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Boyer v. Robertson2/14/2002
Danny Boyer appeals an order of the Stevens County Superior Court granting conditional dismissal, on forum non conveniens grounds, of his suit against Darcy Robertson and DCT Chambers Trucking, Ltd. We affirm.
This case arises from an accident involving two semitrailer trucks on Highway 25 near Northport, Washington, on February 6, 1996. Mr. Boyer, the driver of one of the trucks, alleges he was injured by the negligence of Mr. Robertson, the other truck's driver.
Both drivers are Canadian residents and were working for Canadian employers at the time of the accident. Mr. Robertson was employed by DCT Trucking, a British Columbia corporation. Mr. Boyer was employed by Trimac Transportation, Ltd., an Alberta corporation.
Mr. Boyer filed a claim for benefits arising from the accident with the British Columbia's Workers' Compensation Board. A solicitor for the board explained the provincial system:
This is a first party insurance system that provides benefits for injuries that arise out of or in the course of employment. The system is funded by payroll assessments paid into the system by employers on behalf of their workers. The identity of the person who causes the injury has no effect on eligibility. Thus, a worker injured by a stranger, a co-worker, his employer, another worker or even himself will be entitled to the same amount of benefits.
4. Because these benefits are first party benefits, merely receiving the benefits does not affect the liability of a tortfeasor. Like many jurisdictions, an eligible worker injured by a liable third party has the right to either seek compensation directly from the tortfeasor or accept benefits and let The Board pursue the tortfeasor. If the worker wants The Board to pursue the tortfeasor, he simply makes a claim for benefits. Under British Columbia law The Board then becomes subrogated to the worker's tort claim and takes over full control of pursuing the tortfeasor. Under British Columbia law, the worker's choice to let The Board pursue his tort remedies while accepting benefits of medical coverage and timeloss payments does not limit or extinguish his tort remedies. The Board retains a right to full repayment of all benefits paid plus an administration fee.
7. It is a routine practice for The Board to pursue recovery against third party tortfeasors on behalf of injured workers who have accepted benefits and subrogated their damages claim to the Board for prosecution. . . . When accidents occur outside of British Columbia, The Board regularly pursues the full tort remedies available to the claimant under the law of the jurisdiction where the accident occurred. The location of the accident or who caused it has nothing to do with the first party insurance benefits available to the injured worker in British Columbia. Clerk's Papers (CP) at 287-88.
Because Mr. Boyer chose to receive benefits under the provincial law, the Workers' Compensation Board became subrogated to his tort claim against Mr. Robertson and his employer, DCT Trucking. The board thus initiated a claim in Mr. Boyer's name in the Supreme Court of British Columbia, Vancouver Registry, in November 1997. More than a year later, the board initiated this action in Stevens County, Washington. A solicitor for the board explained it filed both lawsuits 'as a precautionary measure to avoid any problems caused by the statute of limitations.' CP at 289. The board later apparently chose Stevens County as the appropriate forum and voluntarily discontinued the British Columbia action.
Mr. Robertson and DCT Trucking are insured by the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia (ICBC), a universal coverage system known
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