Thomas Taylor’s life was changed forever on March 18, 2022. The Coquitlam, B.C., man’s SUV was slammed into by a red-light running truck driven by Malinder Singh Brar, who left the scene at Alderson Avenue and Blue Mountain Road. Beyond the hit-and-run aspect, the court has since deemed that Brar was impaired at the time of the collision. Taylor, now 58, was left with a brain injury that the court has found makes him “unemployable.” While the B.C. NDP government has brought in no fault car insurance, people may still pursue civil compensation if criminality is proven, as it has been in this case. A judge has awarded Taylor $350,000, but there are fears he will not be able to collect that money from Brar. “His life will never, ever be even as close as it could have been under the old system,” said Taylor’s lawyer Tom Spraggs in an interview with CTV News on Wednesday. “There’s no help from the government. And ultimately what that means is that someone doesn’t have assets, there’s no recovery of that judgement.” CTV News asked ICBC for its view on the court decision and the question of whether Taylor will be able to recover the money from Brar. “We’re here to support them with all the benefits they’re eligible for,” said Tanya Beja with ICBC. “In Mr. Taylor’s case we’ve provided more than $350,000 in funding for benefits to date. That includes things like physiotherapy, massage therapy, his income replacement as well as support with his activities of daily living.” But the tort system that was previously in place in B.C. would have provided greater financial compensation appropriate to the injuries Taylor suffered, in the view of Spraggs. “Now having seen this process go through, it’s putting the wrong things in the wrong order,” Spraggs said, adding that he thinks the first priority in cases like Taylor’s should be ensuring appropriate financial compensation for those injured in collisions. It’s a position the Trial Lawyers Association of B.C. has been advocating for as well. “Mr. Taylor now has been awarded $350,000 for his permanent brain injury, and has been left with the unenviable task of trying to collect those funds from the defendant driver who has no insurance to cover it,” said Nicholas Peterson, with the association. “An injured victim should be able to have their day in court. They should be able to go before an independent judge who decides the issue. Not insurance adjusters. Not government appointed tribunal members.” Attorney General Niki Sharma was not made available for an interview. It comes as a special committee of the B.C. legislature carries out a five-year review of the enhanced care model.
