The Rise of Self-Driving Cars Both the popularity and presence of self-driving cars on North American roads is expected to grow in the decades to come with car makers looking to make fully autonomous vehicles an affordable reality. What’s not to like? A person gets from point A to B in the comfort and convenience…
What is Voluntary Assumption of Risk or the Volenti Doctrine? Today we are going discuss a common defence used by insurers and defendants in personal injury lawsuits – The doctrine of volenti non fit injuria, or in English, the voluntary assumption of risk. This doctrine essentially means that if somebody willingly puts themselves in a…
Why does ICBC often blame the victim? A concern that some people have after being in a car accident is being found at fault, or partially at fault, for their accident. Sometimes, fault lies with multiple parties. A common approach used by ICBC and injury defense lawyers is to try to avoid 100 percent of…
The Legal Liability for Dogs This week we are talking about legal liability for dogs. That is, if a dog injures someone or causes property damage, what are the consequences, and how can they be reduced, or even avoided entirely? This discussion applies to both dogs that you might own, but also dogs owned by…
Insurance adjusters and defence lawyers alike will often attempt to prove that the injured person is not really as injured as they are claiming, and video surveillance may be used as a tool in support of this defence. Injury claimants are subject to scrutiny and it is an unfortunate reality that some injury claimants will be…
Video Blog: ICBC Hit and Run Claims British Columbia insurance law makes sure that every vehicle licensed in this province carries at least basic coverage of $200,000 in third party liability insurance through ICBC. This basic level of required ICBC coverage means that if someone else injures you with their vehicle, you at least have some…
Video Blog: School Zones, Speeding Cyclists and BC Law Last week a local cyclist was ticketed for speeding in a school zone. The event attracted considerable news attention and a lot of discussion on social media – with many wondering if speeding cyclists are subject to the Motor Vehicle Act. In this week’s video blog we…
Video Blog: Are Waivers (for Accidents) Enforceable in BC? This week I am going to talk about the enforceability of waivers, which are incredibly common and powerful clauses in contracts we all come across almost every day. From getting on a chairlift or a ferris-wheel, to renting a car, a bicycle or piece of garden equipment,…
Video Blog: Unsafe Premises, an Overview of Occupiers Liability Law in British Columbia In British Columbia the law provides that a person who is in physical possession or control over premises has duty of care to see that another person, and that person’s property, is reasonably safe in using the premises (basically, a law against…
Perhaps one of the most common mistakes drivers make is not understanding what is a crosswalk, and who, pedestrian or vehicle, has the right of way. Most people think that a crosswalk is only that area on a street marked with parallel white lines. Unfortunately, those people are incorrect.
