Richmond woman severely injured after being hit by a dump truck says victims have been ‘forced to advocate for themselves in a system that prioritizes financials over well-being’
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It has been almost two years since Julia Kwan’s life changed in an instant.
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As she stepped off a curb at Westminster Highway and No. 2 Road in Richmond, a dump truck hit her and pinned her under a wheel.
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She suffered massive injuries, including a broken pelvis, wrist and foot, eight broken ribs, and damage to her kidney and spleen. She required skin grafts to her thigh and abdomen.
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With a toddler at home with her husband, Kwan spent six nights in intensive care, and nine weeks in hospital. She has had nine surgeries.
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Kwan, 35, was one of the first people to tell their stories Monday before a special committee at the B.C. legislature looking into ICBC’s launch of “no-fault insurance” in May 2021.
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No-fault ended the rights of victims to sue other drivers for damages, such as for medical treatments, lost income, and pain and suffering. Instead, ICBC pays care and recovery benefits directly to claimants, regardless of who caused the crash.
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The committee was appointed by the legislature to fulfil the province’s legal requirement to conduct an independent review of the Insurance Vehicle Act within five years of launching the no-fault system.
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The government has said no-fault means that savings from fewer court-ordered judgments or pre-trial settlements have cut ICBC costs, which it passes on to drivers through lower premiums. In a presentation to the committee earlier this year, ICBC said compensation under the old lawsuit-based system was often “unequal and unpredictable,” legal battles dragged on for an average of three to five years, and that 25 to 33 per cent of settlement payouts went to lawyers.
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It noted that Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Quebec have no-fault insurance systems, and Alberta is poised to do the same in 2027.
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Kwan, a self-employed marketing and management consultant who had worked for 10 years for Crown corporations and private industry, said ahead of her presentation that she was surprised to discover that in five years, no one had captured any meaningful metrics on the no-fault policy in B.C.
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Even with her professional skills, university degree and understanding of technology and corporations, Kwan said she was overwhelmed by having to navigate the system on her own. She said she can’t imagine how her late immigrant grandparents or someone with a brain injury would have managed it.
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She said in a written submission to the committee that victims have been “forced to advocate for themselves in a system that prioritizes financials over well-being.”
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No-fault burdens victims with the roles of “patient, lawyer, advocate, administrator, accountant and more.” By removing lawyers, victims are left without a representative who understands the depth and details of the Insurance Vehicle Act.
