In Gormick v. Amenta, the Plaintiff was a young police officer that was injured in a motor vehicle accident. Liability was admitted by ICBC’S lawyer. The Plaintiff brought an ICBC claim for non-pecuniary damages, income loss, loss of banked sick time, and diminished earning capacity. The Plaintiff‘s main injury was to her neck, which required surgical fusion at the C5-C6 level. The Court ruled that, given the Plaintiff‘s pre-existing condition, there was a 10% chance that she would have required surgery even if the motor vehicle accident had never occurred. The Court awarded the Plaintiff $90,000 for the pain and suffering component for an injury that had lasted for approximately four and a half years prior to the time of trial. The Plaintiff was also expected to endure some residual symptoms.
[70] The surgery was successful. There was no medical evidence to the contrary. However the plaintiff complains about problems that persist. I find that the plaintiff does have restricted range of motion and neck stiffness following the surgery. The difficult question is whether the plaintiff suffers more than that …… I think that the whole of the medical evidence establishes that apart from some ongoing restriction of motion and stiffness, the plaintiff only has modest ongoing discomfort and some weakness in the strength of her arm.
[71] In sum, the plaintiff had some neck pain and restricted motion prior to the accident that did not impair her work or ability to enjoy life to any measurable degree. Because of her underlying condition, which was largely asymptomatic, she suffered injuries in the accident that were extremely painful and required surgery. The surgery, though successful, has resulted in stiffness and restricted motion that appear to have affected the strength of her throwing arm and her ability to lift. Although surgery was not a likely option for her pre-existing condition, now that she has had it she is at 25% risk of suffering adjacent segment disc disease within 10-15 years.
[72] In all the circumstances, I assess general damages at $90,000. In doing so, I also take into consideration the pain and suffering that she will suffer in the future as a result of her injuries that were caused by the accident.