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Have a safe Easter long weekend!  As you drive to visit family and friends, an article in the Vancouver Sun yesterday provided some tips to prevent the 2,200 car accidents, 4 fatalities, and 630 motor vehicle accident injuries susatined every Easter weekend. 

Some of the tips included in the article to prevent a motor vehicle accident this Easter long weekend (and at anytime of the year) are:

• map out your trip (Google Maps is a great place to look);
• be prepared for icy conditions (good condition tires, winter tires if you are heading to the Mountains);
• keep a two second distance between other cars (more is always better);
• slow down;
• focus on the road (Turn off your smartphone and enjoy your day away with the family);
• check the road conditions ahead of time by visiting DriveBC's list of webcams.

6 physical therapy sessions resulted in a modest acceleration to early recovery of persisting symptoms of acute whiplash injury as opposed a single physical therapy advice session, according to an article published in the medical journal The Lancet.  Patients with acute whiplash injury, a common injury resulting from car accidents, were seen in emergency departments and then randomly assigned either (a) 6 physiotherapy sessions or (b) a single physical therapy advice session.  Those that received the 6 physiotherapy sessions for their whiplash injuries showed modest benefit at 4 months as compared to those that received only the advice session. 

But, the 6 sessions of physiotherapy cost more, so the recommendation going forward was for the single advice session.  Most people that have suffered a whiplash injury in a car accident will tell you that they will always take a modest benefit in pain reduction and improvement in quality of life over saving a few dollars.

What the medical community and insurance industry will make of these results will remain to be seen, but clearly, physiotherapy has benefit.  If you have been injured in a car accident and suffered an acute whiplash injury, it is important to follow your family doctor's recommendations for physiotherapy.

Congratulations to all students graduating from post-secondary schools and high schools in the coming months.  You all have a bright future ahead of you, so while celebrating your achievements this year, be mindful to do so safely. 

Statistics based on 2007 to 2011 ICBC and Police data indicate that, on average, 15 young people, (aged 16 to 21) are killed every year in motor vehicle accidents in the Lower Mainland.  Across B.C., that number climbs to 44.  25% of the injuries to youth from car accidents in the Lower Mainland occur in the months of April, May and June.  Plan ahead and make smart choices during the grad party season.

While you may make the smart choices, others may not.  25% of speeding drivers, and 19 percent of impaired drivers involved in injury or fatal car accidents were between the ages of 16 and 21.  If you or a loved one are injured in a car accident this grad season, the personal injury lawyers at Becker Lavin & Wessler can help.  Give us a call at 604-689-3883.

A recently reported case, involving a 13-year old girl that was injured in a motor vehicle collision, illustrates why it is important to be consistent in following your doctor's advice with respect to physiotherapy, active rehabilitation, and your own self-directed exercises.  This is especially important where the vehicle damage is minimal, and ICBC alleges that the collision was so minor that no injury could have resulted from the forces of impact. 

At trial, approximately seven years after the collision, in what was described as a low velocity collision, the Plaintiff was seeking $15,000 to $25,000 in pain and suffering damages while the Defendant submitted that $3,500 to $7,000 was the appropriate range.   Mr. Justice Ball held:

[27] There is in this case a pattern beginning at the time of the accident of stiffness and pain in Ms. Lessey’s low back which initially included some dizziness or nausea. The dizziness or nausea resolved within days of the accident. In this case, Ms. Lessey consistently reported stiffness and pain with some improvement initially but regretfully experienced a low level of pain and stiffness persisting over a period of years becoming intermittent in 2011. Clearly Ms. Lessey is not a malingerer. She has worked with exercise and vigorous activity encouraged by her physiotherapist and two doctors but has been unable to get complete resolution of the back pain caused by the accident. I am satisfied that from the evidence which I accept in this case, there is a convincing body of evidence which overcomes the improbability that pain will continue in the absence of objective findings well beyond a “normal recovery period.” In this case, Ms. Lessey suffered an injury which despite the best efforts of all involved did not heal within a “normal recovery period”.

[28] Ms. Lessey described her experiences with pain and stiffness following the accident in clear and simple language. The evidence was consistent she had no back pain symptoms prior to the accident. I find she did not embellish nor exaggerate her description of the lower back pain which she experienced. It would have been difficult for her as a participant in team sports to ask coaches to remove her from games and no doubt an embarrassing experience with other players. That said, she was a model of mitigation; she took no time off work and substantially continued an active exercise program including yoga activities and strenuous effort to reduce the pain which she experienced in her lower back and to rehabilitate herself. I find her to be a credible reporter and historian of her injury.

[29] I found her to be a credible witness whose evidence was significantly tested in a persistent cross-examination but was no less credible in the result. Her evidence of back pain was also supported by evidence of her mother, who participated in exercise programs with Ms. Lessey. This was a case where the quantity of medical-legal reporting was less than some other cases but, as I noted above, I found Dr. McKenzie to be a particularly helpful reporter of the circumstances and diagnosis in this case. In this circumstance, his single well-considered report was helpful.

The Court awarded $16,500.00 in non-pecuniary damages.