CASE LAW - Taskov v McDonagh

The case of Taskov v McDonagh stems from a collision at the intersection of East 49th Avenue and Victoria Drive in Vancouver. Dragomir Taskov was driving eastbound on East 49th Avenue intending to make a left turn onto Victoria Drive. He was operating as an Uber driver with a fare. Katherine McDonagh was westbound on East 49th and collided with Mr. Taskov.

At issue was the liability for the collision, but what makes the case interesting is that both the lawyers for the drivers and the judge needed to sort out whether the court could decide the liability for this issue due to the relatively recent changes in how motor vehicle insurance functions in BC.

Ultimately, Judge G. J. Brown decided that the decision fell to the provincial court and not the Civil Resolution Tribunal. He said:

Based on my finding, I am not required to rule on damages. I will confirm that Mr. Taskov is responsible for the GST on the repair bill in any event, and he is responsible for the deductible based on my ruling on liability. In so far as loss of Uber income is concerned, I will only say Mr. Taskov had a duty to mitigate using the Hertz program.