$200,000 Non Pecuniary Damage Assessment for Chronic Disabling PTSD
Reasons for judgement were published this week by the BC Supreme Court, Vancouver Registry, assessing damages for chronic and disabling injuries following a fatal motor vehicle collision.
In this week’s case (Kempton v. Struke Estate) the Plaintiff was involved in a 2015 collision. He was operating a tractor trailer when the Defendant, travelling in the opposite direction, crossed the centre line resulting in a head on crash. The collision killed the Defendant instantly. The Plaintiff suffered few physical injuries but sustained post traumatic stress disorder (“PTSD”) as a result of the horrific crash. This condition disabled him and was not expected to improve.
In assessing non-pecuniary damages at $200,000 Mr. Justice Crerar provided the following reasons: