Damages for pain and suffering, also known as non-pecuniary damages, compensates an injured claimant for the injuries suffered in the motor vehicle accident and the impact those injuries have had on his/her enjoyment of life. Trial judges will consider the following factors when deciding the amount to award to an injured claimant for pain and…
In this car accident case (Winick v. Goddard 2020 BCSC 4), the 27 year-old female injured claimant was involved in 3 collisions. In the 1st car accident, the injured claimant sustained soft tissue injuries to her neck and back with pain radiating into her hip and legs that were aggravated by the 2nd car accident…
Marijuana is now legal in Canada and its benefits in pain management are now being recognized. Medical doctors are prescribing it to their patients to treat chronic pain and in an attempt to avoid prescribing opioids. It is well publicized that opioid addiction and misuse is a serious public health problem in Canada. As it…
This 47 year old plumber and business owner suffered injuries in a car accident on Highway 97 just south of Quesnel, B.C. The other driver’s GMC pick-up truck crossed over the highway’s center line and collided with a trailer being towed by the claimant and traveling in the opposite direction. The next morning he called ICBC and…
The new NDP injury cap legislation degrades chronic psychiatric conditions to “minor injuries” and leaves claimants without a legal advocate. This change tramples on individual rights and its only aim is saving ICBC from elimination. The vulnerable, the innocent that develop chronic illnesses due to car accidents will be offered a maximum one time payment of…
In this important and first Supreme Court personal injury case of 2018 the court accepts that a claim for past loss of earning capacity involves a consideration of hypothetical events. Therefore an ICBC injury claimant is not required to prove these hypothetical events on a balance of probabilities when claiming loss of past opportunity to earn.(De Groot…
A money award after a car accident or fall is meant to provide some solace to an innocent victim of personal injury. Some injuries are not amenable to treatment or complete recovery, such as chronic pain syndrome, and victims will have to suffer pain for the rest of their lives. In today’s ICBC case example…
This ICBC claimant was injured in a rear ender when driving on Boundary Road in Vancouver. When traffic came to a stop the claimant was rearended by a pick-up truck pushing her car about two car lengths into a van that had previously stopped in front of her. Immediately she experienced pain in her right leg, left…
In this personal injury case the claimant was injured in two car accidents and claimed to have suffered a chronic pain syndrome. The judge found the medical expert opinion evidence presented to be highly unsatisfactory. Therefore judge Saunders was not persuaded that there was a “but for” causative link between either of the subject accidents and…
Can ICBC reduce an injury award because you did not attend recommended therapy or treatment for depression or anxiety? We explore the answer in the following injury case review. The claimant was injured in a rear end motor vehicle accident on the Seymour Parkway driving towards Deep Cove in British Columbia. She suffered ongoing chronic pain in her neck, shoulder…
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