Personal Injury

Most personal injury matters involve a number of issues, some of which can be extremely complex. Almost invariably it is better to have a lawyer assist.

An injury suffered as a result of an accident comprises two primary elements: liability and damages. Most personal injury claims brought in B.C. Courts concern motor vehicle accidents. In this type of injury some incidents really present no difficulty as to liability (rear-enders, for example). Others however are more difficult (left-turning vehicles, minor incidents resulting in major apparent injuries, for example), in which cases there may be an apportionment of liability. Injuries also arise from “slip and fall” accidents, dog bites, assault, and of course, from simple accidents. There are numerous heads of damages that flow from injuries. These include loss of wages, diminution of earning capacity, medical and rehabilitation expenses, and general damages (sometimes inelegantly called pain and suffering). Rarely, except perhaps in cases of assault, are damages punitive or exemplary.

Damage awards vary enormously, and not only because many injured parties choose a jury by whom to be tried. A whiplash injury has no real objective standard: it is a question of how badly the particular victim is injured and affected, not by how much the average person would be injured. There are practical limits on recovery. The Supreme Court of Canada determined many years ago than the maximum damages for pain and suffering was to be $100,000 (because of inflation, it is now about $300,000). This decision (in part to hold back the much larger American awards slipping their way across the border) is now likely to be reviewed again by the Supreme Court, though the appeal process will occupy some years to complete. Likewise, there is a public security net that may well have an effect upon the measure of damages; all of these many factors come into play.