British Columbia Law Limits Rights for Victims' Families

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Changing Law Would Overburden State Insurance Company, Says Lawyer

Vancouver lawyer P.M. (name withheld for ethical reasons) says that when a person dies all his/her rights under Common Law die as well. Under BC’s Family Compensation Act only financially dependent children and dependent spouses of homicide or wrongful death victims have the right to sue for damages, and remedies are limited by precedent. The lawyer, who specializes in professional malpractice and wrongful death cases, says the law was adopted from 18th century Britain where it was passed to protect miners’ families during the Industrial Revolution.

Other lawyers I’ve spoken to confirmed, "Not in Canada" they said. This is not the case in the United States where the law, and sympathetic juries, have awarded substantial sums to victims’ families, such as in the famous O.J. Simpson civil trial.

This means that it's in the interest of doctors, hospitals, drug and some insurance companies if patients without dependents die rather than survive a case of malpractice to launch a lawsuit.

When I told P.M. it doesn’t make any sense and asked him why the legal community won’t lobby to update the law, he said "It’s an uphill political battle. The government doesn’t want the extra burden of traffic death claims on ICBC." ICBC, or the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia, is the automobile insurance monopoly in the province. It is also the breadwinner for most BC lawyers who make a living suing for allegedly undervalued insurance claims.