What is “pain and suffering” compensation and what is it for?
Pain and suffering compensation is a financial award for the loss of quality of life that an injury may have caused you. If an injury prevents you from enjoying an activity that you formerly enjoyed, this is recognized through “pain and suffering” financial compensation.
- Money can only go so far to assuage suffering from injury
- Rule limiting pain and suffering compensation is wrong
There was very little damage to my car – does that impact the value of my claim?
Absolutely not. ICBC might try to disqualify your claim using their ‘Low Velocity Impact Policy,’ but they are incorrect in doing so. Car crash claims are based on injuries and cannot be ruled out by a the amount of damage or the speed of impact. For example, soft-tissue injuries often occur at very low collision speeds.
I took very little time off work. Do I still have a claim?
Yes – if you incurred injuries caused by another driver, you still have a claim. Income losses only represent a portion of the valuation of a car crash claim.
What is my claim worth?
Car crash valuations are impacted by several factors including income loss, pain and suffering, and your commitment to pursue recovery.
Estimating the true value of a claim can be complicated, but a rule of thumb is that your claim is worth significantly more than what ICBC offers you before you have retained a lawyer (even after their 4th offer.) After paying legal fees, our clients never receive less compensation than they would have have negotiated on their own.
How does my life expectancy (how long I am likely to live) impact on the value of my claim?
Life expectancy plays a large role in determining claim value. This is because of the impact on potential future earnings. If a twenty-year-old and a sixty-year-old both incur an injury that prevents them from working, the claim for the twenty year old will be larger. This is because the twenty-year-old has lost their ability to earn income for a longer period of time.
If I now need help performing housekeeping chores, am I entitled to compensation even if I don’t pay for that help?
Yes. In certain cases, it is possible to be financially compensated for housekeeping chores that you are no longer able to perform. Read more here:
