Irina Kordic and Paul Bosco represented a woman for injuries she sustained in a car accident. Prior to the accident, she suffered injuries in a significant workplace accident which led to chronic low back pain, depression, and anxiety, all of which caused her to require significant amounts of medication and be permanently partially disabled. The car accident caused her back injury and anxiety to worsen, and she became largely housebound and unable to work at all. ICBC argued her existing injuries and medication use, along with several other unfortunate events in her life, were the cause of her problems. The Court, however, accepted the arguments of Ms. Kordic and Mr. Bosco that the victim’s injuries, specifically her much-worsened anxiety, was a cause of her present issues and disability, and awarded 1.5 times what ICBC offered before trial.

The Plaintiffs filed a class action seeking in excess of $900,000,000 from both ICBC and the Province of British Columbia. They alleged a scheme wherein ICBC and the Province illegally charged the costs of physician visits to accident victims which reduced the amount of rehabilitation funds available to persons injured in car accidents and caused ratepayers to pay more for their insurance. ICBC and the Province brought a preliminary application seeking an opportunity to apply to dismiss the claims prior to certification. This application was dismissed and the matter was ordered to proceed to certification.

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.

Student assaulted outside his Delta high school more than 10 years ago was been awarded nearly $500,000 in damages

John Cameron acted as counsel for RSS. On April 15, 2009, RSS, who was 14, was attacked moments after he left the grounds of Delta Secondary School on his way home. Two men, one or both wielding telescopic metal batons, jumped out of a vehicle driven by the Defendant, ran after RSS and assaulted him at the direction of the Defendant. The Court heard that the assault on RSS, who is now 26, was said to be revenge for a high-school spat with the Defendant’s younger son, also a student at the school, over a female student.

RSS suffered a cracked nose, a concussion and bruising throughout his body. He suffered headaches for the first six months after the attack and also experienced paranoia, anxiety and depression. The Defendant was found guilty in provincial court of two counts of assault causing bodily harm after a judge concluded he was the directing mind behind the assault on RSS. His appeal was dismissed.

RSS sued the Defendant for damages. At trial, the Defendant argued that while RSS was injured in the attack, the injuries healed quickly with no lasting effects.

After trial the B.C. Supreme Court found that RSS had been left with chronic pain that caused frequent, severe and disabling headaches, which continued to affect his mood and caused mental health problems.

“The battery has left him anxious and depressed, fearful for his safety and that of his family, hypervigilant, socially withdrawn and caused him to suffer suicidal ideation and panic attacks,” said the judge.

The Court awarded RSS a total of $479,376 in damages including $125,000 for pain and suffering, $236,000 for loss of future income earning capacity, $65,000 for past lost earning capacity, $35,000 for aggravated damages and $15,000 for the cost of future care.

Keri Grenier and Matthew Van Nostrand acted for the plaintiff in this case involving the impact of injuries caused in two separate rear-end collisions. In the first accident, Ms. Pinkney hit her head and lost consciousness for a short time and was treated for injuries to her neck, back, and thumb. The second accident was less severe, aggravating the initial injuries and setting back the progress she had been making in her recovery. The main issue at trial was the impact of Ms. Pinkney’s injuries on her ability to work in the family business. Although the business grew after the accidents (causing ICBC to argue that there was no loss), Ms. Pinkney’s involvement diminished, meaning that the business was less profitable than it would have been had Ms. Pinkney not been injured. The court ultimately found that Ms. Pinkney’s ability to earn income was impacted, and awarded $442,600 in damages.

John Cameron acted for FM who sustained injuries to his neck, shoulders and back as well as migraine headaches after a motor vehicle accident. He had been forced to miss work for several months and when he came back to work he was no longer suitable for his previous demanding physical position. He needed powerful pain killers and at times Botox injections for headaches and epidural injections to manage his pain. Eventually he needed to change jobs.

One of the main issues at trial was quantifying the losses to FM in relation to how his injuries might affect his future in the workforce as he had many years left to work. The judge accepted Mr. Cameron’s arguments in support of fair compensation for the fact that FM would be precluded from the type of physical work he used to perform due to his injuries. The Court ultimately awarded FM over $300,000 in compensation, including damages for loss of earning capacity. The Court award was much more than the compensation which ICBC had offered before trial.

John Cameron and Kevin Hyde represented AT who suffered multiple injuries in a car accident, including a persistent lower back pain and SI joint dysfunction. Many aspects of her life were affected as a result of her injuries, including her ability to work full-time. The court accepted the arguments of Mr. Cameron and Mr. Hyde that AT deserved compensation for her injuries as well as for the impact of her injuries on her employment. She was also awarded compensation to allow for future therapy. In total, Mr. Cameron and Mr. Hyde obtained an award of just over $280,000 for AT, an amount more than five times higher than the amount ICBC offered before trial.

John Cameron and Paul Bosco represented Mr. Shrieves for injuries he sustained in a car accident when he was 67 years old. Mr. Shrieves was also involved in additional car accidents: one 20 years prior, and one 3 months prior. He also had experienced some rheumatoid arthritis. However he had worked full-time and been very good at his job in spite of those previous issues. Unfortunately, the injuries from the accident in question in this case required him to retire 2 years earlier than he had planned. ICBC argued he should not receive any money for this, but the judge accepted Mr. Cameron and Mr. Bosco’s arguments that he should. The judge ultimately accepted virtually all of Mr. Cameron and Mr. Bosco’s submissions, and awarded Mr. Shrieves $163,000, over three times what ICBC offered prior to trial.

Paul Bosco and Scott Stanley successfully defeated the appeal of a trial where tenants and a landlord were found liable for significant burn injuries sustained by their client. One of the tenants poured used motor oil on a backyard fire which caused an explosion. The landlord, who happened to be the City of Burnaby, had been warned the tenant had had fires in the past, which was contrary to their own bylaw prohibiting open fires, but did nothing about this. The Court of Appeal, the highest level of Court in BC, accepted Mr. Bosco and Mr. Stanley’s arguments that this scenario could have been reasonably foreseen by both the tenants and the landlord, and that the injured victim was in no way responsible for her injuries. This case explored new areas of the law on landlord and tenant liability, as well as liability following awareness of ongoing hazards, with an outcome that is helpful for people who are injured in BC.

Irina Kordic and Paul Bosco represented Ms. Nessar Ali, who suffered multiple injuries in a car accident, including a torn rotator cuff which required surgery, as well as emotional injuries. All aspects of Ms. Nessar Ali’s life were significantly impacted as a result of her physical and emotional injuries, including her ability to work and her ability to perform her housekeeping tasks. The court accepted the arguments of Ms. Kordic and Mr. Bosco that Ms. Nessar Ali was entitled to an award for pain and suffering, as well as an additional amount of money for lost housekeeping ability. On top of that, the court accepted their arguments that she was entitled to an amount of money for housekeeping that was performed by a friend as well as her daughter to date, and an amount of money for housekeeping into the future. ICBC argued against each of these, but the court rejected all of ICBC’s arguments on these points. In total, Ms. Kordic and Mr. Bosco obtained an award of almost $300,000 for Ms. Nessar Ali that was almost exactly three times the amount ICBC offered before trial.

Angela Bespflug and Janelle O’Connor were counsel on this action and its ground-breaking settlement that provided compensation for female class members who were subjected to sexual harassment and assault in the RCMP workplace. The action is part of an emerging and innovative body of jurisprudence that seeks to push our Canadian judicial system to accept class actions as the preferable procedure for resolving systemic sexual misconduct.