Most of award for Ottawa CEO’s loss of future earnings, according to B.C. Appeal Court decision. ICBC lost second ground of appeal asking the courts to reduce her award because it says she contributed to her injuries by not wearing seatbelt
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ICBC has won an appeal to cut by $400,000 a $3.75 million award to an Ottawa woman injured in a taxi on her way to Vancouver airport.
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But the B.C. government insurance company failed to get the courts to find the CEO contributed to her injuries by not buckling up, according to a decision by B.C. Appeal Court.
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The three-judge panel also rejected ICBC’s argument that her headaches, caused by a concussion from the crash, were caused by overuse of medication.
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Chantal Courchesne, chief executive of the Canadian Dermatology Association at the time of the 2017 accident and on her way home from a conference, was awarded $3.75 million after a lengthy 2023 trial.
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The trial judge found her injuries had a significant impact on her personal and professional life and that the taxi driver was 100 per cent responsible for the crash, according to the Appeal Court decision, written by Justice Patrice Abrioux.
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The original award was largely for loss of future income ($2.9 million) and past income ($500,000), and also for pain and suffering ($200,000) and cost of future care ($100,000), according to the decision.
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Courchesne initially sought $7 million for loss of future capacity, based on her pre-accident earnings of $200,000 a year and expected salary increases, which the lower court judge rejected and which the Appeal Court upheld.
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Abrioux agreed with ICBC that the trial judge erred in calculating the loss of future income and ruled that it be reduced by 10 per cent, to account for contingencies, such as expected periods of unemployment over her expected career.
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That reduced her loss of future income award to $2.55 million and the overall award to $3.4 million.
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But the lower-court judge had said that even though Courchesne failed to use the available functioning seatbelt, ICBC did not prove on a balance of probabilities that the lack of a seatbelt contributed to her injuries, according to the decision.
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“There was no evidence from any witness that any of her injuries would have been prevented or minimized if she had been wearing a seatbelt,” that judge ruled.
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ICBC asked the court to “apply a common-sense approach to this analysis, arguing that the other individuals involved in the (accident) were wearing seatbelts and they were not injured.”
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The judge noted the other passengers had higher headrests than did Courchesne, who sat in the middle, and that it would be “speculation to find it was the lack of a seatbelt and not the lack of a higher headrest that caused her injuries.
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That judge ruled ICBC had not proven “contributory negligence” by Courchesne.
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On appeal, ICBC argued she was to blame for her injuries, noting she did not use her belt during the 20- to 25-minute drive, declined her colleague’s offer to move so she could attach her seatbelt, and ignored signs in the cab cautioning passengers to wear seatbelts.
