Private MRI Cost Disallowed in Personal Injury Claim

Further to my previous posts on this topic, reasons for judgement were released last week by the BC Supreme Court, New Westminster Registry, disallowing the cost of a private MRI as a special damage in a personal injury claim.
In last week’s case (Madsen v. Bekker) the Plaintiff was injured in a 2006 collision.  In the course of the Plaintiff’s lawsuit the Plaintiff obtained three private MRI’s.  The Plaintiff advanced the costs of these MRI’s as special damages at trial.  In declining to compensate the Plaintiff for these expenses Mr. Justice Truscott provided the following brief reasons:
[192] I decline to award anything for the three MRIs because the plaintiff decided to do these on his own, when Dr. Hobson told him that they were not medically indicated. In the circumstances there is no evidentiary basis for such an award.
It is worth pointing out that the costs associated with Private MRI’s can be recovered in a personal injury claims if a medical practitioner gives evidence that the expense is reasonably incurred for a valid medical purpose related to the claim.