$110,000 Non-Pecuniary Assessment for Concussion and Chronic Low Back Pain

Reasons for judgement were released today by the BC Supreme Court, New Westminster Registry, assessing damages for a concussion and chronic soft tissue injuries sustained in a collision.
In today’s case (Purewal v. Li) the Plaintiff was involved in a 2012 intersection collision.  The court found the Defendant fully responsible for the crash.  The Plaintiff suffered a concussion, chronic headaches, chronic low back pain and aggravation of some pre-existing injuries.  The collision resulted in substantial time away from work along with lingering injuries at the time of trial.  I assessing non-pecuniary damages at $110,000 Mr. Justice Greyell provided the following reasons:

[156]     The impact sustained by the plaintiff’s vehicle during the Accident was unexpected and substantial. The injuries sustained by the plaintiff included a concussion when he struck his head, ongoing headaches and substantial soft tissue injuries to his shoulder, upper, mid and lower back. I find the Accident aggravated injuries sustained by Mr. Purewal in the Prior Accident. In addition, I find Mr. Purewal had interrupted sleep and developed a depressed mood as a result of his ongoing pain and discomfort which has affected his family life, including his relationship with his daughters and his wife. While Mr. Purewal has returned to work he will likely continue to suffer from lower back pain which will, over time, limit his ability to work the amount of overtime as he has in the past.

[157]     Based on the principles set out in Stapley and on my review of the cases cited by counsel Mr. Purewal’s non-pecuniary loss should be assessed at $110,000, which includes a consideration of the degenerative condition of Mr. Purewal’s lower back.