A B.C. electrician seeking $3.5 million after a car accident wrote off his minivan and left him with lingering injuries and chronic pain has settled his personal injury suit for $700,000 after almost a decade in court.
Mitchell Cohen’s case came before the B.C. Supreme Court earlier this year, with Justice Nathan Smith’s decision resulting in a substantial award, but far less than what Cohen had initially sought. The accident occurred in 2014, when Cohen was driving west on Canada Way in Burnaby and was T-boned on the front passenger side of his minivan. Cohen’s right shoulder swung forward and hit his jaw, while his knees hit the dashboard, resulting in years of chronic pain in the jaw, neck, shoulder and arm, along with frequent headaches and depression, the court heard. Cohen relies on opiate painkillers to treat the chronic pain, which has resulted in opioid use disorder, according to expert medical testimony.
Seeking Compensation
Cohen, the plaintiff in the case, sought total damages of almost $3.5 million, including large awards for loss of past and future earning capacity and the cost of future care. Defendants Justine and Elmer Torrenueva accepted liability for the accident, but contended that Cohen should be entitled to less than $100,000 for pain and suffering, and nothing for lost income or care.
Chronic Pain and Treatment
After the accident, Cohen testified that he experienced pain in his right shoulder and jaw, as well as headaches and intermittent numbness and weakness in his right arm and hand. While an MRI examination in 2016 showed no structural jaw damage, Cohen was diagnosed with chronic muscular pain. Initially, Cohen attempted to treat the pain with over-the-counter painkillers, but he was given a prescription for Percocet, an opioid painkiller, after being hospitalized for rectal bleeding caused by the amount of ibuprofen he was taking.
Impact on Work and Personal Life
Cohen testified that he still needs medication, including opioids, for pain and sleep and that he also requires weekly massages and frequent physiotherapy. He has also been undergoing Botox trigger point injections to the jaw, cheeks, head and neck since 2017 for pain relief. Since the accident, Cohen told the court that the chronic pain made the physical strain of his work as an electrician increasingly harder to bear. In 2015, he began an electrical business, but said he was unable to do some of the work and had to hire other electricians to assist him. By 2019, Cohen stated he had become increasingly depressed because, when working with other electricians, he realized he could not perform all of the required tasks.
Transition to Teaching
Cohen soon transitioned to teaching as a result. But despite teaching being generally more sedentary than practicing as an electrician, Cohen said he still experiences difficulty as he sometimes is required to demonstrate physical tasks. Cohen was on stress leave at the time of trial.
Personal Life Impact
Cohen gave testimony that the accident also impacted his personal life. He was engaged to be married at the time of the accident and was living with his fiancé and stated that “every aspect of the relationship was adversely affected by his condition following the accident, and the relationship ultimately ended,” according to Smith’s decision.
Smith found that Cohen was entitled to $681,428.81 in damages, including $240,000 for future loss of earning capacity, $100,000 for future care costs, $175,000 for pain and suffering, $94,428.81 in special damages, and $72,000 for past income loss.
Future Outlook
In his decision, Smith found that, although Cohen will likely have some ongoing pain and discomfort in the future, and that appropriate treatment would likely result in substantial improvement from his present condition. “Although some individuals would have recovered more quickly from similar injuries, Mr. Cohen has developed somatic symptom disorder and myofascial pain syndrome, complicated by depression and an opioid use disorder that was at least contributed to by his injuries,” Smith stated in his decision. “His life has involved regular and frequent medical treatments, which have so far provided only temporary relief.”
Smith agreed with the expert medical testimony given that Cohen must first be weaned off opioid medications for that to happen, which would “likely require specific treatment for his drug dependence.”
“After that, both his chronic pain and his depression will likely be addressed more effectively by a multi-disciplinary approach that includes appropriate physical therapy and mental health care. While there is certainly a risk that some or all of these treatments will be ineffective or only partially effective, I find it likely that Mr. Cohen will eventually become much less disabled than he is now.”