Woman injured in West Vancouver Whole Foods crash sharing ICBC headaches
Posted July 7, 2023 12:39 pm.
Last Updated July 10, 2023 11:38 am.
A woman who was injured during an accident at a West Vancouver Whole Foods in June says she’s been left “high and dry” by B.C.’s public insurer during her recovery.
Jasmine Osterman was taken to hospital with severe lacerations and bruising after an 80-year-old driver crashed their BMW through the doors of the Whole Foods supermarket at Park Royal Mall, ending up in the produce section of the store.
But almost a month after the incident which left Osterman bedbound, she claims she has yet to be compensated appropriately by ICBC for medical costs she’s had to pay out of pocket.
“Apparently, it was my fault that I was buying tomatoes inside a store, at Whole Foods. I’ve been left high and dry,” Osterman told CityNews on Wednesday. “I have yet to receive any supports from ICBC.”
Osterman says she was extremely lucky that her husband was able to stay at home with her and provide her aftercare, as she was “incapacitated.” The former registered nurse says she was able to talk her husband through how to care for her wounds and stitches, which were “very deep, almost to the bone. … It’s turned my whole life upside down.”
Related Article: Car crashes into Park Royal Whole Foods in West Vancouver
The provincial public insurer is defending the way it is handling Osterman’s claim.
In an email to CityNews, ICBC confirms that Osterman will receive a monthly payment of $1,589 for personal care assistance, from the day she returned home from the hospital.
“We understand that Mrs. Osterman is going through a challenging time after being injured in a crash last month. We’re committed to working with her care team and doing everything we can to support her in her recovery and ensure she receives all of the benefits available under Enhanced Care,” ICBC said.
However, Osterman says that because ICBC is now a “no-fault” insurer, she can’t seek any further financial help.
“You can’t seek compensation from anyone, you cannot sue the driver because it’s no fault, even though he was clearly the one driving the car. It wasn’t me. ICBC — you can’t pursue them for proper care and compensation. There is none. There’s just the health care providers that are outlined on that 46-page [enhanced accident benefits] document.”
The insurer points out that under its previous model where lawsuits were allowed, “there is no certainty Mrs. Osterman would be receiving the care and recovery she needs now and over her lifetime. If she were to sue under the former model, a trial would have taken years and her lawyer would take one-third of any settlement as fees.”
Therapies paid for only if they’re approved by ICBC
ICBC says that its Enhanced Care policy provides compensation for personal care and “daily living assistance” to help injured folks recover. “To determine the activities of daily living benefit, an occupational therapist visits a customer’s home to assess the assistance that the customer requires,” ICBC said.
“In this case, Mrs. Osterman was initially reluctant to allow an occupational therapist to visit her home, but eventually an assessment took place last Thursday, June 29 and we received their report on Tuesday afternoon,” the insurer said.
However, Osterman explains the reason for that delay was because she was uncomfortable having a stranger in her home doing her personal care, due to the nature and location of her injuries.
Osterman says the care that ICBC has offered was inappropriate for her injuries.
“They just completely abandon you. I should have had a wound care nurse come to my house to do wound care,” she said. After spending the first few days struggling to get herself to her doctor’s office, her husband ended up being responsible for her medical care.
“He held a mirror up to my backside, and I had to coach him on how to do the proper wound care.”
As Osterman’s self-employed husband had to take time off work to be her caregiver, she says he hasn’t been compensated for the loss of income. “I guess his time is not valuable.”
“It has been so frustrating and dealing with ICBC has greatly exacerbated this whole so-called ‘healing process.’ It’s been terrible.”
Osterman explains that when she was taken to the hospital after the incident, she received conflicting information from her doctor, nurse, and social worker.
“They all said, ‘We don’t really know what the process is because ICBC has got this new no-fault insurance, but no matter what someone will call you, you will need wound care follow-up,'” she said.
“Nobody phoned me,” she said. “Here I am the first three days post-accident, I could not move, … I couldn’t even sit on the toilet.”
Osterman says she was advised to make a claim with the province’s insurer, which she did, and then was connected to a “support and recovery specialist.”
“In essence, what I have experienced is an insurance adjuster that tries to mitigate the least amount payable to a victim,” she explained. “On day five, I told her what support I needed, and I was very angry. I said, ‘How could you leave someone in this condition? If it wasn’t for my husband here at home, I can’t even move.'”
Aside from receiving a list of the services she can access — such as counselling, physiotherapy, and others outlined in the accident benefits schedule — Osterman says she hasn’t heard anything “tangible” from ICBC.
“I can access nothing else. On little things, my [support and recovery specialist] … has pushed back on everything that I’ve said. I’ve used my own gauze, my husband made my own saline solution, I use my own Polysporin.”
Osterman adds the clothes she was wearing at the time of the accident were shredded, covered in blood, and beyond repair. “And ICBC wants me to take a picture and provide a receipt. Like, really? If you see the unreasonableness, it’s very inhumane.”
“I’m not looking for a windfall. I think it’s just terrible the way that victims are treated, I really do. It was no fault of my own that I was in a store shopping for tomatoes. And I ended up like this. It’s terrible.”
After her experience with the public insurer, Osterman is questioning the point of paying for insurance in B.C.
“If you get hurt, and there’s no fault, just go to your own massage, just go to your own occupational therapist, just go to your own physio, just go your own chiropractor, and you’re done. Which is covered by B.C. Medical anyway.
“What’s the point of having ICBC?”
However, ICBC notes services such as those Osterman listed are typically covered by extended benefits or other coverage.
The insurer explains that as Osterman is now retired, she is not eligible for the Enhanced Care income replacement benefits of up to $109,000 per year in gross income. It adds that it is too early in her recovery period to determine whether she may be eligible for its “permanent impairment benefit, of up to $288,000.
The West Vancouver Police Department confirms to CityNews that the investigation into the crash is ongoing.
-With files from Michael Williams and Greg Bowman
Editor’s note: This article has been updated to include comment from ICBC that services such as physiotherapy and chiropractors are generally covered by extended benefits or other coverage, not B.C. medical as Osterman suggested.
