Another walloping to the auto insurer ICBC as they seem to continually refuse to make reasonable offers of settlement. The Court has awarded $411,158.00 after a 2 week trial in Vancouver to a claimant involved in a motor vehicle accident while driving on Highway 1 near Kamloops, B.C. (Biefeld v. Neetz,2016 BCSC 689).
As a result of the car accident she suffered whiplash soft tissue injuries to her neck, left shoulder, left arm and left hand. She continued to experience serious and debilitating symptoms and pain, particularly in her left arm and shoulder, and based on the medical evidence, the prognosis for any improvement was poor. She suffered from chronic pain syndrome as a result of the accident.
In awarding $115,000 for the pain and suffering and loss of enjoyment of life the court acknowledged that the claimant had lived with significant chronic pain for over seven and a half years which had a serious effect on her emotional well-being. Her activities were much more limited, and her enjoyment of life significantly diminished, as compared with what they would have been but for the whiplash injuries she suffered in the car accident.
The award of $411,158.00 is summarized as follows:
(a) Pain and suffering and loss of enjoyment in the sum of $115,000.00;
(b) income loss to trial in the sum of $29,800.00 (less applicable taxes);
(c) loss of future earning capacity in the sum of $121,100.00;
(d) loss of employer-funded benefits in the sum of $15,100.00;
(e) cost of future care in the sum of $124,255.50; and
(f) Out of pocket expenses in the sum of $5,902.94
Posted by Personal Injury Lawyer Mr. Renn A. Holness, B.A. LL.B.
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