In 2017, Joe Murphy, Q.C. took on the claim of SA from a motor vehicle accident that occurred in 2004.  In 2004, SA was sitting in a parked work truck having his lunch when the truck was struck by another vehicle, leaving SA very badly injured.  In 2004, the ICBC coverages provided about $350,000 in insurance coverage to SA.  Joe argued that SA was entitled to the 2007 ICBC coverage that would provide $1 million to SA, even though the MVA was in 2004.  In 2018, an arbitrator agreed that SA was entitled to the $1 million 2007 coverage, and when ICBC tried to appeal that decision, in 2020 BC Supreme Court judge dismissed that appeal – with the final result that SA recovered an additional $650,000.

Read the full decision here.

The court upheld the trial decision, that was in favour of our client, and dismissed the appeal.

Joe Murphy, Q.C. and Brandon Souza acted for the executors and estate of the deceased, Maxine Wilton, who altered her Will by completing two codicils. The defendants, the deceased’s grandchildren, were no longer beneficiaries in the Will after the second codicil was made. The grandchildren challenged that codicil claiming suspicious circumstances surrounding the making of the codicil, that the grandmother lacked the testamentary capacity, and that she was subject to undue influence. The grandmother suffered strokes both before and after the codicil which left the grandchildren out of her will. After a five day trial, the court found the codicil valid and that the grandmother knew exactly what she was doing.

Joe Murphy, Q.C., Kevin Gourlay, and Mike Murphy acted for the plaintiff who was 16 when he was hit by a young woman who was not paying attention while driving on Halloween night in 2008. He suffered a significant traumatic brain injury. Before the accident, he had been an exceptionally gifted young man. Although he remained intelligent and was attending university, he was plagued by fatigue and cognitive difficulties as a result of the accident that would significantly impact his ability to work as an engineer. The Court assessed damages at $3,297,000, including $3M for loss of future earning capacity.

This was an application regarding costs following a 29-day trial in which the plaintiff had been awarded nearly $6,000,000 in damages following a fall at a night club that had resulted in a mild traumatic brain injury. The court concluded that the plaintiff was entitled to her costs from the defendant insurer despite the insurer not being obligated to indemnify the plaintiff for her losses.

Scott Stanley and Joe Murphy, Q.C. successfully represented the young Plaintiff at this liability trial. They were successful in convincing the Court to place 25% fault on the other driver even though the Plaintiff was intoxicated and had run a stop sign.

Stephen Gibson and Irina Kordic represented the Plaintiff who was an injured pedestrian. In this case, the Defendant drove down a quiet, residential street, intending to pick up the Plaintiff who was standing in the middle of the road. As the Defendant drove towards the Plaintiff, he ultimately and unintentionally struck the Plaintiff with his vehicle. Liability was denied and the Defendant claimed that the Plaintiff was the author of his own misfortune for standing in the middle of the road. Liability was found in favour of the Plaintiff 100% because he reasonably expected the Defendant to stop short of where the Plaintiff was standing. The Plaintiff was likely to require a total knee replacement in his later years as a result of advancing arthritis, but he was retraining in a new profession as a sound engineer. The damages were awarded at $1,196,000.

Joe Murphy, Q.C. was successful on behalf of the firm’s client Ms. Chow in a case where all of the defendants were at fault for causing a motorcycle accident that seriously injured Ms. Chow. The six defendant motorcyclists were travelling at a very high speed and riding abreast across both lanes of the road on which the Plaintiff (Ms. Chow) was travelling on her motorcycle. Although only one defendant actually struck Ms. Chow’s motorcycle, and only three of the six defendants were driving on the wrong side of the road, we successfully argued that all of the defendants were equally at fault for creating the dangerous conditions that led to the accident by reason of their participation in a joint and dangerous activity. Liability was found to rest with all six defendants.

Joe Murphy, Q.C. and Brian Brooke acted for a young woman who had sustained a traumatic brain injury.