Mannella v. Obregon, 2020 BCSC 715
John Cameron acted for FM who sustained injuries to his neck, shoulders and back as well as migraine headaches after a motor vehicle accident. He had been forced to miss work for several months and when he came back to work he was no longer suitable for his previous demanding physical position. He needed powerful pain killers and at times Botox injections for headaches and epidural injections to manage his pain. Eventually he needed to change jobs.
One of the main issues at trial was quantifying the losses to FM in relation to how his injuries might affect his future in the workforce as he had many years left to work. The judge accepted Mr. Cameron’s arguments in support of fair compensation for the fact that FM would be precluded from the type of physical work he used to perform due to his injuries. The Court ultimately awarded FM over $300,000 in compensation, including damages for loss of earning capacity. The Court award was much more than the compensation which ICBC had offered before trial.