June 13th, 2009
Drysdale Bacon McStravick is pleased to announce that effective June 9, 2009 Harmonie Roesch-West joined our litigation team. Harmonie has a Bachelor of Commerce in Finance from the Haskayne School of Business (University of Calgary) and completed the Canadian Securities Course before obtaining her law degree from the University of New Brunswick in 2008. Her background also includes work experience with an ethical funds company and an internship with the New Brunswick Court of Appeal. Harmonie’s business and finance background further expand our litigation skill set and we are delighted she has chosen to join us.
Harmonie will be focusing on personal injury and general litigation files – you can read her full Bio and more about what is happening at DBM on the firm’s website.
Posted in Coquitlam Personal Injury Law | No Comments »
January 23rd, 2009
In Radke v. M.S. et al, 2005 BCSC 1355, our client, Mr. Radke, sustained a permanent partial disability after being t-boned in an intersection by a young offender driving a stolen Honda who blew a stop sign while trying to evade the RCMP. This was definitely a case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. The police pursuit lasted all of a minute but unfortunately during that time our client was seriously injured. With the car being stolen and the blameworthy thief uninsured our client had little choice but to sue the RCMP when his Uninsured Motorist Policy would not cover his substantial injuries.
The RCMP claimed the chase had not been at high speeds but this was contradicted by witnesses in the car driven by the young offender. Also, given the extent of our client’s injuries we had questions about this supposed “slow speed chase” and proceeded to investigate. As it turned out, the constable had come across the stolen car while investigating an unrelated B&E in the same neighbourhood. Instead of disabling the car or taking precautions to insure he had sufficient back up to block the stolen car from escaping the constable focused on trying to apprehend the thief when he returned. The result was a police pursuit in a residential neighbourhood.
On behalf of our client we raised the issue of whether the constable had properly followed police pursuit procedure given that the primary principle of that procedure is public safety. In the end, the court found that the collision injuring our client was a consequence of the police pursuit and because the constable had the opportunity and means to disable the vehicle and should have done so and further could have avoided the chase by making sure other police vehicles were available to cut off the thief’s escape, he was negligent and partially responsible for our client’s injuries. Since the Province is liable for the conduct of its police officers it too was liable to our client under the legal principle of joint and several liability. While the judge found that the young offender was 85% responsible for the collision she also found the RCMP constable (and through him the Province) 15% liable for Mr. Radke’s injuries.
The Attorney General appealed the ruling on behalf of the Province but lost and the matter was settled out of court. You can read the appeal court’s decision in Radke v. M.S. (Litigation guardian of) 2007 BCCA 216.
Posted in Coquitlam Personal Injury Law | No Comments »
January 22nd, 2009
We are honoured to be on the Georgia Straight’s “Best of Vancouver” list. Thank you to those who voted for us.
Posted in Coquitlam Personal Injury Law | No Comments »
July 9th, 2008
Hi! My name is Marc Bolda and I’m one of the litigation lawyers practicing at Drysdale Bacon McStravick (www.dbmlaw.ca), a full service law firm located in Coquitlam, B.C.
I practice mainly in the area of personal injury and general commercial litigation, with a view to helping clients get the best result for the smallest expenditure possible in that legal cockpit known as the law courts…
My first job, ironically enough, is to keep clients out of court in the first place, through a variety of so called “alternate dispute resolution” mechanisms, such as settlement negotiations or mediation, and my second job–if the first just isn’t viable–is to see the client through his or her day in court, hopefully with a great win and with said client’s wallet still (relatively) intact: Pyrrhic victories need not apply.
Another way of looking at my role is that of risk management: just like a doctor, it’s my duty to place the client in a position of informed risk; if a certain procedure is engaged in, what are the odds of this or that happening and why it’s better (or not) to choose one course of action over another. Litigation is all about risk: a good barrister will make the other side see that paying out a decent settlement is better than getting hammered in court! But beware the lawyer who guarantees you an easy win–the only certainties in this life are the two you’ve already heard about and anyone who says different ain’t been to Vegas.
Over the coming weeks and months, I will be posting on topics of interest to those of you unfortunate enough to have been injured–primarily in motor vehicle accidents (although we represent a fair number of clients who have been involved in slip and fall type accidents or who have been attacked by dogs). People who have been through this process often don’t know which is worse: being hurt through someone else’s negligence or dealing with the insurance company afterwards.
Personal injury lawyers–despite being maligned as ‘ambulance chasers’ and the like–are often the beacon of hope for those struggling to obtain fair compensation and get their lives back on track in the wake of an accident. That’s called job satisfaction and is one of the main reasons we put up with the often crazy hours this profession demands. We work closely with the medical profession too, in helping to coordinate the best treatment plan available and, where necessary, making sure clients get to see the right specialist–who not only help with the management of injuries but also provide the medical legal expertise that is required in court to prove the case.
Posted in Coquitlam Personal Injury Law | 1 Comment »
