Tag: Mr. Justice Johnston

Lack of Business Records Negativley Impacts Diminished Earning Capacity Claim

Written by admin on September 19, 2013. Posted in ICBC Wage Loss. 53 Comments on Lack of Business Records Negativley Impacts Diminished Earning Capacity Claim

When a self employed individual fails t properly account their business income and expenses this can create difficulties in advancing a claim for diminished earning capacity. Reasons for judgemetne were released this week by the BC Supreme Court, Victoria Registry, demonstrating this.
In this week’s case (Musgrove v. Elliot) the Plaintiff was involved in two collisions. The Defendants admitted liability. THe Plaintiff sustained vaiours injuries which were still symptomatic at the time of trial. He was self employed as a builder of residential decks and fences. The Plaintiff’s injuries negatively affected him at work such that he had to rely more heavily on subcontractors and labourers to do work he otherwise would have done himself. The Court accepted this, however, awarded only a fraction of the damages the plaintiff was seeking for these losses based on the Plaintiff’s lack of corroborating records. In doing so Mr. Justice Johnston provided the following reasons:
[56]         In late 2007 Mr. Musgrove moved to the Victoria area and began to establish himself in his own business as a fence and deck builder. He had perhaps 10 months to build that business before the first of his two accidents, and in that time he kept lamentably few records of his earnings or expenses.
[57]         There is thus little reliable evidence of what Mr. Musgrove actually earned before the first accident, and evidence of actual earnings is usually the most reliable basis on which to assess damages for income losses claimed as a result of an accident.
[58]         Mr. Musgrove’s poor record keeping habits continued after the accidents, leaving little upon which to base a confident assessment of what he has earned since the first accident, or what he has paid out to others to do work he says he could and should have been able to do himself but for his injuries…
[72]         I am satisfied that as a result of the injuries he suffered in the accidents, Mr. Musgrove had to hire others to do work that he would have done himself had he not been injured. This represents a loss to Mr. Musgrove for which he should be compensated.
[73]         Mr. Musgrove must accept responsibility for the consequences of his poor or non-existent records. One such consequence may be an award lower than it might have been had he kept proper records. In all of the circumstances, I assess Mr. Musgrove’s loss of earning capacity at $20,000 from the time of the accident to trial.

More on the Reality of Insurance and Costs Consequences Following Trial

Written by admin on March 20, 2012. Posted in BC Supreme Court Costs Cases, BCSC Civil Rule 9, Uncategorized.

Update March 21, 2014 – the Trial Judgement with respect to the relevance of insurance and costs was upheld today by the BC Court of Appeal
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In 2010 the BC Court of Appeal confirmed that Judges can look at insurance when considering the “financial circumstances” of litigants when addressing costs consequences following trials where a formal settlement offer was made. Further reasons were released last week by the BC Supreme Court, Victoria Registry, confirming that costs consequences should not be applied with the ‘fiction‘ of ignoring insurance.
In last week’s case (Meghji v. Lee) the Plaintiff suffered brain trauma after being struck by a motorist while walking in a marked cross-walk in 2003. At trial the motorist was found 90% at fault for the crash with the Ministry of Transportation shouldering the remaining 10% for designing the intersection with inadequate lighting.
Prior to trial the Plaintiff offered to settle for $750,000. Neither Defendant accepted. Damages at trial were assessed at just over $1.1 Million with the Defendants being jointly and severally liable. The Plaintiff sought and was awarded double costs from the time of her offer onward. In doing so Mr. Justice Johnston provided the following useful reasons addressing the reality of insurance and the risks of joint and several liability:

[33]Also relevant to consider is the fact that a well-funded party, such as MoTH, faces higher risk with joint liability when other potentially liable parties have less means or no means with which to satisfy a possible judgment. In such circumstances, the well-heeled party may end up paying more than its proportionate share to the plaintiff if or when the impecunious party exhausts its ability to pay.

[34]This risk is balanced by the potential that the plaintiff might be held partly to blame for her losses, which would confine the well-funded party’s liability to its proportionate share of the loss through several liability: Leischner (Next friend of) v. West Kootenay Power, [1982] B.C.J. No. 1641…

[40]Quite apart from the fact that I am bound by the decision in Smith v. Tedford, its reasoning eliminates one fiction that ought not to complicate proceedings before a judge alone. That fiction is that there is no plan of universal compulsory automobile insurance in effect in British Columbia, mandated by statute, where the details of the coverage available are found in statute and regulation. If judges and others are presumed to know the law, there is little sense in requiring that judges ignore what the law provides when dealing with costs.

Insurance Policy Limits Relevant to Formal Settlement Offer Costs Analysis

Written by admin on February 2, 2012. Posted in BC Supreme Court Costs Cases, BCSC Civil Rule 7, BCSC Civil Rule 9.

In 2010 the BC Court of Appeal found that Judges could consider the existence of insurance when exercising costs discretion following a trial in which a formal settlement offer was made. Last week reasons for judgement were released by the BC Supreme Court, Victoria Registry, expanding on this principle finding that the limits of insurance coverage were equally applicable.
In last week’s case (Meghji v. Lee) the Plaintiff suffered brain trauma after being struck by a motorist while walking in a marked cross-walk in 2003. At trial the motorist was found 90% at fault for the crash with the Ministry of Transportation shouldering the remaining 10% for designing the intersection with inadequate lighting.
Following trial the Plaintiff applied for double costs as the trial result exceeded a pre-trial formal settlement offer she made. The Defendant wished to place information relating to his insurance policy limits before the Court before a costs decision was made. In finding this was appropriate Mr. Justice Johnston provided the following reasons:

[6] Rule 7-1(4) reads:

(4) Despite subrule (3), information concerning the insurance policy must not be disclosed to the court at trial unless it is relevant to an issue in the action.

[7] Subrule (3) requires a party to list in his or her list of documents insurance policies that, generally speaking, might be available to satisfy a judgment in whole or in part should the judgment be entered.

[8] Mr. Lee has responded by arguing that the trial is over (subject, of course, to an application to re-open prior to entry of judgment), and even if the trial is not at an end, his policy limits are now relevant to an issue in the action, being costs. That relevance can fall under one or more of the considerations set out in Rule 9?1(6).

[9] Counsel for the Ministry of Transportation and Highways (MoTH) disagrees as to the relevance of Mr. Lee’s insurance limits.

[10] I have concluded that the amount of Mr. Lee’s automobile liability insurance limits is relevant to the considerations set out in Rule 9-1(6). The amount of available insurance could affect the question whether the offer was one that ought reasonably to have been accepted, and it could also affect the weighing of the relative financial circumstances of the parties.

[11] Counsel for Mr. Lee is authorized and directed to disclose the amount of Mr. Lee’s liability insurance limits operative at the time of the accident.

What Happens if Your Judge Falls Ill After Trial But Before Judgement?

Written by admin on January 27, 2012. Posted in BCSC Civil Rule 23. 126 Comments on What Happens if Your Judge Falls Ill After Trial But Before Judgement?

It is not uncommon for judges to reserve their reasons for judgment after a trial concludes. Sometimes this can take many months. What happens if a judge becomes ill or dies during this period of time? Reasons for judgement were released this week by the BC Supreme Court, Kelowna Registry, dealing with such a scenario.
In this week’s case (Walsh v. GMAC Leasco Corporation) the Plaintiff was injured in a motor vehicle incident. After trial concluded the presiding judge reserved his reasons. He fell ill and he could not render judgement. As required by the BC Supreme Court Rules the Associate Chief Justice appointed a new judge to conclude the matter. Complicating matters further the Plaintiff’s lawyer died before the new judge was appointed.
The parties could not agree on how best to finalize the matter. The Plaintiff argued the new judge could review the transcripts from the trial and render a decision. The Defendant argued a new trial was necessary. Mr. Justice Johnston decided that the best resolution would be to review the transcripts and address the recalling of witnesses on an individual basis. The Court provided the following reasons:

[11] Present Rule 23-1(10) is almost identical to former Rule 64(10) and any difference between present Rule 23-1(11) and former Rule 64(11) appears to be mostly in layout rather than substance.

[12] My primary concern is how best to do justice between the parties to this action. In the unusual circumstances of this case, the plaintiff’s stated desire to have the matter retried on the transcripts of the evidence and argument already given should be given greater weight in light of the fact that the counsel chosen by her to carry her case through trial is no longer available to act for her.

[13] The controversy surrounding the written opinion I expect will have been fully argued, that argument will be reproduced in the transcript, and I will be in an equally good position to identify portions of the opinion that are either inadmissible or to which little weight should be attached.

[14] I am persuaded that the appropriate exercise of my discretion under Rule 23?1(11) is to direct that the re-trial be on the official transcript of the evidence heard at the original trial, together with the exhibits filed. That transcript will contain the submissions of counsel on any issues that arose during the trial, together with opening and closing arguments.

[15] I give leave to the parties to apply to have the evidence of any witness reheard orally, but no such application can be made until the transcripts have been received and a suitable time has lapsed to permit reading of those transcripts.

Social Host Lawsuit Involving "Disastrous" Injury Survives Summary Dismissal Application

Written by admin on October 15, 2011. Posted in BCSC Civil Rule 9, ICBC Liability (fault) Cases, Uncategorized.

Important reasons for judgement were released this week by the BC Supreme Court, Vancouver Registry, demonstrating that given the right circumstances a ‘social host’ can be found negligent if one of their guests becomes impaired and subsequently causes a motor vehicle collision.
In this week’s case (Sidhu v. Hiebert) the three infant plaintiffs were injured in a motor vehicle collision. They were passengers in their parents vehicle which was struck by another motorist. There was evidence that the driver of the other vehicle was previously at a social party where he consumed alcohol. There was also evidence that he had blood alcohol content high enough that he “would have had to drink between 20 and 26 ounces of hard liquor to produce such a result“. The liquor was not necessarily all consumed at the social gathering.
One of the infant plaintiff’s was “disastrously injured” with his spinal cord severed in the high cervical area.
The lawsuit was launched alleging negligence against not only the motorists but also the social host. The social host brought an application for summary dismissal arguing that the 2006 Supreme Court of Canada judgement of Childs v. Desormeaux eliminated the possibility of success in social host lawsuits. Mr. Justice Johnston disagreed and dismissed the Defendant’s motion.
The Court held that given the right circumstances social host lawsuits can succeed but given some conflicts in the evidence presented this specific case was inappropriate for summary disposition. In dismissing the application Mr. Justice Johnston provided the following reasons:
[32] Whether a duty had been established on the face of it depended on the answer to this question: “What, if anything, links party hosts to third-party users of the highway?” (Childs, para. 24)…

[43] The court says at para. 31:

… However, where the conduct alleged against the defendant is a failure to act, foreseeability alone may not establish a duty of care. In the absence of an overt act on the part of the defendant, the nature of the relationship must be examined to determine whether there is a nexus between the parties. Although there is no doubt that an omission may be negligent, as a general principle, the common law is a jealous guardian of individual autonomy. Duties to take positive action in the face of risk or danger are not free-standing. Generally, the mere fact that a person faces danger, or has become a danger to others, does not itself impose any kind of duty on those in a position to become involved. [Emphasis in original.]

[44] I take from this passage that this aspect is also evidence-driven, in that whether there is a nexus between the parties will depend on the nature of any relationship revealed by the evidence. The passage also suggests that if there is more than a “mere fact that a person faces danger,” again revealed in the evidence, the general statement may not apply.

[45] The court in Childs summarized three situations where courts have in the past imposed positive duties to act: where a defendant has intentionally attracted and invited third parties to inherent and obvious risks created or controlled by the defendant; where there is a paternalistic, supervisory or controlling relationship between defendant and plaintiff; and where the defendant is engaged in a public function or commercial enterprise that implies responsibility to the public.

[46] I agree with counsel for Mr. Rattan that this case does not fit comfortably within any one of these three situations, but I also note that the Court in Childs at para. 34 said these were not strict legal categories, but serve to elucidate factors that can lead to positive duties to act.

[47] After pointing out that the three situations have in common the defendants’ “material implication in the creation of the risk or his or her control of a risk to which others have been invited,” and the reluctance of the law to infringe on the personal autonomy of someone in Mr. Hiebert’s position without good reason, the Court at para. 39 points out that someone in Mr. Rattan’s position might be expected or required by law to impinge on Mr. Hiebert’s autonomy only when he has a special relationship to the person in danger (not apparent here), or “… a material role in the creation or management of the risk.”…

[56] Because I am persuaded that this case should be decided on a full record of evidence at trial, I conclude that I should leave to trial the question of whether motorists can reasonably rely on a social host to not exacerbate an obvious risk by continuing to supply alcohol to an apparently impaired guest who the host knows will drive away from the party. It seems to me that justice requires that I allow the parties to develop the evidence and argument on a full trial.

[57] Mr. Rattan’s application is dismissed with costs in the cause.

This case is also worth reviewing for the Court’s discussion of whether a passenger in the alleged impaired driver’s vehicle could be found liable. The Social host brought ‘third party’ proceedings against the motorists passenger arguing that if they are liable then the driver’s passenger should be as well. Mr. Justice Johnston dismissed this allegation finding that even viewing the evidence in the most favourable light this allegation would fail. The Court provided the following reasons:

[65] If I assume for the purposes of this application that the evidence showed that Mr. Braun and Mr. Hiebert arrived together at the party in an intoxicated condition, both continued to drink Mr. Rattan’s alcohol to excess at the party, and both left together at the end, in a more intoxicated condition than when they arrived – with Mr. Hiebert driving and Mr. Braun as his passenger – is there a possibility that the first branch of the Anns test might be satisfied? My answer is no.

[66] The language in Childs that might allow a court to conclude that a social host owes a duty of care to highway users injured by a driver who becomes impaired as a guest of the host does not go so far as to admit the possibility of a duty on a companion or fellow traveler who does no more than observe the risky behavior of the drinking guest, and perhaps acquiesce to an extent in the risk by drinking with and then accepting a ride home from the party with the drunken guest.

$125,000 Non-Pecuniary Damage Assessment for TBI – Adverse Inference Discussed

Written by admin on August 17, 2011. Posted in Civil Procedure, ICBC Ankle Injury Cases, ICBC Brain Injury Cases, ICBC Chronic Pain Cases, ICBC Elbow Injury Cases, ICBC Headache Cases, ICBC Knee Injury Cases, ICBC Liability (fault) Cases, ICBC Shoulder Injury Cases, Uncategorized.

Update March 21, 2014 – the Liability findings in the below case were upheld today by the BC Court of Appeal
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Adding to this site’s ICBC Case Summary Archives, reasons for judgement were released this week by the BC Supreme Court, Victoria Registry, assessing non-pecuniary damages for a traumatic brain injury sustained in a BC vehicle collision.
In this week’s case (Meghji v. Lee) the Plaintiff was struck by a vehicle while walking in a marked cross-walk in 2003. Both the Defendant driver and BC Ministry of Transportation and Highways were found at fault for the crash. The former for failing to keep a proper lookout while driving, the latter for designing the intersection at question with inadequate overhead lighting. The driver was found 90% at fault with the Ministry shouldering 10% of the blame.
The Plaintiff suffered a fracture near her left shoulder, left elbow, ankle, knee and a traumatic brain injury. The consequences of these were expected to cause permanent dysfunction. In assessing non-pecuniary damages at $125,000 Mr. Justice Johnston provided the following reasons:

[134]Mr. Lee struck Ms. Meghji on her left side. That caused a significant fracture to Ms. Meghji’s left upper arm, a less significant fracture just below and into her left knee and an injury to her left ankle, all of which required immediate medical intervention. There were also the soft tissue injuries that would reasonably be expected to accompany such trauma.

[135]Within a day of the accident, Ms. Meghji had surgery to her left upper arm that involved the insertion of a rod that was fixed by screws just below her shoulder and just above her left elbow. She also had a screw placed into her left ankle…

[270]Based upon the evidence of Dr. Ali and Mr. Brozak of the substantial change noted in Ms. Meghji during this time, as supported by similar observations from Ms. Chauncey’s and Ms. Wyeth’s description of Ms. Meghji’s abilities in her math class and as a teaching assistant before the accident, I conclude that Ms. Meghji has more likely than not suffered a brain injury in the accident, and that the combination of the effects of the brain injury and the depression and chronic pain disorder, which I also find was caused by the accident or flows from injuries suffered in the accident, are so inextricably intertwined that they cannot possibly be disentangled.

[271]In all of the circumstances, the defendants are ordered to pay Ms. Meghji $125,000 for non-pecuniary damages for pain, suffering, and loss of amenities and enjoyment of life.

This case is also worth reviewing for the Court’s application of the ‘adverse inference’ principle. In the course of the lawsuit the Plaintiff’s lawyers had her assessed by a neurologist. The neurologist did not tender evidence at trial. Mr. Justice Johnston used his discretion to draw an adverse inference in these circumstances finding that the privately hired doctor likely did not have helpful evidence to give in support of the Plaintiff’s claim. The court provided the following reasons:

[240]In ordinary circumstances, I would agree that a claim of litigation privilege should be sufficient explanation for the failure to produce evidence from an expert who examined a party, and no inference adverse to that party should be drawn from the failure to produce the evidence.

[241]However, where, as here, counsel has assumed control of medical management of a plaintiff’s injuries, the circumstances are not ordinary.

[242]Dr. Grimwood would ordinarily have been expected to coordinate Ms. Meghji’s treatment, including referrals to specialists as he thought advisable. In this case, Dr. Grimwood appears to have largely ceded that responsibility to Ms. Meghji’s counsel, largely because counsel were able to arrange examinations by medical specialists much sooner than could Dr. Grimwood.

[243]Where counsel becomes actively involved in arranging treatment, or in treatment decisions, or in selection of treatment providers to the extent that it becomes difficult or impossible to determine whether any particular doctor is involved for treatment purposes, or to advise counsel, the protective cloak of litigation privilege becomes tattered.

[244]In such circumstances, counsel and the party who permit the line between treating physicians and physicians retained to advise counsel to become blurred must accept some risk that the protection ordinarily afforded by litigation privilege might be lost.

[245]Ms. Meghji testified that she saw Dr. Cameron for headaches. In the face of that evidence, I infer, from the refusal to produce evidence from Dr. Cameron, that any opinion generated as a result of his examination of Ms. Meghji was not helpful to the claims she makes in this trial. I also infer that, while examining for headache, had Dr. Cameron observed any signs that suggested to him that Ms. Meghji had suffered a traumatic brain injury in the accident, his observations or opinion would have been produced at trial.

Scope of Neuropsychological Evidence in BC Brain Injury Cases Discussed

Written by admin on November 12, 2009. Posted in Civil Procedure, ICBC Brain Injury Cases, Uncategorized.

Reasons for judgement were published today on the BC Supreme Court website dealing with the scope of permissible neuropsychological opinion evidence in BC Brain Injury Cases.
When ICBC or other BC brain injury cases go to trial a neuropsychologist is a common type of expert witness called by both Plaintiff and Defence Lawyers. Neuropsychologists are extensively trained with respect to the cognitive and behavioural consequences of brain injuries and for this reason their evidence is often vital in the prosecution of brain injury claims.
In today’s case (Meghji v. Lee) the Plaintiff alleged she suffered a traumatic brain injury. In support of her case the Plaintiff sought to have a neuropsychologist give opinion evidence with respect to the cognitive and behavioural sequelae of brain injuries and also with respect to whether the Plaintiff suffered from organic tissue to her brain. The Defence lawyer objected claiming the latter opinion is outside of the scope of a neuropsycholgists permissible expert opinion. Mr. Justice Johnston agreed with the defence objection and summarized and applied the law as follows:

[27] Counsel for the plaintiff wants Dr. Malcolm to be permitted to give an opinion on whether Ms. Meghji has had an injury to her brain. I looked briefly at Dr. Malcolm’s written reports, and in his first report, the one of February 1, 2007, Dr. Malcolm provides an overview of the place of psychometric testing in his overall task in this way. He says:

Once the test results are determined to reflect the person’s neuropsychological status with acceptable accuracy, the question remains as to whether clinically significant test results reflect organic damage, or stem from other factors, such as psychological causes. The neuropsychological process considers all of these possibilities in reaching diagnostic conclusions. The conclusions reached are based on a balance of probability, the strength of which is indicated where possible.

[28] At the risk of appearing to be overly semantic about this analysis, I take it that what counsel want Dr. Malcolm to be able to do is to testify by way of opinion about whether or not there has been some form of harm or damage to the tissues of the brain of Ms. Meghji as opposed to some form of harm or damage to the mind or emotions or personality of Ms. Meghji. Whether there is a distinction between the brain as an organ of the body, on the one hand, and the mind and personality of the person in whose body the brain is found, on the other, is a metaphysical question that I hope I never have to answer in a court of law. I am going to confine myself to what I think is in issue, and that is Dr. Malcolm’s qualifications as a neuropsychological and whether they permit him to provide the ready-made inference through opinion on whether there has been physical harm or damage to the brain as an organ of the body, and in my view, they do not.

[29] The statutory regime does not, in my view, go any further than to allow testing, assessment, diagnosis of, and therefore opinions on the abilities, aptitudes, interests, et cetera, or the behaviour, emotional, or mental disorders, that is, disorders of the mind. These conditions may arise with or without damage to the structure or tissues of the brain. They may be associated with or flow from injury or damage to the brain itself. They may arise from or flow from other causes. It does not necessarily follow that because Dr. Malcolm is permitted by statute to test, assess, or diagnose behavioural, emotional, or mental disorder that he must therefore be permitted to give in evidence his opinion that the cause of any of these conditions stems from an injury to the tissues or structures of the brain.

[30] In my view, Dr. Malcolm’s qualifications do not go so far as to permit that opinion.

[31] That does not say that Dr. Malcolm cannot give, in evidence, his opinion based upon the results of his testing, nor does it prevent Dr. Malcolm from giving an opinion on whether the test results as evaluated by him are of a nature, kind, or quality seen in people who have been diagnosed as having had organic brain injuries.

[32] In my view, the distinction drawn by Mr. Justice Clancy in Knight remains appropriate, and that is, Dr. Malcolm is qualified to give his opinion on the cognitive and behavioural sequelae of brain injuries and to indicate the relative likelihood of any cognitive and behavioural abnormalities being the consequence of a traumatic brain injury, but to paraphrase Mr. Justice Clancy, it does not permit him, that is, Dr. Malcolm, to diagnose physical injury and the manner in which it was incurred.

[33] It therefore follows that Dr. Malcolm will not be permitted to give his opinion on whether Ms. Meghji has had an injury to the tissues of her brain or, obviously, as to the cause of any such injury, but he will be permitted to testify as I have indicated.

Can Past Wage Loss be Recovered in an ICBC Claim When You're Paid "Under the Table"?

Written by admin on August 17, 2009. Posted in Civil Procedure, ICBC Wage Loss, Uncategorized.

When a person is injured through the fault of another in British Columbia and suffers a past wage loss from an “under the table” job can that past wage loss be recovered in a personal injury action? The answer is yes, however, it is much more difficult to do so than in cases where past income is accurately reported to Revenue Canada.
In a 1992 case from the BC Court of Appeal (Iannone v. Hoogenraad) the law was summarized as follows:
This plaintiff, like others in similar circumstances, had the burden of leading evidence of past accident wages losses. That will be a difficult burden to discharge where there is no corroborating evidence such as income tax returns, but it is not an impossible burden to discharge. Here the trial judge was satisfied on the evidence that the injuries sustained by the plaintiff prevented him from earning income which he would otherwise have earned. The burden of proof was therefore discharged. The loss was proven. It is not, in my opinion, open to the defendant to avoid compensating for that loss on the ground that unreported income was taken into account in computing it.
Reasons for judgment were released today by the BC Supreme Court demonstrating the difficulty in succeeding in a past wage loss claim in these circumstances.
In today’s case (King v. Horth) the Plaintiff was injured in a 2006 Car Crash in Saanich, BC (greater Victoria). The Plaintiff claimed damages for various losses including past loss of income. At trial he asserted that “he would have been capable of earning greater income as a gardener had he not been injured in this accident”. This claim was largely rejected and paragraphs 25-26 of the decision demonstrate Mr. Justice Johnston’s skepticism of this claim for lost income where pre accident income was not reported to Revenue Canada:

[25] A second concern respecting Mr. King’s credibility relates to his claim for loss of earning capacity arising out of this accident. This claim centers around his assertion that he would have been capable of earning greater income as a gardener had he not been injured in this accident. Prior to this accident the plaintiff did not record, in any fashion, the income he claims that he earned as a gardener, nor did he declare that income on his income tax returns. There is some evidence from a former employer that he had employed Mr. King as a gardener before the accident, however, that employer kept no record of the plaintiff’s work hours or his wages.

[26] In a document he submitted to ICBC in February 2006, the plaintiff stated his occupation as a surveyor. He did not mention any work as a gardener. Mr. King testified that he felt it was advisable not to refer to his gardening income in his dealings with ICBC, at least in the beginning, because that income had been earned “under the table.”

In addition to making it more difficult to succeed in a past wage loss claim, a further dilemma that can arise in these types of cases are problems with Revenue Canada after trial. Whether or not a past income award is made at trial, Revenue Canada can come after a Plaintiff for back taxes when these types of cases are advanced.

The reason for this is, to discharge the burden of proof, a Plaintiff usually needs to take the stand and testify under oath as to how much money he/she earned historically but failed to report to Revenue Canada. Trial testimony is generally a public record and Revenue Canada can use this sworn evidence to come after Plaintiffs. So, in summary, pay your taxes!

ICBC Injury Claims, Video Surveillance and Disclosure

Written by admin on June 11, 2009. Posted in Civil Procedure, ICBC Privacy Issues, Uncategorized.

It is not uncommon for insurance companies such as ICBC to conduct video surveillance of plaintiffs involved in injury litigation. Normally such video evidence is protected by privilege and ICBC does not need to disclose it unless they want to rely on it at trial. In these circumstances the BC Supreme Court Rules don’t require disclosure until shortly before trial.
What if ICBC shares the evidence with their expert witnesses? Does this result in a waiver of privilege? The BC Supreme Court dealt with this issue in 2006 and today reasons for judgement delivered by Mr. Justice Johnston were transcribed and published by the BC Courts website addressing these facts.
In the decision released today (Lanthier v. Volk) the Plaintiff was injured in a motor vehicle collision and was prepared to proceed to trial. The defence lawyer delivered expert medical reports which relied in part on the facts depicted in video surveillance conducted on behalf of the Defendant. The Plaintiff asked for disclosure of these films and Defendant refused claiming privilege over the films.
On application of the Plaintiff for disclosure Mr. Justice Johnston held that disclosure of the films to the defendants expert physicians resulted in a waiver of privilege such that the films needed to be disclosed to the Plaintiff. The courts key reasoning is reproduced below:

[16] The competing consideration is that the tendency given the rules, such as the Evidence Act, ss. 10 and 11, Rule 40A and the rules relating to production, has been over the last number of years away from what used to be a trial by ambush style of advocacy toward pre-trial disclosure, forced or otherwise, in order to prevent two things: One, impediments to settlement that keeping all one’s cards close to the vest tends to foster, but more to the point, what I indicated was a concern during argument, and that is the possibility, likelihood or probability that late disclosure, as Mr. Turnham would have it when counsel decides to call the witness or tender the written opinion, might lead to an adjournment of the trial, or, at minimum, an argument in the middle of a jury trial whether it should be adjourned.

[17] I conclude that privilege over the video has been waived by the delivery of reports of experts who have stated, each of them, that they have relied upon, in part, what they saw on the video. I conclude that waiver is more logical, more defensible when what truly is disclosed in the reports ostensibly as the facts upon which the expert — and I refer now particularly to Dr. Warren who most helpfully listed what he observed — the facts upon which the expert relied, is, when really that expert’s interpretation of what the expert saw on the videotape. It is not possible, in my view, for the opposing party to adequately prepare, either to cross-examine the expert if the expert is called, or to brief the parties’ own witnesses, on the strength of a description in writing of a witness’s interpretation of what is shown on the video. To adequately prepare for trial the plaintiff must have the videotape to show to his witnesses and to review himself. Trial fairness, as well as the promotion of efficiency in the courts and the trial process, dictates disclosure, so I order the videotape disclosed forthwith.