19 Sep Past Wage Loss – Sick Leave Repayment

Posted at 09:16h in News by Acheson Sweeney Foley Sahota

People injured in motor vehicle accidents often use their sick leave while trying to recover from their injuries.  As part of your personal injury settlement, ICBC should be asked to reimburse you for the loss of sick leave credits, so that you can reinstate your sick leave bank.

In the case of Bove v. Wilson, 2016 BCSC 1620, the Plaintiff was injured when her vehicle was rear-ended. The Defendant admitted liability.

At the time of the accident, the Plaintiff was 31 years of age. After graduation from high school, she had done various jobs before obtaining employment as an administrative assistant with the British Columbia Teachers Federation.  She primarily worked on a computer and did other clerical work.

Prior to the accident, the Plaintiff had no issues with back or neck pain, pain in the area of her trapezoid muscles or multiple headaches. She did have previous issues in her abdomen and suffering occasional vertigo which caused her to miss work four or five days each year.

As a result of her injuries, the Plaintiff used up 96.50 hours of sick leave.  The collective agreement at work called for her to reimburse her employer for the sick time she had taken and which she might recover through litigation. The amount required to replenish the Plaintiff’s sick bank was $2,908.44.

ICBC argued that since no representative of the employer was called as a witness there was insufficient evidence as to her loss.  The Judge did not agree, since the agreement itself was included as an exhibit at trial.

ICBC also argued that the Plaintiff missed work due to other illnesses or injuries in the range of two to four days per year, so the $2,908.44 should be reduced by 40%. The Judge agreed that the Plaintiff’s claim should be subject to a deduction as it was likely, based upon her prior work record, that she would have missed some work for illnesses unrelated to the accident. The Judge made a more reasonable adjustment, in the range of 20%, and ordered that the past wage loss be reduced to $2,326.75.

There are many factors that must be considered when advancing a claim for personal injury, and sick leave credits are just one of them. Acheson Sweeney Foley Sahota has over 35 years of experience – call us to ensure that you are reimbursed fairly by ICBC.