Blog | Personal Injury Lawyer Vancouver

In “very special circumstances", courts may order special costs against a lawyer personally rather than his or her client - the purpose of such an order being to punish or deter the lawyer’s reprehensible conduct.

In personal injury actions, it is most often the defence that seeks to call such a witness, as defence work entails a lot of investigation, which may reveal potential witnesses. This investigation may be ongoing after the Trial Management Conference (and, therefore, after the Trial Briefs are served) or even after any amended witness lists are served.

In 2012, the B.C. Court of Appeal’s decision in Loychuk v Cougar Mountain Adventures, [2012] BCCA 122 confirmed that people who knowingly and voluntarily engage in inherently risky recreational activities will be precluded from suing a commercial operator where they signed a release waiving claims in negligence. Such releases were held to be neither unconscionable, nor against public policy.

Section 97 of the Insurance (Vehicle) Regulation sets out deadlines for those intending to make a claim for Part 7 benefits:

When people are injured in a motor vehicle accident in British Columbia, they may make one or two types of claims, depending on who is at fault for the accident: 1) a Part 7 claim and 2) a tort claim. If an injured person is at fault for the accident, he or she will only be entitled to “accident benefits” (e.g. compensation) pursuant to Part 7 of the Insurance (Vehicle) Regulation. On the other hand, if an person is injured through the fault of another, then he or she is entitled to both Part 7 benefits and a remedy in tort.