The B.C. government has announced severe and sweeping changes to the ICBC injury claim process, including no-fault insurance, limits to expert evidence and caps on how much you can claim back for the cost of gathering evidence.
The no-fault scheme is expected to be in place by spring 2021.
The government plans to limit your ability to present your ICBC claim to the court by limiting the number of experts you can retain to give evidence. Expert evidence is essential to the assessment of any injury claim, as it is the injured victims who are forced to prove their case. With these changes, it will be more difficult to do this.
The government also plans to limit injured victims’ ability to recover the expenses incurred to gather all the necessary evidence. They plan to put an arbitrary limit of $3,000 to all expert reports, and an arbitrary limit to the overall amount of expenses that can be claimed.
ICBC changes put rights of injured at grave risk, lawyers warn (Vancouver Sun)
Proposed ICBC changes will deprive many British Columbians of the compensation they deserve (Canadian Bar Association)
Many businesses have been forced to close, limit their hours, or reduce their capacity. Despite a vaccine, the economic impact will likely continue, particularly in the face of new strains of the virus.
On January 28, 2021, the Ontario Superior Court addressed “inadequacies in current legal responses to internet defamation and harassment” by creating a new tort of internet harassment and cyber bullying.
While the global pandemic has been incredibly disruptive, the Court is embracing these changes and the legal community is using the tools available to move matters through the court system despite challenges.
Interesting reasons for judgment were recently released in the case. In this wills and estates case, a brother and sister entered into a contentious dispute surrounding the estate of their mother.