ICBC fails to prove identity of hit-and-run driver, forced to assume liability

The Insurance Corporation of British Columbia (ICBC) has been ordered by B.C.’s provincial court to assume the liability of a hit-and-run accident when an investigation failed to determine the identity of the driver.
In Spitman v ICBC, Jen Spitman was at a house party in October 2005. In the wee hours of the morning, uninvited guests turned up at the party and began to cause a ruckus. The owner of the home called an end to the festivities and roughly 50 people spilled onto the lawn and street in front of the house.
The fights continued. One of the uninvited guests sprayed pepper spray into the crowd, got into his/her car and drove away.
The car drove up the street, which happened to be a cul-de-sac, turned around and drove back through the crowd.
Spitman testified that upon seeing the car come back through the crowd, she walked towards it to ascertain the identity of the driver. She was hit by the left bumper, rolled up onto the hood and off the car.
Spitman said she saw the license plate number of the car that hit her.
The RCMP identified the driver of the car bearing that plate number as Kevin Green.
ICBC argued Green should be held liable for Spitman’s claims. Green argued it was not his car that hit her. While he was attempting to drive through the crowd, his car was being swarmed and vandalized at the time of the incident. He suggested instead that Spitman’s vision was impaired by pepper spray and alcohol intoxication, and that perhaps she mistakenly identified his car from the ground as the one that had hit her.
As a result of the accident, Spitman suffered a massive contusion on her leg and soft tissue injuries to her neck, hips and back. She claims the injuries continue to flare up when she tries to exert herself physically.
Within five days, she saw an ICBC adjuster, who advised her to leave it to the RCMP to identify the driver. When she saw the RCMP, they referred her back to ICBC.
Spitman plastered the neighbourhood in which the incident took place with flyers and posters asking for help identifying the driver, with no success.
A subsequent RCMP investigation of Green and the car failed to prove he was the driver in question. Also, an eyewitness testified Green’s car had indeed been swarmed while trying to leave the party and could not have been going as fast as the vehicle in question.
ICBC is liable to pay if an unknown motorist causes a motor vehicle injury, so long as every reasonable effort has been made to identify the motorist.
“The question is whether Ms. Spitman has proven on a balance of probabilities that the unknown motorist caused her injuries — I am satisfied that she has proven her case,” wrote Justice Dev Dley.
The court ordered ICBC to pay $25,000 to Spitman, as well as costs incurred by both Spitman and Kevin Green.