Another win for the McComb Witten trial team

In October 2012 the McComb Witten trial team of Etienne Orr-Ewing and Meghan Neathway put together a solid case for a wonderful young woman.  Recently, Justice Voith published his reasons and our client was ecstatic with the results.

Link to the great McComb Witten trial result

Congratulation to our client.  It takes tremendous courage for an injured person to take a case to trial.  You are going up against the best lawyers that ICBC can bring to the table.  ICBC has seemingly infinite resources to scour your life to try to make you look dishonest or like you are hiding something.  The tables seem slanted in ICBC's favour, because if they lose it is just the drop in the bucket of a billion dollar insurance company.  If you lose, then it means that your entire claim might be lost or even worse...you might be left owing money to ICBC.  So, it takes courage.  Courage in your conviction.  Courage to trust your lawyers to help you tell your story. Courage to know that when put on the stand you will know how to respond when you are getting grilled by the ICBC lawyer.

Having a trial team that knows how to get results and knows how to put a case together for trial is essential in giving you the courage to take your case to trial.  

The reality is that somewhere between 1-4% of cases go to trial.  You probably do not want to go to trial! So you might ask, "Why is it so important that I have a great trial team?" The answer to that question is found in my last post.  The value of your injury claim is whatever the insurance company is prepared to give you or your alternative to a negotiated settlement which is trial.  Having a great trial team helps you with both.  The more the insurance company knows, fears, and respects your lawyer, the more they are going to offer you ahead of trial and the more likely you are going to be successful if you actually do go to trial.

If you found this post because you have recently been injured and are looking for a lawyer, then you are in luck.  ICBC seems to be a broken company (see my earlier post on the subject).  For some reason, they seem to be avoiding early settlements and pushing injured people further and further through the litigation process.  More and more cases are going to trial.  Lawyers, whether at our firm or others (if you can find a good one), are doing more and more trials.  Getting better and more efficient at running cases to court.  Trial is often described as a war and your soldiers are getting battle hardened!

The reality is that by the time your case has worked its way through the system, ICBC will have smartened up its ways and you will have a lawyer on your side that has earned the privilege of respect from ICBC by getting results in the courtroom.

How much is your ICBC claim worth?

I have this conversation with all my clients at some point.  Over the years I have found it useful to step back and look at the big picture.  I now give the big picture perspective to all my clients before I get into the details of their particular case.

Here is the way I see it.

Your injury claim is different from your injuries.  Your injuries are based in reality and are what you are going through.  Your injury claim is an asset; just like it is a liability for the insurance company.

The value of the asset is basically what the insurance company is prepared to give you for your asset or your alternative to a negotiated settlement...in British Columbia that is trial.

Regardless of whether it is the insurance company or a trial judge, the asset is valued is based on the evidence on your file.  If there is no evidence, then neither the insurance company nor the trial judge is going to put money towards that part of your asset (injury claim).

At this stage I usually interject with an anecdote:

I have represented a number of women who were injured in a car accident during their pregnancy.  A number of the women have gone on to have a successful, but a premature birth.  In my mind and in my client's mind the premature birth was caused by the accident.  I have however talked with numerous specialist (even a running partner when I was training for a marathon) who have explained that there are just too many potential causes of a premature birth that they would not be prepared to give an opinion for my client.

Without the proof, how could the insurance company or a judge put any money towards that aspect of the injury claim.

So, your subjective experience of what your claim is worth based on how much you suffered is a very, very poor measure of what your injury claim is worth.

More Big Changes at ICBC

For those of you not following the news, a rather scathing report was published this summer on ICBC.  The CEO has been replaced with an acting CEO and there have been many changes in upper management at ICBC, including a change in the position of Vice President of Claims.

Recently ICBC announced that it was continuing to restructure. They have just finished over 200 terminations.  

Link to latest ICBC announcement

Without doubt many good people who have been working hard are now looking for a new position.  For clients of mine the change, in my view, is a change that will hopefully take ICBC in a better direction.

About 4-5 years ago, ICBC appeared to take a much more aggressive approach to claims.  The change in direction ICBC was humorously labelled"Operation Robe-up!" by lawyers (at trial in British Columbia lawyers wear formal robes).  As part of this change of direction, ICBC seemed to take authority for settling files out of the hands of file adjusters.  Often decisions were made several managers up from the ground.  More cases went to trial.  Sometimes individuals won big awards; sometimes ICBC won big and individuals lost big.

ICBC's approach has had a big impact on our profession.  In the past newly called lawyers lamented that they never get into trial.  Now there is a whole new generation of litigators that are getting better at their craft.

In October 2012, our firm had 5 trials scheduled in one week...when push came to shove 4 of them went ahead (but 2 had to be moved back to accommodate the judges).  

If you have found this blog because you have had a ICBC claim and are looking for a lawyer, then make sure to ask your perspective lawyer if they go to trial...even if you do not want to go to trial.  Having a lawyer adept at navigating a file through a trial and doing it regularly is both a sword and a shield for clients.

McComb Witten wins yet another trial

My colleague Meghan Neathway has shown her prowess in the courtroom this year.  In the first 6 months of 2012, she has ran 3 trials including 2 that we scheduled to be back to back.  She has also assisted with drafting the factum (the written legal argument) for an appeal of a jury award last year.  In all three trials and the case involving the appeal, the court awarded significantly more to our client that ICBC was offering before the trial.

Some of the cases that Ms. Neathway took to trial are significant and some involve minor claims.  What you need when you are looking for a lawyer for a car accident in Vancouver or an ICBC claim is someone who passionately believes in the law and knows how to get results - whether through negotiation or at trial.

Congratulations to Meghan on her recent string of success - in the courtroom and settlements on other files that result from that success in court!

Big Changes at ICBC

The news has been full of big changes at ICBC.  With a new acting CEO and a new vice-president of Claims, Bryan Jarvis,those of us representing people injured in car accidents in Vancouver or BC can certainly hope that ICBC may be taking a less adversarial approach to claims management.

Regardless of any philosophical changes at ICBC, it certainly is good to hear that management and the union have tentatively agreed to terms of a new collective bargaining agreement.  Regardless how injured people feel about how they are being treated by ICBC, I am of the view that there are a lot of good people working at ICBC who are trying to do a good job and deserve a fair contract.

Good to hear that there is finally some labour peace at ICBC.  Let's get them to talk to the NHL!!! 

Cross Examination of a Neurosurgeon - Part 4

It has been a few months since I left off with this story.  I highly recommend going back through my blog to read parts 1-3 as this post won't make much sense on its own.  Those of you following will remember that we left off with the doctor reversing his opinion on causation.
Once the doctor folded on causation, the only thing left was to use that doctor to build my case.  One of the issues I had was whether my client had an ongoing disability.

The doctor had indicated that my client was not a surgical candidate, so I decided to start there.  I had him confirm that she was not a surgical candidate because surgery would not relieve all of her symptoms.  The other side of the coin is that if she is not a surgical candidate and she has not spontaneously resolved in the six years after the accident, then that means that she was likely going to live with this pain for the rest of her life.  He agreed.

He agreed that the only thing she could do to manage her symptoms was limit her activity and avoid certain activities...activities such it would be impossible to do her job without modifications.  As she had lost her job of 28 years and was looking for work, the neurosurgeon acknowledged that her injuries would be a factor working against her.

He agreed that the treatment that she was getting was not likely going to cure her.  However, he did agree that if the treatment helped reduce her pain, then it would seem appropriate.

In fact, by this stage the doctor pretty much agreed with everything.  I kept putting more and more helpful propositions to him in a polite and kindly way.  He kept building my case.

In the end, agreeing to the video deposition ahead of the trial was a very good decision.  The case settled in advance of the 3 week trial.  There were some other issues that made settlement make a lot of sense.  Sometimes, the best trial is the one that is avoided.

Success as a lawyer is not measured in trial wins or losses...it is measured in your ability to get an outcome for your client that is good for them and one they want.  In this case, that was a settled case for more than ICBC was offering before the video deposition, but without having to go through a 3 week jury trial.

If you enjoyed this story, let me know and I will post another story.

Yet another McComb Witten trial win

My colleague, Richard Chang, recently got a great court award for a nice lady with a walker who was injured in a bus accident.

ICBC refused to make a reasonable offer, but they could not scare our client from exercising her right to have her case heard by a judge.  

After hearing the case, Mr. Justice Gauer awarded our client over $25,000 for her pain and suffering but awarded an additional $26,500 for the loss of her ability to do housework.

Congratulations Richard and congratulations Ms. Hadzic for having the courage to take your case to a judge.