Man wins lawsuit after ICBC found him half-responsible for other driver running red light
A B.C. driver who was found equally responsible after someone allegedly ran a red light and crashed into his pickup truck has been awarded nearly $8,000 in damages.
Christian Pedersen took his case to the province's small claims tribunal after ICBC investigators were unable to determine who was to blame for the collision, instead finding both drivers 50 per cent liable.
The Civil Resolution Tribunal ultimately determined Pedersen was not responsible at all.
The crash happened on the morning of April 6, 2020, while Pedersen was driving his pickup down 122nd Street in Surrey. As he was passing through the 72nd Avenue intersection, a sedan driven by Gursimran Makkar slammed into the front corner of his truck.
The tribunal noted there were no witnesses to the crash, the intersection's traffic camera wasn't working at the time, and both drivers claimed to have the right-of-way.
"In the absence of any objective evidence about who had a green light, I find that this dispute turns on credibility," tribunal member Eric Regehr wrote.
"Part of assessing credibility is assessing whose account is more in harmony with what a practical and informed person would consider reasonably likely in the circumstances. In other words, whose account of the accident is more consistent with common human experience?"
The tribunal did consider evidence gathered from the black boxes recovered from both vehicles. ICBC had the contents analyzed by a forensic consultant, who found Pedersen's pickup had stopped at the intersection before slowly accelerating to 25 km/h at the time of the crash.
Makkar's car was determined to have been going approximately 60 km/h and "only began slowing half a second before impact," according to the tribunal's decision.
Regehr said the findings suggest Makkar, who was represented by an ICBC employee at the hearing, wasn't paying close attention to the road. He also found it unlikely that Pedersen would have run a red light after coming to a stop.
The tribunal member also noted that Makkar initially told ICBC he only "thought" the light had been green.
"I find that Mr. Pedersen was proceeding through the intersection on a green light," Regehr wrote. "There is no evidence to suggest that Mr. Pedersen was contributorily negligent. I find that Mr. Makkar is 100 per cent liable for the accident."
The tribunal ordered Makkar to pay $5,627 in damages for pain and suffering to Pederson, who suffered minor injuries in the crash, as well as $2,309 for accelerated deprecation of his pickup truck's value.
Pedersen also sought an order reversing the increase to his ICBC insurance premiums that resulted from the accident, but was denied. Regehr said the tribunal does not have "jurisdiction, or legal authority, to order ICBC to change a person's insurance premiums," and that the public insurer was also not a party to the dispute.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
'Anything to win': Trudeau says as Poilievre defends meeting protesters
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of welcoming 'the support of conspiracy theorists and extremists,' after the Conservative leader was photographed meeting with protesters, which his office has defended.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Boeing's financial woes continue, while families of crash victims urge U.S. to prosecute the company
Boeing said Wednesday that it lost US$355 million on falling revenue in the first quarter, another sign of the crisis gripping the aircraft manufacturer as it faces increasing scrutiny over the safety of its planes and accusations of shoddy work from a growing number of whistleblowers.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Fair in Ontario, flurries in Labrador: Weather systems make for an erratic spring
"It's a bit of a complicated pattern; we've got a lot going on," said Jennifer Smith of the Meteorological Service of Canada in an interview with CTVNews.ca on Wednesday. "[As is] typical with weather, all of these things are related."
Police tangle with students in Texas and California as wave of campus protest against Gaza war grows
Police tangled with student demonstrators in Texas and California while new encampments sprouted Wednesday at Harvard and other colleges as school leaders sought ways to defuse a growing wave of pro-Palestinian protests.