In Cebula v. Smith, the Plaintiff was injured in a chain reaction collision. She had been traveling southbound behind a pickup truck hauling a trailer, when a northbound vehicle crossed the double yellow line and collided with the pickup truck, causing the trailer to strike the Plaintiff‘s vehicle. The Plaintiff‘s vehicle was then struck by the Defendant‘s vehicle. The Plaintiff sustained a plethora of serious injuries, and brought an ICBC claim for damages for pain and suffering, loss of income, loss of future income, out of pocket expenses, and cost of future care. Liability and quantum (amount) of damages were both in dispute. To further complicate matters, the Plaintiff was involved in two subsequent accidents, which, with the exception of a shoulder injury, the Plaintiff claimed had aggravated her injuries from the first accident. In awarding the Plaintiff substantial damages, and in ordering that the amount of settlement for the second accident (an action arising from the third accident had yet to be commenced) had to be deducted from the overall amount awarded by the Court for the first accident, the Court discussed the general principles of law which apply when there have been multiple accidents and joint tortfeasors.
[305] The uncontradicted evidence of the plaintiff is that the injuries she sustained in Accident No. 2 and Accident No. 3 were caused by the vehicles that rear-ended her. I find that she was not contributorily negligent for those rear-end collisions. Rather, those collisions were caused by the unidentified drivers of the vehicles that rear-ended hers. With the exception of the plaintiff’s left shoulder area injury, all of the injuries she sustained in Accident No. 2 and Accident No. 3 were aggravations of the injuries she sustained in the Accident. These injuries cannot be attributable to one particular tortfeasor. They cannot be divided into distinct parts and are therefore “indivisible” from her Accident-related injuries.
[306] Tortfeasors whose tortious acts combine to produce indivisible injuries are jointly and severally liable for the full extent of the injury: Athey v. Leonati, [1996] 3 S.C.R. 458 at 467-468; B.P.B. v. M.M.B, 2009 BCCA 365 at para. 72; Bradley v. Groves, 2010 BCCA 361 at para. 37. Accordingly, there is no need for the court to determine the extent to which the plaintiff’s Accident-related injuries were aggravated by Accident No. 2 and Accident No. 3.
[307] I am advised that the plaintiff has settled her claim relating to Accident No. 2. I was not advised of the settlement amount. There has yet been no settlement of or even a formal claim brought in respect of Accident No. 3.
[308] That portion of the settlement amount attributable to the plaintiff’s indivisible injuries (the plaintiff’s left shoulder injury is a distinct injury from Accident No. 2) must be deducted from any damages award in this action: Ashcroft v. Dhaliwal, 2008 BCCA 352.