Find Lawyers in British Columbia, Canada for Personal Injury Litigation
Practice Area Overview
The primary goal of personal injury law is to put the injured party (the plaintiff) in the same position they were in prior to the injury occurring. Sometimes this is impossible, such as when the plaintiff sustains a permanent or irreversible brain injury or spinal cord injury. In such cases, the goal is to put the plaintiff in as “close a position” as possible to the position the plaintiff was in prior to the occurrence of the injury, including the same financial position had the accident not occurred.
There are several categories of compensation that an injured party may be entitled to receive as part of a personal injury claim. If the injury effects the plaintiff’s employability the plaintiff may be entitled to a loss of income or loss of earning capacity claim. If the plaintiff is no longer able to perform their normal housekeeping chores as a result of their injuries, they may be entitled to recover the ongoing cost of hiring someone to perform these chores. If the injured party is likely to require treatment, medications, or equipment in the future, then a claim can be advanced for the cost of future care. The injured party is usually entitled to reimbursement for reasonable out-of-pocket expenses related to the claim. Another category of damages is compensation for pain and suffering. This award includes compensation for physical pain suffered as well as emotional and psychological injuries sustained by the injured party.
An injured party will only have a claim against a party at fault (the defendant) if the injured party can establish that the defendant was liable or responsible for the injury occurring. In some cases, the injuries to the plaintiff may result from a combination of the defendant’s negligence and the plaintiff’s negligence. A common example is where a plaintiff (who was injured in a motor vehicle accident) had failed to wear a seat belt. The plaintiff’s compensation may be reduced if the defendant can show the plaintiff’s injuries were contributed to by the failure to wear a seat belt. This is commonly referred to as ‘contributory negligence’.
If a plaintiff is unable to resolve their claim with the defendant through the normal negotiating process, then ultimately the plaintiff has the right to have their matter decided by a judge (or judge and jury) at a trial. Only a small percentage of personal injury cases actually proceed to the trial stage as the vast majority of claims are resolved through the normal negotiating process.
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After undergrad at McGill in Anthropology and Environmental Science, Russell J. Bailey lived in Japan for three years teaching English on the JET Program. He came back to Canada, fell in love with British Columbia and tried to not get too badly hurt in Whistler for a season. Russell decided a change of career was in order and attempted the LSAT. That worked out to an LLB at UBC. His articles and first years of practice were at a plaintiff-oriented firm in Kamloops, Mair Jensen Blair. In 2007,...
Nigel practices general insurance litigation, primarily in personal injury defence, and leads our Defamation and Abuse Litigation groups. He finds creative solutions for clients in claims involving anything from occupier’s liability to nuisance to defamation. Meticulous preparation and strategizing have been the keys to Nigel’s success. He has extensive trial experience, appearing many times in the Supreme and Appeal Courts of British Columbia. Nigel is passionate about educating ...
David practices general insurance defence litigation with an emphasis on the defence of dentists, hospitals and school boards in negligence and human rights claims. He also regularly defends businesses and municipalities in property damage and personal injury claims. David has experience appearing as counsel at all levels of court in British Columbia, and the Supreme Court of Canada. In his administrative practice, David has defended matters before the Human Rights Tribunal, the Health Profes...
Clive Boulton is a Partner in the Insurance and Commercial and Business Litigation Practice Groups at Singleton Urquhart Reynolds Vogel LLP. Clive has been practicing law since 1979, first at the Provincial Crown Counsel’s office in Vancouver to gain trial experience after finishing his articles. For two years he did exclusively trial work in Provincial and Supreme Court and spent six months doing jury trials. In 1981 Mr. Boulton entered private practice and has practiced in a variety o...
Tim Delaney's practice includes commercial litigation, employment litigation, personal injury actions and defamation cases. He has a wealth of experience as a trial and appellate lawyer including appearances at the Supreme Court of Canada. Tim acts for clients who have been injured in motor vehicle accidents and accidents arising from defective products or premises. He has significant experience dealing with cases involving chronic pain conditions and traumatic head injuries. In the field of ...
Mike is a partner at Rice Harbut Elliott LLP. He has devoted his career to fighting for the underdog. Mike’s personal injury practice is varied and focuses on assisting clients who have suffered injuries arising from motor vehicle accidents, unsafe premises, assaults, and medical and dental malpractice. Mike’s class action practice concentrates on acting for people who have been harmed by defective pharmaceuticals, medical devices, and consumer products. The courtroom is where Mik...
Michael practises as general counsel and regularly appears in court on behalf of clients in corporate, commercial, and related litigation matters; personal injury, motor vehicle and other transportation (road and rail) accidents and insurance claims; bankruptcy and insolvency (personal and commercial), debt collections, realization of personal and real property. Michael frequently appears before the Provincial Court, Supreme Court of British Columbia, BC Court of Appeal, Federal Court of Cana...
Chris Godwin is a graduate of the University of British Columbia in both Pharmacy and Law and has a Masters Degree in Law from the University of Cambridge, England. He has been a member of the British Columbia Bar since 1987 and is qualified as a Solicitor for England and Wales. Mr. Godwin is also a licensed pharmacist in British Columbia. His experience in legal practice is in the area of civil litigation with emphasis on general contractual litigation, professional discipline, insolvency ma...
Stephanie is a managing partner with Guild Yule, representing clients across a range of industries. Her practice is founded in health and insurance law, and includes professional negligence, regulatory and disciplinary law. Stephanie provides risk management advice and represents clients in a variety of claims. She acts for insurance companies, professionals, municipalities, and self-insured clients. In her health law practice, Stephanie provides advice and legal representation to health auth...
Laura Hanson is a Partner and member of the firm’s Business Disputes, Corporate/ Commercial, Insurance and Construction + Engineering Practice. Laura regularly acts as counsel for a wide variety of matters including business disputes, property claims that involve defending contractors, trades and engineers, and claims for product liability advanced against manufacturers and distributors. Laura also regularly acts as coverage counsel for insurers, providing coverage opinions in relation ...
Jon Harbut is a partner at Rice Harbut Elliott. His law practice is focused exclusively on representing individuals who have been injured in motor vehicle collisions or accidents in commercial or residential premises. He also represents family members of individuals who are killed as a result of someone else’s negligence. Jon has represented clients on numerous occasions in the Supreme Court of British Columbia and the Court of Appeal. He has obtained precedent setting verdicts for his ...
Robert Hodgins is a Partner in our Vancouver Office and he is the Chair of the ICBC Practice Group. He is also a member of the Construction, Insurance and Commercial Litigation Groups. He has practiced litigation at the firm for over twenty five years. Robert’s practice is centered on motor vehicle claims, personal injury, construction, professional liability, insurance defence, and commercial litigation. He has represented a range of insurers including the Insurance Corporation of Brit...
Mr. Hordo has over 35 years of litigation experience, including commercial and partnership disputes, securities and pension matters, professional negligence, class actions, aviation product liability, administrative law, and catastrophic personal injury. Mr. Hordo has appeared in all levels of Court in British Columbia. He has also been counsel at both the trial and appeal level of the Federal Court of Canada and in the Supreme Court of Canada. He has acted as counsel in numerous complex comm...
Dianna Hwang is a Partner at Alexander Holburn. Her practice is primarily litigation-based with an emphasis in Health Law. She represents Health Authorities, hospitals and nurses in medical negligence claims. She also advises Health Authorities on matters related to quality assurance. In addition to her Health Law practice, she also regularly provides representation to municipalities in local government claims and lawyers in solicitor’s negligence claims. Dianna works closely with her c...
Rose is a partner with Harper Grey and maintains a busy and diverse practice, focusing on both Workplace Law and Critical Injury. With over 25 years of experience, Rose brings sound judgment and a well-rounded perspective to her broad practice. The guiding principle for Rose is finding the right legal solution for her clients and in doing so nothing is more important than being respectful, compassionate and responsive. She is the Chair of our Critical Injury Group and a prolific member of our...
Robert practises defence litigation with an emphasis on university, sports, recreation and adventure tourism cases. He has wide experience in a number of areas of litigation practice including insurance, occupier’s liability, municipal liability, university law, personal injury, product liability and professional errors and omissions including medical and dental malpractice and hospital liability claims. Robert is actively involved as defence counsel for the outdoor commercial recreatio...
Approachable, relentless, and hard-working, Tony has over 15 years of experience litigating tort cases, including product liability, professional negligence and major personal injury. Before joining Rice Harbut Elliott, Tony started his career as a law clerk to Justices of the Alberta Court of Queen’s Bench and Court of Appeal, and then spent nearly a decade as a defence lawyer, gaining a keen perspective on how defendants assess and handle claims. Tony has conducted dozens of trials, c...
Anastase is a Partner and Leader of the Personal Injury Group at Watson Goepel. With over 30 years of experience in personal injury and insurance law , he has acted for thousands of injured parties at all levels of court in British Columbia. Anastase Maragos’s recognition in Personal Injury Litigation speaks volumes about his dedication to advocating for those who have suffered harm. His empathetic approach, combined with his legal acumen, ensures that our clients seeking justice in per...
As a partner at Lindsay Kenney LLP, Chris Martin has broad litigation experience in a variety of corporate commercial matters, including resolving contractual, corporate governance, shareholder and partnership disputes. He has appeared as counsel in all levels of court in British Columbia as well as the Federal Court of Canada. As an experienced employment lawyer, Chris represents employers and employees in wrongful dismissal and discrimination matters. In his practice, he successfully acts f...
Paul McGivern is a senior litigator acting exclusively in plaintiffs' medical negligence and infant injury litigation cases. For the past 30 years his practice has been focused on complex catastrophic cases, especially infant birth trauma cases. He is frequently consulted by counsel throughout Canada for his expertise in this area. Paul is consistently recommended in The Canadian Legal Lexpert® Directory as a leader in medical malpractice cases, and was selected for inclusion in the 2007 ...
Joe Murphy, K.C., is a founding partner of Murphy Battista LLP. Since establishing the firm in 1982, Joe's unwavering commitment to exceptional client service has been a driving force behind the firm's remarkable growth, making it a trusted resource for countless clients. Joe grew up in a medical family, and his extensive medical knowledge and experience dealing with complex medical evidence have uniquely positioned him for personal injury and medical negligence cases. His pre-law background ...
A fourth-generation lawyer born and raised in Vancouver, John exclusively practices plaintiff’s personal injury litigation. Advocacy is John’s greatest strength and privilege. He is dedicated to the craft of trial law. Known for providing exceptional, ethical service, John quarterbacks a legal support team that helps clients and their families navigate one of the most upsetting and stressful periods of their lives. There is no substitute for good health – and there is no lim...
Dan Shugarman's practice involves general insurance litigation and personal injury matters with a significant emphasis on catastrophic injury, product liability, and complex machinery failure claims. Dan has significant court experience in the British Columbia Supreme Court, Court of Appeal and Supreme Court of Canada. He recently appeared in the Supreme Court of Canada case that will dictate how judges across Canada render their judgements. He has participated in hundreds of mediations, succ...
Michael Silva joined Whitelaw Twining in June 2003 and became a Partner at the Firm in 2009. He practices in the area of general litigation, with a focus on transportation matters. Mike is one of two partners in charge of our Firm’s Marine & Transportation, Road Maintenance and Subrogation practice groups. Michael has appeared on behalf of clients in British Columbia Provincial and Supreme Courts, the British Columbia Court of Appeal, in Federal Court, and in a variety of administra...
Krista has been resolving disputes for her clients for over 20 years. Her practice focuses on disputes related to Wills and Estates, Personal Injury and Sexual Assault claims. Krista is committed to providing the highest quality of service, and values the confidence granted by clients. Krista does not shy away from a challenge. She is both strategic and engaging and gets involved in every stage of a claim and manages the litigation process. For Krista, legal strategy and solutions are always ...
Mark is Vancouver-born and raised and a graduate of the University of British Columbia Law School. As part of his articling, he completed a clerkship in both the Supreme Court of British Columbia and with the Honourable Mr. Justice Seaton in the Court of Appeal in 1975-6. His practice has always been restricted to litigation with a focus on professional malpractice defence, insurance and appellate counsel work. During his almost 40 years as a lawyer, Mark has done numerous trials and appeals ...
Jennifer is a partner with Harper Grey. She is the Co-Chair of the Insurance Group and a member of the Health Law Group. She is also the past chair of the Associates’ Committee and a busy mentor to students, paralegals and associates in the firm. Jennifer has a wealth of experience in handling complex bodily injury claims. She has defended physicians in medical malpractice claims in all levels of court in BC. Her clients range from large shopping centres to small businesses and homeowne...
Kim is a partner with Harper Grey. With over a decade of experience representing clients in both BC and Alberta, and across a range of industries, Kim brings a unique and informed perspective to each of her files. Anchoring her practice in health and insurance law has provided Kim with the foundation to develop specific niche expertise in areas such as administrative, regulatory and disciplinary law, privacy law, and the emerging area of fertility law. In her insurance practice, Kim provides ...
Gaynor Yeung joined our team in 1998. She specializes in the litigation of personal injury and professional liability claims. Gaynor's clients include leading property and casualty insurers, international retail corporations, motor vehicle carriers, and leasing companies. She has resolved many complex matters through informal negotiations and formal mediations. Where a swift, economic resolution has not been possible, Gaynor has protected her clients' interests before all levels of British Co...
Mark is an associate practicing with our Insurance, Health and Critical Injury groups. In his insurance practice, Mark represents insurers in various matters including property disputes, general insurance disputes and professional negligence. He has specific expertise in defending bodily injury claims. On the health law side, Mark defends health professionals in civil matters. In his critical injury practice, Mark approaches each and every file with empathy and has experience advising clients...
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