Top 10 ICBC Claim Mistakes - Tip of the Month #3

TOP 10 MISTAKES TO AVOID WHEN MAKING AN ICBC CLAIM

Mistake #3: After Your ICBC Accident, You Are Examined At Different Walk-In Clinics

Try to find a family doctor.  The College of Physicians and Surgeon's website maintains a list of clinics taking on new patients (click here). 

If you can't find one, then choose one doctor at a single walk-in clinic and only see that doctor for the life of your injury claim. Make sure this doctor is comfortable handling ICBC claims and the paperwork that might be involved. Check to see which shifts he/she works and work around their schedule. 

Why? In ICBC cases, it becomes important to seek an opinion from the attending physician. If you have been seen by a series of different doctors, you may not be able to secure a full and proper opinion.  A further benefit is that your injuries will have the attention of one caring physician, rather than transient single visits with random doctors.

If you have already been by different doctors, this can get tricky and it is best to consult with an experienced personal injury lawyer, like Perminder S. Tung.

Perminder S. Tung

ICBC Lawyer

Partner

Lindsay Kenney LLP

778-289-9513

ptung@lklaw.ca 

Do you have questions about your ICBC personal injury claim or accident?  If so, click here arrange your free consultation with  ICBC Claims Lawyer Perminder S. Tung (Services provided for ICBC injury claims throughout all of BC: Vancouver, Surrey, Langley, Burnaby, Richmond, Abbotsford, Chilliwack, Tri-city area and all over BC)

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Interesting Distracted Driving Cases: Are App Developers Liable?

Interesting Cases Involving Smart Phone Apps and Devices:

Potential Liability In Distracted Driving Cases

Device and app designers are potentially liable parties in distracted driving cases. This is a developing area of the law and much of the legal advice will arise from new case law coming out of the courts in North America.

For Example:

• In 2014, Uber was sued when one of its drivers killed a six-year old pedestrian. The plaintiffs claimed that Uber contributed to its drivers' distraction by requiring them to manually input data in its app to accept fares while driving (see Liu v. Uber Tech., Inc No. CGC-14-536979 (Calif.Super.Ct.San Fransisco Cnty. filed Jan 27, 2014 - a confidential settlement was reached in 2015. Because of the case, Uber changed its policies to provide insurance coverage for crashes its drivers caused while logged into the app, even when no passenger was in the vehicle).

• In 2015, SnapChat and an allegedly distracted driver were sued under a theory that SnapChat encouraged drivers to travel at excessive speeds to take selfies using the app's "speed filter," which imprints the vehicles speed on a photo or video - in this case, allegedly more than 100mph. (see Maynard v. McGee & SnapChat, Inc. No. 16-SV-89 (Ga. Spalding Cnty. filed April 19, 2015).

• Apple was also sued in 2015 after a driver texting on an iPhone caused a crash that resulted in two deaths and a child's paralysis. The plaintiff alleged that Apple should have incorporated a "lock-out mechanism" - for which it filed a patent - to prevent texting while driving. (See Meador v. Apple Inc., No 6:15-cv-715-MHS-KNM (E.D. Texas filed July 28, 2015)

• To date, courts dismissing cases filed against parties other than the distracted driver have focused on the lack of foreseeability of drivers using cell phones and causing crashes. But, with the proliferation of these devices and increased danger on the road, courts may look at foreseeability and causation issues different going forward.

Source: "The Landscape of Distracted Driving" by Joel D. Feldman, The Verdict, Issue 152, Spring 2017 pages 42 to 45

If you have any questions about your BC injury claim, feel free to contact me:

Perminder S. Tung

Partner

Lindsay Kenney LLP

778-289-9513

ptung@lklaw.ca 

Do you have questions about your ICBC personal injury claim or accident?  If so, click here arrange your free consultation with  ICBC Claims Lawyer Perminder S. Tung (Services provided for ICBC injury claims throughout all of BC: Vancouver, Surrey, Langley, Burnaby, Richmond, Abbotsford, Chilliwack, Tri-city area and all over BC)

settlement, ICBC, lawyer, personal, injury, claims, trial, experience, pain, suffering, adjuster, compensation, wage, loss, cases, assessment, award, insurance, corporation, of, british, columbia, capacity, earnings, surrey, langley, lklaw, perminder, tung, punjabi, indian, white, rock, south, chilliwack, vancouver, port, moody, coquitlam, best, settlement, icbc, injury, claims, new, westminster, court, win