The claimant, a registered massage therapist, was injured in a motor vehicle accident(Combs v. Moorman,2012 BCSC 1001) when her car, which was stopped, was struck from behind in New Westminster, BC. Her vehicle was pushed into oncoming traffic and struck again head on by another vehicle. ICBC participated directly in the personal injury lawsuit as a Third Party and the at fault driver did not attend the trial.
The injury claimant suffered fairly extensive injuries in the accident, some of which are permanent. A hematoma in her knee and damage to her finger, though not interfering with her activities, will not improve. She now deals with daily neck, back and hip pain and has done so for four years. While surgery will likely improve her hip pain, it is not likely that her neck and back pain will resolve. Her prognosis was said to be poor.
At the time of the car accident she was working only three days per week because she had just had her first baby. She was planning to get back up to 4 ½ days and her claim was that she has lost her ability to perform at that level.
The judge was satisfied that the claimant had established a substantial likelihood of loss of a half day per week, but estimated the chances of the loss occurring after the birth of her second child at about 50%. The judge also agreed that the injury claimant will suffer some ongoing loss in the future as a result of the diminished working hours and possible retraining and will also suffer a loss associated with the surgeries and recovery time. The court therefore awarded the following:
| Pain and Suffering | $90,000.00 |
| Past Wage Loss | $51,480.00 |
| Loss of future earning capacity | $100,000.00 |
| Cost of future care | $40,000.00 |
| Out of pocket expenses | $17,456.62 |
| Past Loss of housekeeping capacity | $10,000.00 |
Posted by Personal Injury Lawyer Mr. Renn A. Holness B.A., LL. B