In this personal injury case the claimant, a registered clinical counsellor, was injured when her car was rear-ended while stopped at a stop light at the intersection of Highway 99 and Nesters Road in Whistler, B.C. Fault was admitted and the claimant established injuries to her neck, upper and lower back, right wrist, right leg, and headaches. Her wrist and leg injuries, as well as headaches resolved within weeks of the car accident.(Dennstedt v. Lepine, 2018 BCSC 220)
ICBC claimed that she did not follow recommended treatment. However, given the claimant was the primary caregiver in the family, and attended regular exercise, stretching, yoga, acupuncture, massages, IMS, pilates, ICBC did not establish a mitigation failure.
Assessments for pain and suffering and loss of enjoyment of life consider the age of the claimant; nature of the injury; severity and duration of pain; disability; emotional suffering; impairment of life; impairment of family, marital and social relationships; impairment of physical and mental abilities; loss of lifestyle; and the claimant’s stoicism.
The claimant submitted that the appropriate range for damages under this head was $75,000 to $100,000 and took the position that $85,000 was appropriate. The defendants for ICBC submitted that the appropriate range under this head was $40,000 to $50,000. The judge awarded $70,000.
In summary, the damages awarded under the various heads are:
| Pain and Suffering Award: | $70,000.00 |
| Loss of Future Earnings: | $90,000.00 |
| Cost of Future Care: | $12,550.00 |
| Out of Pocket Expenses: | $1,538.22 |
| Subrogation Claim | $1,620.55 |
| TOTAL: | $175,708.77 |
*Without legal advice changes in the law after April 1, 2019 could make cases like this subject to an arbitrary government cap of $5,500.00. Please learn more at ICBC Injury Caps and always get legal advice at the beginning of a case.
Posted by Personal Injury Lawyer Mr. Renn A. Holness, B. A. LL.B.