This successful personal injury case appeal(Poirier v. Aubrey, 2010 BCCA 266) has been referred to and considered by the Supreme Court more than 6 times since I first wrote this post and it has not been overturned. The injury claimant suffered soft tissue injury in a car accident which led to the development of chronic pain . Her personal injury lawyer filed the lawsuit in Vancouver and she was awarded $223,503.00. She appealed from a damages assessment claiming that it was too low.
The question is whether the Courts optimistic prognosis was supported by the medical evidence. The appeal was allowed and the plaintiff awarded $528,503. There was no evidence to support the Court finding that she will improve in the future.
Poirier has been referred to in a pedestrain injury case I reviewed( Zawadzki v. Calimos, 2011 BCSC 45) wherein the injury claimant was hit by a U-Haul truck in New Westminster, British Columbia and in a loss of housekeeping personal injury case .
This important personal injury case was also considered by the Supreme case of Shapiro v. Dailey where the 38-year-old claimant’s non-pecuniary damages were increased to $100,000. Read my review of Shapiro at ICBC Forced to Pay $900,000 for loss of Earning Capacity.
Posted byICBC Personal Injury Lawyer Mr. Renn A. Holness B.A., LL.B.
Issue: Did the trial judge go too far in finding the claimant would have improved despite the bleak forecasts of the doctors?
