What happens if I am responsible for an accident that causes injuries to my partner or children?

Many of our clients have found themselves in the situation of being involved in an accident that might be the fault of a family member. Sadly some people have found themselves responsible (in whole or in part) for injuries suffered by someone they love, including their own child. Mistakes can happen in a spilt second. We all make them. But if someone is injured as a result of these mistakes, the most important thing is to ensure that all available care is provided.

Regardless of who is responsible for an accident, if your loved one has been seriously injured, it is vital to obtain legal advice.

Can my loved one get compensation?

Yes. Insurance money is usually available to help with rehabilitation and care if the injury arises from a car accident, or some other circumstances. While MSP will pay for most hospital care, once a patient is discharged, many therapies must be paid for by the patient themselves. “No fault” rehabilitation benefits may be available in auto accident cases but in serious cases those funds can run out within a year or two.

Does my spouse or child have to sue me? What happens if I get sued?

In some cases, a law suit where one member of the family sues another, including a child suing a parent, is the way to recover funds needed for rehabilitation and future care. The idea of being sued by your own child can sound scary and confusing. But, before you start to panic at the idea, please realize that even if you are 100% responsible for a car accident, your insurance money can be available to someone who is injured, even if it is your own family member.

If you are sued, the insurance company will hire and pay for a lawyer for you. If you are responsible for the accident and have ICBC insurance, ICBC will usually try to settle the claim made by the injured person, even if the injured person is your own child, husband, wife, or parent.

What does all this mean for my injured family member?

It means that just like in every other case, your loved one needs the best legal advice available. If your loved one has a brain injury, he or she will need rehabilitation and may need long-term (even life-long) care. The only way to ensure that care will be available is to put your loved one in touch with a lawyer experienced in the type of injury involved.

My family member is still in hospital. Can I contact a lawyer on their behalf?

Yes you can. If your loved one is seriously injured, they need good advice as early as possible, even if they are not personally able to understand it. If you call our firm we will explain how the process works so you do not have to worry – even if you are the one who might be sued. These initial discussions are always without any charge or obligation. If you choose to hire us, we will also help obtain the necessary rehab, and even work with your family to appoint a legal representative for an injured adult, if that is needed – all at no extra cost.

A serious injury suffered by a loved one can be the most difficult thing that a family must deal with. An experienced brain injury lawyer can make things easier so the family can focus on rehab and recovery, rather than worrying about the legal issues and about money.

My loved one was seriously injured in a car accident many years ago and is still in need of help and support, but we never made a claim. Is it too late now?

While there are limitation periods, it may not be too late even if the injuries occurred 5, 10, or even 20+ years ago. Call us right away and we can discuss whether limitation periods might not apply in your particular case. Initial discussions are without charge or obligation.

This is the fifth longboarding accident to occur in West Vancouver in the past few weeks. These collisions have resulted in serious injuries, including head injury. Some of these accidents appear to be connected to riders losing control of their boards under high speed conditions. Others appear to be connected to a number of factors, including vehicle drivers who are not always paying sufficient attention to the people and circumstances around them. However it appears that at least some of these accidents and injuries might have been prevented.

Even if the collision is someone else’s fault, if you are struck and seriously injured as a boarder, you are the one who will have to deal with the pain and disability associated with the accident, not a vehicle driver.

Here are some tips for avoiding longboard accidents and injuries.

If you are a boarder, check the bylaws at your city or municipal hall to see whether skateboarding is legal on your local roads. In many jurisdictions, like Vancouver, skateboarding is legal- at least on minor roads.

Follow traffic signs and rules.

Always wear a helmet. It won’t prevent every injury, but it may prevent or reduce the one that you receive.

Always exercise caution especially when crossing the road (whether at intersections or not). Most boarders travel faster that walkers and even a minor increase in speed gives a motorist less time to see you and to respond to your presence.

Never ride with ear buds. You need to be aware of the traffic around you. You can’t avoid an accident you can’t see or hear coming.

Read more about this issue:

• “More teens on longboards put focus on safety education” – Vancouver Sun
• “Longboarder critically injured in West Vancouver collision” – CBC
• Longboarding - Wikipedia

Photo by: Trevorhall89

June is Brain Injury Awareness Month in Canada.

To raise awareness of the causes and impact of brain injuries, organizations throughout British Columbia are hosting events and fundraising activities, including:

• Brain Injury Film Festival
• Wheel, Walk, Run for Brain Injury Awareness
• Adopt a Family 2013 Bake Sale

 
Brain Injury Film Festival

Throughout the month of June, the Fraser Health Authority will host the second Biennial Brain Injury Film Festival (BIFF). The focus of the festival is on life after brain injury.

When: June 4, 13, 18 and 25. Films start at 7pm and are followed by a moderated Q&A.

• Tuesday, June 4th – Brain Injury Dialogues
• Thursday, June 13th – Peace Warrior
• Tuesday, June 18th – Head Games
• Tuesday, June 25th – Untold Desires and (Sex)abled: Disability Uncensored

Where: Room 2201, Douglas College, 700 Royal Avenue, New Westminster

Admission is free!

Check out the BIFF Facebook page for more event details and updates.

Wheel, Walk, Run, for Brain Injury Awareness

On Saturday, June 15th, Cheshire Homes Society of BC will be hosting a 5 km and 1 km wheel, walk, and run event in support of Brain Injury Awareness Month. Cheshire Homes Society of BC provides support to survivors of acquired brain injuries.

When: Saturday, June 15th, 2013, start time 11am

Where: Start and finish at Lumberman’s Arch in Stanley Park, Vancouver

At the finish line there will be entertainment, guest speakers and information on the impact of acquired brain injuries.

Register online by donation or at the event (suggested donation $10.00)

Register now!

Adopt a Family 2013 Bake Sale

On Wednesday, June 19th, JR Rehab Services with the help of Webster & Associates and social workers from VGH, will be hosting a bake sale at the Creekside Community Centre. All funds raised will go towards providing Christmas presents, clothing and food to families affected by brain injury. The families selected do not have legal compensation and are relying on scarce public resources.

When: 7.30 – 9.30am,  Wednesday, June 19th

Where: Creekside Community Centre, 1 Athletes Way, Vancouver

Stop by and grab a treat for a great cause!

On Friday, May 17th, 2013, Jen shared her story of recovery with medical and research staff at Vancouver General Hospital’s Lunch N’ Learn session, sponsored by Webster & Associates.

Here is Jen’s story:

Prior to my injury I directed my energy to four main areas of my life; my professional life, my community involvement, athletics, and my family. I was a manager with Vancouver Coastal Health, responsible for Aboriginal Health. My previous background had been in investment banking. I served as the Commodore for the Locarno Sailing Club, and a board member for Doctors Without Borders (Medecins Sans Frontieres). And I was an ‘extreme rower’ having just completed a trans-Atlantic row over 4,000 km as part of a team. The most important part of my life though, was my social network which included my 2 year old nephew and 4 year old niece, a large and close extended family and many dear friends.

My life changed forever after the injury/illness. I believe that my recovery is the result of the cumulative contribution of modern medicine, of teamwork, and of the power of the individual to heal. My recovery involved many people, whose expertise and personal qualities helped me to work as hard as I could to recover.

My experience and perspective as a patient, as a person, and as a healthcare professional, helped define my recovery experience. Three key factors that made a difference to my recovery were working with care providers that were inspiring, informative and inclusive.

Inspiring: The medical staff inspired me to participate in my own recovery. I’m very thankful, for example, for the Occupational Therapist who told me that I should do everything ‘with purpose.’

Informative: Most of my medical support team gave me useful and timely information – information that I could adjust to my own understanding and skill level.

Inclusive: The medical care professionals worked openly together, not in isolation. Open dialogue ensured that crucial information was retained and brainstorming around steps in care could occur. The medical staff also made an effort to inform and include my family and friends in all stages of my recovery. This, in turn, enabled my loved ones to support my recovery in many ways, particularly with my mental health.

This immediate, thoughtful, skilled attention to my recovery saved my life and quality of my life.

I know this is a laid back community with posted speed limits that mimic our school zones, but I also know that hitting the cement at any speed without proper head protection can cause severe brain damage.

So I did a little research…and according to Hawaiian Statutes – Chapter 286 – 81 (Highway Safety) “a safety helmet is not required for any person who operates or rides as a passenger on a motorcycle or motor scooter; provided that the motorcycle or motor scooter:

(1) Has three wheels;
(2) Is powered by an electric motor;
(3) Has a full body enclosed cab; and
(4) Has a seat belt assembly or a child restraint system for the driver and passenger; and the operator and passenger uses the seat belt or child restraint system pursuant to sections 291-11.5 and 291-11.6.”

Violators are fined less than $1,000. As someone who is well versed in the costs associated with traumatic brain injury I was shocked by this number. A change in your life from a brain injury will cost you WAY more than $1,000!

Wear your helmets, Hawaii!

In this issue:

• The BC Brain Injury Association (BCBIA) and the Pacific Coast Brain Injury Association (PCBIA) Annouce Merger
• BC Housing Grants Available for Home Adaptations
• Paul Hardy Receives Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal
• Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy: Worth Talking About
• And more

View full screen (below) or download the PDF

Headline Magazine: Spring 2013

Read past issues of Headline Magazine:

• Winter 2012 (PDF)
• Fall 2012 (PDF)
• Summer 2012 (PDF)
• Spring 2012 (PDF)

WHAT: Bake sale (by donation)

WHEN: Monday, April 29, 2013

WHERE: VanCity Building, 5900 No. 3 Road Richmond
We will either be set up outside the main entrance or inside the VanCity Credit Union on the ground floor (if it’s raining).

WHY: Proceeds will go towards purchasing clothing, toys and food for low income families with brain injury this Christmas.

Stop by and grab a treat for a great cause!

Read our blog post about last year’s fundraiser.

For traumatic brain injury this initiative has the potential to:

a) Advance our knowledge of the mechanisms of brain injury and recovery, and;

b) Help develop better diagnostic tools and treatments for brain injury.

This is one of several key international investments into traumatic brain injury research. The Canadian Institutes for Health Research (CIHR), in collaboration with the European Commission (EC) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH), has set up the International Initiative for Traumatic Brain Injury Research (InTBIR). Established in 2011, this initiative aims to advance clinical traumatic brain injury research, treatment and care in order to “improve outcomes and lessen the global burden of traumatic brain injury by 2020.”

TBI is the leading cause of disability in individuals under the age of 45. The annual incidence of TBI is 500 per 100,000 people in North America and Europe and is steadily increasing due to an increased number of motor vehicle accidents, particularly in low- and middle- income countries. The World Health Organization (WHO) predicts that deaths from road traffic incidents (primarily due to TBI) will double between 2000 and 2020 and TBI will rise to the third leading cause of global mortality and disability by 2020 (WHO, 2009).

Not only does TBI have devastating effects on survivors and their loved ones, but also results in high socio-economic costs to society. As a result TBI has become one of the priorities in the national research agendas of many countries.

Webster & Associates has recently won an important court victory for  a pedestrian injured at a crosswalk. Our client, who had consumed a significant amount of alcohol prior to the accident, was struck by a speeding car while walking in an “unmarked” Vancouver crosswalk. He was thrown some 24 meters and suffered a severe brain injury. ICBC unsuccessfully defended the speeding driver.

The trial was heard in the Vancouver Supreme Court in February 2013. Mr. Daniel Corrin of Webster & Associates was counsel.

The evidence of independent witnesses and engineers showed clearly that driver had been driving at speeds of as much as 90 kph shortly before the collision. According to the “black box data recorder”, 4 seconds before collision in the vehicle slowed down to about 68- 70 kph, then to 66-68 three seconds before impact, 62-66 two seconds before impact and 62-64 one second before impact. The vehicle hit Mr. Alarcon while travelling at about 52-54 kph. Despite the high speeds and the fact that the driver’s vehicle only had his daytime running lights on, instead if his full headlights, ICBC and the driver attempted to blame the pedestrian for his injuries. They argued that the pedestrian should have seen the speeding car and got out of the way in time to avoid the collision. They also argued that his alcohol consumption impaired the Mr. Alarcon’s ability to take proper care of his own safety. Justice S. Griffin did not agree.

In the recent judgment pronounced March 11, 2013 the court found the vehicle driver 100% responsible for the collision and Mr. Alarcon’s injuries. She found that the driver was simply not paying the proper attention he should have been paying under the circumstances. While Mr. Alarcon had consumed significant quantities of alcohol prior to being struck, Justice Griffin found no evidence to show that his alcohol use had affected his ability to pay proper attention to the approaching traffic or that alcohol had contributed to his injuries.

This case also points to the valuable role that “black box” or crash data can play in a trial. This data was only obtained by Webster & Associates through persistence in the discovery process.

We worked with the Prince George Brain Injured Group Society to “adopt” two families. Both were single parent families where the parent had suffered a brain injury.  We also worked with B.R.A.I.N (Brain Resource Advocacy & Information Network) to identify some of the organization’s members who could use some extra support during the holiday. These families were unable to obtain any financial assistance through the legal process (and therefore not families we could help in any other way).

With the help of JR Rehab Services Inc and social workers on the neurological ward at Vancouver General Hospital we raised money to purchase new toys, books, and even a bassinet for one couple expecting their first child. We also gathered some of our own items to donate.  All in all, we put together five boxes of wrapped presents. The presents arrived on the doorsteps of five very surprised and delighted families. We were thrilled to be able to play a small part in helping make their Christmas a happy and memorable one.

The whole team at Webster & Associates enjoyed the chance to support the brain injury community and we look forward to doing it again next year!

The Webster & Associates elves working away

All wrapped and ready to go

One of the surprised and thankful recipients