Surrey crash victim awarded $645,934 after head-on collision

Mohammed Faizal was 44 when he was injured in a head-on collision near Fraser Highway and 140 Street in Surrey on March 29, 2015. He was a passenger in a Ford minivan driven by a friend, and they were heading to a soccer store. A 2002 Volkswagen Jetta owned by Danielle Christine Franks and driven by Mathew Bowes crossed into the opposing lane and hit the minivan. Bowes subsequently failed a roadside screening device test and was issued an immediate roadside prohibition.

An ambulance took Faizal to Surrey Memorial Hospital, and he was released the same day. A couple of days later, he told the court, he felt pain in his neck, lower back and left leg. He saw his family doctor, who prescribed painkillers and recommended physiotherapy.

In reasons for judgment, Justice William Veenstra said the plaintiff submitted that his overall prognosis was poor, with persistent left hip and lower-back pain and related functional limitations. The plaintiff also submitted that the collision caused permanent physical, psychological and functional impairment. The defendants were Bowes, Franks, Maria Reyes, Ricardo Reyes, Amanjit Singh and Affinity Systems Limited. The Insurance Corporation of British Columbia was named as a third party. The reasons are available at https://www.bccourts.ca/jdb-txt/sc/26/19/2026BCSC1953.htm.

Veenstra awarded Faizal $180,000 for non-pecuniary losses, $240,000 for past loss of earning capacity, $175,000 for future loss of earning capacity and $50,934 for future care, for a total of $645,934.

The judge concluded that much of Faizal’s sense of self-worth and enjoyment of life were tied to his roles as a provider for his family, an employer of several drivers and a community leader in the Fijian soccer community. Veenstra also found that Faizal’s struggles with depression, though variable, clearly resulted from the collision.