A British Columbia driver and former trucking business owner received a damages award following a 2015 collision, but the contested trial turned on how the accident affected his health and ability to earn rather than who caused the crash. In Faizal v. Bowes, 2026 BCSC 1953, liability was admitted and Veenstra J. assessed accident causation and damages after hearing extensive medical and vocational evidence.
The plaintiff had operated a trucking business and tried to continue working after the accident. The court examined inconsistent recollections spanning several years, the differing medical opinions, his physical limitations and the possibility of returning to a different occupation. It distinguished gaps in reliability from dishonesty, concluding that imperfect recollection did not necessarily undermine credibility. The court also considered surveillance footage, but the images did not displace the medical and practical evidence about the plaintiff's changing symptoms and work capacity.
The judgment awarded $180,000 for nonpecuniary loss, $240,000 after tax for past earning capacity, $175,000 for future earning capacity and $50,934 for future care, totalling $645,934 before applicable interest. Future care recommendations weren't all accepted at face value. The judge reduced or rejected some suggested items and addressed the medical and practical foundation of the award.
ICBC was a third party because it had determined that the defendant driver breached the insurance contract, but it admitted liability on his behalf and contested the amount of damages. This judgment doesn't determine the underlying coverage dispute. It illustrates the evidence needed to establish causation, residual earning capacity and reasonable future care costs in a personal injury claim. The court left room for costs submissions, with Scale B costs to apply if no contrary submissions were made.
Original decision: Faizal v. Bowes, 2026 BCSC 1953, Supreme Court of British Columbia, October 9, 2026. https://www.bccourts.ca/jdb-txt/sc/26/19/2026BCSC1953.htm