What is the effect of prejudicial statements made by counsel at trial in an ICBC personal injury action?

This application arises out of a hotly contested personal injury action. The plaintiff suffered a serious injury to his left foot which he says was suffered in an accident caused by an unidentified motorist on August 7, 2007. ICBC denies that the injury occurred in the motor vehicle accident as alleged by the plaintiff. The case proceeded to a three week trial before a jury on April 10, 2012. Following submissions to the jury Voith J. declared a mistrial based on the unfairly prejudicial statements made by plaintiff’s counsel. He found that counsel’s conduct was “willful and obdurate” and that it was deserving of rebuke and sanction: Walker v. John Doe, 2014 BCSC 294 at para. 56. For the purpose of this application I note that one of the bases for the declaration of a mistrial was the “inappropriate and unfair” attacks made by plaintiff’s counsel on one of the defendant’s experts.