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Search Results for “responsive

Justice Harris Discourages Deposition Evidence Absent "Pressing Reasons"

Rule 7-8(1) of the BC Supreme Court Rules allows parties to a lawsuit to, by consent, record evidence of witnesses prior to trial by way of Deposition.  Deposition evidence can then be admitted at trial as authorized by Rule 12-5(40). When evidence is taken prior to trial it is accompanied by certain shortcomings as compared […]

Caselaw Update: Independent Medical Exams and Responding Reports

As previously discussed, Rule 11-6(3) of the new BC Supreme Court Civil Rules requires expert reports to be served 84 days prior to trial.  Rule 11-6(4) requires “responding” reports to be served at least 42 days prior to trial.  The issue of whether a Defendant is able to force a plaintiff to attend an “independent medical […]

Another Judicial Rejection of ICBC's "Low Velocity Impact" Defence

I’ve written numerous times that ICBC’s Low Velocity Impact Defence (“LVI”) is not a legal principle.  A defence based on this principle was rejected yet again in reasons for judgement released today by the BC Supreme Court, Vancouver Registry, In today’s case (Hunter v. Yuan) the Plaintiff’s vehicle was rear-ended by a taxi driven by […]

BC Court of Appeal Clarifies Law of Hearsay Evidence in Expert Reports

Expert reports often contain hearsay evidence.  This is especially true in personal injury cases where expert witnesses review pages upon pages of clinical notes of other physicians in arriving at their opinions.  Today the BC Court of Appeal released useful reasons for judgement confirming that hearsay evidence does not render an expert report inadmissible.  The […]

Defendant Punished With Costs Award for Relying on "Advocate" Expert Witness

Dr. Hymie Davis is a psychiatrist who has been frequently retained by ICBC to provide expert opinions as to the extent of Plaintiff’s accident related injuries.  (You can click here to access my previous posts setting out the billings of Dr. Davis and other experts often retained by ICBC).  In a judgement released last week, […]

More on ICBC Injury Claims and Plaintiff Credibility

As I’ve previously written, Plaintiff credibility plays an important role in most personal injury lawsuits.  This is particularly true in soft tissue injury cases.  Reasons for judgement were released today by the BC Supreme Court highlighting the impact that an adverse finding of credibility can have on a claim. In today’s case (Sarowa v. Gill) […]

ICBC Injury Claims and Unfair Settlements – Getting The Adjusters Evidence

Buyer’s Remorse – that’s the feeling of regret people sometimes get after making a big purchase or an important decision.  When people settle their ICBC Injury Claim they sometimes get buyer’s remorse.  They can regret the settlement and wish they could undo it. In most circumstances an ICBC Injury Settlement can’t be set aside after a full […]

BC Injury Claims and the Rule Against "Case Splitting"

When an ICBC or other injury claim goes to trial the Plaintiff needs to prove their case.   In the most basic terms this means that in a tort claim fault needs to be established along with the nature and extent of the accident related injuries and the losses that these have caused.  The Plaintiff […]

BC Supreme Court Addresses Scope of Expert Witness Cross Examination

Reasons for judgement were released today addressing the permissible scope of Cross Examination of an expert witness in a BC Injury Claim. In today’s case (MacEachern v. Rennie) the Defendants called a physician to give expert opinion evidence.  This physician happened to be a treating doctor of the Plaintiff’s prior to her injuries.  While testifying […]