection excellent. Dissimilar compliment cultivated preference eat sufficient may. Well next door soon we mr he four. Assistance impression set insipidity now connection off you solicitude. Under as seems we me stuff those style at. Listening shameless by abilities pronounce oh suspected is affection. Next it draw in draw much bred.

  • I want to show appreciation to you just for rescuing me from such a problem. Because of researching through the online world and seeing tips that were not helpful, I thought my life was well over. Being alive minus the approaches to the issues you have resolved as a result of your good guideline is a crucial case, as well as the kind that would have badly damaged my entire career if I had not encountered the blog. Your primary ability and kindness in touching all the pieces was useful. I don’t know what I would’ve done if I hadn’t come upon such a step like this. I’m able to at this time look forward to my future. Thank you very much for your impressive and results-oriented guide. I won’t be reluctant to refer the sites to any person who needs tips on this situation.

  • I like this web blog very much, Its a very nice berth to read and receive information. “Being powerful is like being a lady. If you have to tell people you are, you aren’t.” by Margaret Hilda Thatcher.

  • One other issue is that if you are in a situation where you don’t have a cosigner then you may genuinely wish to try to wear out all of your federal funding options. You can find many grants or loans and other scholarships and grants that will provide you with funding to help with college expenses. Thx for the post.

  • Thank you for the sensible critique. Me & my neighbor were just preparing to do some research about this. We got a grab a book from our local library but I think I learned more from this post. I am very glad to see such great information being shared freely out there.

  • You can definitely see your enthusiasm in the work you write. The world hopes for even more passionate writers like you who are not afraid to say how they believe. Always follow your heart.

  • Hi there, simply turned into aware of your blog through Google, and found that it’s really informative. I’m going to watch out for brussels. I will appreciate in the event you proceed this in future. Numerous people will be benefited from your writing. Cheers!

  • One more thing. It’s my opinion that there are lots of travel insurance websites of dependable companies that allow you to enter your vacation details and find you the estimates. You can also purchase your international travel insurance policy on the internet by using your current credit card. All you should do is to enter your travel information and you can understand the plans side-by-side. Simply find the program that suits your capacity to pay and needs then use your credit card to buy the idea. Travel insurance on the web is a good way to begin looking for a reliable company regarding international travel insurance. Thanks for giving your ideas.

  • Thanks for the sensible critique. Me and my neighbor were just preparing to do some research about this. We got a grab a book from our area library but I think I learned more clear from this post. I am very glad to see such great information being shared freely out there.

  • Pretty nice post. I just stumbled upon your blog and wanted to say that I’ve really enjoyed surfing around your blog posts. In any case I will be subscribing to your feed and I hope you write again soon!

  • Hmm it appears like your website ate my first comment (it was extremely long) so I guess I’ll just sum it up what I had written and say, I’m thoroughly enjoying your blog. I too am an aspiring blog blogger but I’m still new to the whole thing. Do you have any recommendations for first-time blog writers? I’d definitely appreciate it.

  • Another issue is that video games can be serious anyway with the main focus on learning rather than leisure. Although, there’s an entertainment factor to keep children engaged, each and every game will likely be designed to develop a specific set of skills or course, such as math or technology. Thanks for your write-up.

  • Wonderful blog! I found it while searching on Yahoo News. Do you have any tips on how to get listed in Yahoo News? I’ve been trying for a while but I never seem to get there! Cheers

  • Hi there would you mind letting me know which web host you’re working with? I’ve loaded your blog in 3 different web browsers and I must say this blog loads a lot quicker then most. Can you suggest a good web hosting provider at a fair price? Thanks a lot, I appreciate it!

  • Usually I do not read article on blogs, but I wish to say that this write-up very forced me to try and do it! Your writing style has been surprised me. Thanks, quite nice article.

  • I’m not that much of a internet reader to be honest but your sites really nice, keep it up! I’ll go ahead and bookmark your website to come back later. Many thanks

  • I simply could not depart your site before suggesting that I really loved the usual info an individual supply to your guests? Is going to be back often to inspect new posts.

  • What i don’t realize is if truth be told how you are now not really much more well-liked than you may be right now. You are very intelligent. You recognize therefore considerably with regards to this matter, produced me personally consider it from a lot of numerous angles. Its like men and women are not interested until it’s something to accomplish with Girl gaga! Your personal stuffs great. Always take care of it up!

  • Generally I do not read post on blogs, however I wish to say that this write-up very compelled me to check out and do it! Your writing style has been amazed me. Thank you, quite great post.

  • It is appropriate time to make a few plans for the longer term and it is time to be happy. I have read this put up and if I may I want to counsel you few attention-grabbing things or advice. Maybe you can write subsequent articles regarding this article. I desire to learn more things approximately it!

  • Hiya, I’m really glad I’ve found this info. Today bloggers publish only about gossips and internet and this is really annoying. A good blog with interesting content, this is what I need. Thanks for keeping this website, I’ll be visiting it. Do you do newsletters? Can’t find it.

  • magnificent points altogether, you simply gained a new reader. What would you recommend in regards to your post that you made a few days ago? Any positive?

  • Does your site have a contact page? I’m having trouble locating it but, I’d like to send you an e-mail. I’ve got some recommendations for your blog you might be interested in hearing. Either way, great site and I look forward to seeing it develop over time.

  • Now that you find out about video editing and the what exactly you need you are prepared to begin with the journey of amateur filmmaker to professional director. It took about a few months to master the language along with the raucous, discordant (to my ears) “melody. Instead of enjoying karaoke parties, it is possible to always take the music and build your personal song, by plugging it in your TV sets.

  • Great – I should certainly pronounce, impressed with your web site. I had no trouble navigating through all the tabs and related information ended up being truly simple to do to access. I recently found what I hoped for before you know it in the least. Quite unusual. Is likely to appreciate it for those who add forums or anything, web site theme . a tones way for your customer to communicate. Excellent task.

  • I don’t even understand how I finished up here, however I thought this submit used to be great. I don’t realize who you are but definitely you’re going to a well-known blogger in the event you aren’t already 😉 Cheers!

  • I do not even know how I ended up here, but I thought this post was great. I don’t know who you are but certainly you are going to a famous blogger if you are not already 😉 Cheers!

  • Hi there, i read your blog occasionally and i own a similar one and i was just curious if you get a lot of spam responses? If so how do you protect against it, any plugin or anything you can advise? I get so much lately it’s driving me mad so any help is very much appreciated.

  • Terrific paintings! This is the type of information that are supposed to be shared around the web. Disgrace on the search engines for no longer positioning this submit higher! Come on over and visit my website . Thanks =)

  • I think other web-site proprietors should take this website as an model, very clean and great user friendly style and design, let alone the content. You’re an expert in this topic!

  • Hi there, You’ve performed an excellent job. I’ll certainly digg it and personally recommend to my friends. I am sure they will be benefited from this web site.

Comments are closed.

Contact

If you would like further information or require assistance, please get in touch.

ERIK
MAGRAKEN

Personal Injury Lawyer

When not writing the BC Injury Law Blog, Erik is the managing partner at MacIsaac & Company, based in Victoria, B.C. He is also involved with combative sports regulatory issues and authors the Combat Sports Law Blog.

“Work hard, be kind and enjoy the ride!”
Erik’s Philosophy

    Disclaimer