If you have been injured by the negligence of another person and your injuries result in you needing assistance and/or medical care now and in the future, your entitlement to medical treatments and care extends to these costs.Your entitlement to medical treatments and care may include one or more of the following:
- housekeeping tasks and/or home/yard maintenance;
- health care treatments, such as physiotherapy, chiropractic sessions, massage therapy, speech language therapy,
- vocational retraining
- modifications to your residence
- medications
- rehabilitation assistants or support services
- nursing care
- surgeries
- adaptive aids to assist with mobility, safety, or independence
- physical training by a kinesiologist or other trainer
- occupational therapy
- child care support
The Supreme Court of Canada has established that you are entitled to enough money to provide for the costs of your future care that are ‘medically justified’. This means that if your doctor or other health care professional used by you or retained by your lawyer says that the injuries that were caused by an accident resulted in care needs that are appropriate to improve your physical or mental well-being, or to keep your condition from deteriorating, you should receive the ‘present value’ amount of the reasonable future costs for the care items. This will apply if you can prove that the person who injured you was negligent and that negligence caused your injuries. If there is a dispute over this with the other driver or with I.C.B.C., you may need to hire a lawyer to prove your entitlement in Court.
Even if you were the person who caused the accident, if it was a car or other motor vehicle accident and you come within the definition of ‘an insured’ for the purposes of ICBC Part 7 benefits, you have entitlement to various future care expenses.
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