B.C. trial lawyers are raising concerns that the victims and surviving family members of the Lapu Lapu tragedy may never be properly compensated.
The association says that under B.C.’s no-fault insurance model, it is more difficult for victims to successfully sue for damages.
“I know that ICBC likes to talk about these no-fault benefits, how they’re enhanced, but they’re really not enhanced, at least in terms of the timing issue that they do speak of,” Ryan Kusuhara, principal of Kusuhara Law Corporation told Global News.
In an online statement, ICBC said that everyone injured in a “vehicle incident is automatically covered for 12 weeks after the crash. Pre-approved treatments include counselling, psychology, physiotherapy, kinesiology, chiropractor, registered massage therapy and acupuncture. Injured customers may be eligible for additional benefits, depending on their injuries.
“Injured customers won’t need a referral from a family physician or a nurse practitioner, or approval from ICBC to access these treatments, and they may be eligible for additional care, depending on their injuries.”
But Kusuhara says most of these are not immediate treatments for a patient of a catastrophic tragedy like the Lapu Lapu festival.
“They’re generally in hospital care, receiving surgery, either in ICUs, receiving resuscitation, life-saving treatment, and all of that is sort of articulated here,” he said.
“I mean, you know, yes, it’s great that you’re you don’t need a doctor’s note to get these treatments for the first 12 weeks. But for those who, that are in this tragic incident, these are not really the treatments they require immediately.”
The insurer says it has set up a dedicated team to help the Lapu Lapu victims.
“We truly believe at ICBC, we will provide far more to the victims of the Lapu Lapu tragedy in this system than ever would have been the case in the old system, where entitlement was limited by how much insurance was bought by the perpetrator,” Jason McDaniel with ICBC told Global News.
“We will be there for all they need. Those payments start right away.”
Greg Phillips with the BC Trial Lawyers Association said ICBC is still responsible for paying no-fault benefits, for lost wages and treatment.
“The only thing that they can go after survivors or the victims can go after is pain and suffering as well as punitive damages,” he said.
“However, where there’s a criminal conviction, the courts almost never award punitive damages.”
Kai-Ji Adam Lo, 30, was arrested at the scene on Saturday and has since been charged with eight counts of second-degree murder.
Speaking on Wednesday morning, Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim confirmed that the suspect was under the care of a mental health care team but he was on extended leave at the time.
Vancouver police said more charges against Lo are expected but there is no timeline for the investigation.
Lo remains in custody and appeared briefly in court on Friday afternoon.
Eleven people were killed in the tragedy, including seven women, two men, one non-binary person and one child. The victims range in age from five to 65 years old.
Dozens of people were injured but the exact number of people remains unknown.
The B.C. Trial Lawyers Association has been critical of ICBC’s no fault model since in was introduced in 2021.
It means victims of a collision cannot sue for compensation and sets limits on what people are entitled to.
“When we try to have a one-size-fits-all solution, it doesn’t fit anybody particularly well,” Phillips said.
“So we have people who are almost certainly going to be under-compensated.”