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I’m a lawyer in Kelowna who practices in the area of personal injury – or shall I say, practiced.
I’m writing in response to the article about the 14-year-old girl who was struck by the impaired driver.
I get hot under the collar when I hear these stories, and when I speak to people who have experienced the same thing – ie – being struck by an impaired driver and the only consequence being a ticket under the Motor Vehicle Act.
This article highlights the problems with the new ICBC no fault regime and the way the RCMP handles impaired drivers.
Generally, people are no longer entitled to receive compensation for injuries suffered as a result of a motor vehicle accident. The provincial government spun this no fault regime with an “enhanced care” model that sees people injured in motor vehicle accidents getting up to $300,000 in care/treatment* to set them on a path to being pain free.
However, the person that rear-ended you while texting also gets the same level of care as the person now suffering from chronic pain.
The provincial government, and more particularly David Eby, left it open for victims to seek compensation through ICBC if they were in a motor vehicle accident where there was a criminal conviction of the offending driver – for example, an impaired driver. I have spoken to many people that have been struck by an impaired driver and sustained injuries as a result but the RCMP only issued a ticket under the Motor Vehicle Act.
They SHOULD be charging the impaired driver under the Criminal Code when there’s a crash, but for reasons I won’t discuss here, the RCMP choose the path of least resistance by issuing these roadside prohibitions.
By not charging the impaired drivers criminally and the impaired drivers avoiding a criminal conviction, the RCMP is precluding the injured victim’s entitlement to seek compensation for their injuries.
I’m not confident David Eby thought this through with any level of intelligence.
Seems to me, given the way the RCMP is handling impaired drivers, an impaired driver has the same level of protection as the innocent victim.
Thanks for that Mr. Eby.
Paul Johnson
Kelowna
*NB: A spokesman for ICBC submitted the following statement on Nov. 7, 2022:
"Under the Enhanced Care insurance model that launched on May 1, 2021, there is no overall limit to the care and recovery benefits available to any British Columbian injured in a crash. Under the previous system, an injured ICBC customer was entitled to a maximum of $300,000 in care benefits, which is the figure stated in the op-ed."
