Vo v. Navarro

Ms. Vo was involved in a motor vehicle accident and suffered injuries to her neck, shoulders, and back. She also developed pain down her leg as well as headaches, disrupted sleep, generalized anxiety disorder, major depressive disorder, and PTSD. Overall, she was not the same person after the accident. Her desire to socialize and spend time with her family and friends had diminished. She was withdrawn and suffered from mood instability.

At the time of the accident, Ms. Vo owned her own tailoring business. After the accident, she had to reduce her hours of work due to the physical nature of her job.  She felt an immense amount of pressure to continue working given that her business was the family’s main source of income.

ICBC argued that there was no basis for Ms. Vo’s claims for loss of earning capacity. They also argued that Ms. Vo failed to mitigate her damages. Mr. Justice Brundrett disagreed. Ms. Vo planned to have a long career which was curtailed due to the accident. It was evident that an award for earning capacity was warranted in this case. Regarding mitigation, Mr. Justice Brundrett determined that Ms. Vos undertook a significant amount of treatment and relied heavily on the recommendations made by her family doctor. Given the significant impact that the accident had on Ms. Vo’s life and career, Mr. Justice Brundrett awarded $589,421 in damages plus costs and interest.

Judgement can be found here: https://www.bccourts.ca/jdb-txt/sc/21/15/2021BCSC1534.htm