Can a personal injury award be reduced? The answer is yes, by the Court of Appeal when discussing a case filed in the Supreme Court of British Columbia.
If you have gone through a trial and received a favourable award, ICBC or any other defendant, has 30 days to appeal this decision. You and your personal injury lawyer may be happy with the award but ICBC may choose to appeal. The case then goes to our Court of Appeal to be reviewed. Every litigant, including ICBC, has a right to an appeal to determine whether the trial judge made any serious errors of fact or law. Check out my short video about the reduction of ICBC personal injury awards.
It is therefore not uncommon, especially in the larger cases, for the Court of Appeal to be asked to decide whether an award is too high, and in some cases, too low.
A case example of a personal injury case being reduced on appeal is Milliken v. Rowe,2012, BCCA 490. The claimant was awarded $253,000.00 and ICBC objected to $30,000 of the award for the costs of future care because it related to the needs of the claimant’s husband and not her needs. The Court of Appeal disagreed with the Trial Judge finding that diminished ability to care for a disabled spouse of a claimant where no such care is required or contemplated at the time of the tort is not foreseeable at law and are not compensable. The award was redcued by $30,000.00.
Another way the courts reduce awards is through the concept of mitigation, which is usually done at the trial judge level. Take a read of my article abour a Personal injury award reduced by Judge.
Posted by Personal Injury Lawyer Mr. Renn A. Holness
