B.C. court finds man may have attempted to defraud ICBC
CBC
The B.C. Court of Appeal has dismissed a man's claim for damages after he was rear-ended in Surrey in 2017, finding that his testimony was not credible and he may have attempted to defraud the provincial auto insurer in the process.
The case shows how a lower court decision can be flawed, according to the appellate court, when it relies on expert evidence that was itself based on unreliable information.
Alasdair Girvan was seeking hundreds of thousands of dollars in damages and costs of future care, after the accident involving a car driven by Eleanor McGlue in July 2017.
Girvan claimed he felt extreme pain after the accident and "seized up." He provided expert evidence stating the accident may have exacerbated previous injuries he suffered and caused him psychological distress.
However, despite a B.C. Supreme Court judge finding his testimony unreliable when passing judgment on his case last year, he was awarded damages based on the "evidence as a whole" that was submitted. Girvan was awarded more than $630,000 in the case by the lower court.
McGlue appealed the decision, saying the judge made an error by awarding damages when there was no proof of the injuries.
Now, the province's highest court has agreed with her, and dismissed Girvan's claim outright.
"I see the adverse credibility findings as being fatal to Mr. Girvan's claim of injuries caused by the accident — given that there was no objective evidence to support his claim," wrote Justice Sunni Stromberg-Stein in a decision released Monday that was concurred in by two other Appeal Court judges.
On July 18, 2017, both McGlue and Girvan were travelling south on Surrey's 176 Street, near the intersection with Fraser Highway, when the accident occurred around 5 p.m. PT.
McGlue told the court that she was driving between 40 and 60 km/h at the time, and could not slow down in time before she rear-ended Girvan's SUV.
Both parties agree about what happened in the immediate aftermath, according to the judgment. Girvan came out of his car and appeared "calm and collegial" in the moment.
"Ms. McGlue was very relieved that he was not angry with her," the judgment reads. "She apologized profusely to Mr. Girvan, who told her not to worry and that he had not even felt the impact. Ms. McGlue was firm in her evidence on that point."
Girvan then helped McGlue call a tow truck, according to the judgment, and then drove off after exchanging phone numbers.
Soon after, as she waited for the tow truck, McGlue got a call from Girvan, she testified.