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Psychological Trauma After a Car Crash

You’ve heard about soldiers returning from war zones with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). But traumatic events much closer to home can also have serious psychological consequences and leave deep emotional scarring. …

Compensation For Delayed University Graduation

If you're hurt in a car crash which delays your graduation from university because you can’t study full-time, you could be entitled to money compensation, i.e., damages. Take the recent case of Amy, a 17-year old Grade 12 student (name changed to protect her). …

Plaintiffs Should Follow Medical Advice

If you’re hurt in an accident, you have a duty to “mitigate” (take reasonable steps to minimize) your losses relating to your injuries. The reason is to prevent you from receiving “damages” (compensation) for any losses caused by your own neglect. …

Injured In a Car Accident? ICBC and You

It happens when you least expect it. One moment you're driving the kids to soccer or going to work, and the next, somebody smashes into you from behind. If you're lucky, you escape a little shaken up. If not, you suffer a whiplash injury – or worse – resulting in hospitalization, lingering pain, lost paycheques and countless visits to the physiotherapist. Quite understandably, you want someone to compensate you for your "damages." …

Whiplash Victim Gets Yoga Paid For Life

Pain-killers. Physio. Anti-inflammatory medication. If you’re hurt in a car crash, traditional medical treatments alone may not always be enough to get you back on your feet to the maximum extent your injuries allow. …

Bus Accident Victims Get Compensation

Mr. F’s case is an example. On a wintry January day, he stepped down from the rear exit of a bus in Kamloops. His ankle snapped as he slipped and fell on an icy spot. It turned out that the bus driver had stopped somewhat back from the bus stop, where there was no curb or sidewalk (which would have been safer), and he drove off without checking his rear view mirror …

“Whiplash” Symptoms Can Linger Indefinitely

Most people hurt in a car accident who suffer soft tissue injuries – often known as “whiplash” – get better within a few months. But about 10% never recover. They go on to develop chronic pain and other complaints that continue indefinitely. …

Using Your Cell Phone to Prove Accident Liability

Cell phones are great gadgets. Now, as well as being useful for talking (but not while driving!) and taking pictures, a cell phone can also be a useful tool at the scene of a car accident. It may even turn out to be decisive in the all-too-common situation where a court is faced with the “he said, she said” scenario of two warring parties offering contradictory stories of what happened. …

Bike Lanes Cause Bike Crashes

The City Council of Vancouver has laid down a number of bike lanes in Downtown Vancouver separated from heavy vehicle traffic by concrete dividers. The intention was to increase cyclist safety, but as they say, the road to hell is paved with good intentions. …

How ICBC Assesses Whiplash “Pain and Suffering”

Crash! Somebody hits you from behind. Your head jerks back and you get a whiplash. You develop pain – strong pain – and hard-to-pin-down soft tissue injuries in your neck and back which bother you for a long time after. Among other things, you're entitled to be compensated for your “pain, suffering and loss of life enjoyment.” So you submit a claim to ICBC and the adjuster offers you $6,500 for your pain and suffering. She says, “It’s the most you'll get for this.” …