Picton v. Fredericks, 2016 BCSC 1470
RHE wins $120, 000 for ongoing Botox Injections to treat chronic headaches, largest award in British Columbia’s history.
Michael Elliott and Hector MacDonald were trial counsel for Allie Picton, a 33 year-old hair stylist, who suffered injuries to her neck, back, and shoulders, as well as ongoing headaches, as a result of a motor vehicle accident. Ms. Picton’s primary ongoing complaint at the time of trial was persistent headaches which interfered with her recreational, social, and vocational activities. Ms. Picton experienced improvement, but not a total resolution of her headache complaints, by way of regular Botox injections performed by a neurologist to her neck and skull.
ICBC argued that the cause of Ms. Picton’s ongoing complaints were health issues unrelated to the motor vehicle collision, and further, that she would need no significant ongoing care.
The trial judge accepted RHE’s arguments and awarded Ms. Picton $326,787 including: non-pecuniary damages of $85,000, past income loss of $8,500, loss of future earning capacity of $90,000, loss of housekeeping capacity of $2,000, special damages of $7,860 and future care costs of $133,427. Included in the future care award was approximately $120,000 for Ms. Picton’s ongoing need for Botox injections to treat her chronic headaches, which represents the largest award in British Columbia’s history for this form of treatment.