In this Vancouver filed car accident injury claim(Sandhar v. Rolston,2012 BCSC 495) the Supreme Court of BC says that at fault driver’s are still responsible for injuries that continue after an intervening injury for which the claimant is at fault.
The claimant’s car was struck from behind by another motor vehicle and her car was pushed into another vehicle stopped in front of her. Fault was admitted and the trial proceeded on the assessment of damages. Four year after the motor vehicle accident the claimant injured her shoulder while shoveling snow which resulted in surgery. The judge found that the snow shoveling activity did not reactivate or aggravate the previous injuries, but instead caused a new injury. As that judge stated, ” I conclude the injury from the snow shoveling is divisible. It was not caused by an exacerbation of the injuries from the car accident and cannot be blamed on the defendant.”
That does not mean compensation for the injuries from the car accident is cut off from the date the injury claimant shoveled snow. The judge rightly pointed out that if the car accident injuries continued to have their effects after the shoveling injury, the at fault driver remains liable to compensate the injury claimant for those effects. See Dudek v. Li, 2000 BCCA 321.
The Court awarded the injury claimant $60,000 for pain and suffering.
Posted by Personal Injury LawyerMr. Renn A. Holness
