Family members say Annie Kong wanted nothing more than to gather with all her extended family under one roof at her West Vancouver home for Christmas 2022.
91裸聊视频淪he was talking about that all year,91裸聊视频� said Nigel Kong, Annie91裸聊视频檚 son from Denmark, adding his sister, Joanna Moy, was also planning to bring her family from Chicago for the celebration.
91裸聊视频淲e can all be together, at what would have been our home that we grew up in in Vancouver, where there was the four of us (there) would now be the extended family, the entire brood.91裸聊视频�
Annie Kong would never get that wish.
She was one of two people killed when a vehicle crashed into a wedding from a shared driveway between two homes in West Vancouver on Aug. 20, 2022, with many others badly injured.
The family says their anguish has been exacerbated by B.C.91裸聊视频檚 no-fault insurance system, which not only limited the Kongs91裸聊视频� lump-sum compensation in Annie91裸聊视频檚 death but also restricted the family91裸聊视频檚 rights to seek additional recourse through lawsuits.
The issue of no-fault insurance has drawn debate from the major parties ahead of this fall91裸聊视频檚 provincial election, with the B.C. Conservatives promising exemptions to the rule that prevents families from suing for compensation in most cases, while the BC New Democrats say the change to no-faultbrought B.C.91裸聊视频檚 public auto insurer 91裸聊视频渂ack into the black91裸聊视频� after years of deficits that were costing residents in higher premiums.
No-fault insurance at the Crown-owned Insurance Corporation of B.C. was introduced in May 2021 as a way to reduce rates, lower debt, limit legal costs and improve care for accident victims.
The NDP government said the move has worked, announcing in May that the financial improvement at ICBC means drivers will get an insurance rebate of $110 this year, while basic renewal rates will remain frozen until at least March 2026.
91裸聊视频淯nder this model, a catastrophically injured person has access to care and recovery benefits, and doesn91裸聊视频檛 have to wait years for a court settlement that may fall short of their care needs,91裸聊视频� a written statement from ICBC said.
The insurance provider also said 91裸聊视频渄rivers who cause crashes or drive dangerously are still held accountable91裸聊视频� as 91裸聊视频渢hey will continue to pay more for their insurance.91裸聊视频�
91裸聊视频淚n the event that criminal charges are laid and a driver is convicted, victims and their families have the right to sue that driver in a civil claim for certain compensation,91裸聊视频� ICBC said.
But lawyers say the system also prevents victims of auto accidents from suing the at-fault driver unless the case involves a criminal offence, and people disputing compensation can only go through the Civil Resolution Tribunal, an ombudsperson or a fairness officer within ICBC.
Trial Lawyers Association of B.C. president Michael Elliott said while insurance officials promised 91裸聊视频減otentially serious consequences91裸聊视频� for drivers convicted criminally in a case, it is 91裸聊视频渕isleading91裸聊视频� to present that as a proper opportunity for victims seeking recourse beyond no-fault insurance.
91裸聊视频淲hat people didn91裸聊视频檛 understand and now understand is that criminal convictions for driving offences are exceedingly rare,91裸聊视频� Elliott said. 91裸聊视频淢ost offences (plead) down 91裸聊视频� (and) are categorized under the Motor Vehicle Act, not as a criminal offence, and so there are very few criminal convictions for driving offences in our province.91裸聊视频�
That was the case with the death of Kong, where Hong Xu of West Vancouver, B.C., is facing sentencing at North Vancouver Provincial court on Monday for driving a motor vehicle without due care and attention, a provincial Motor Vehicle Act offence that carries a minimum fine of $100.
Liong Kong, Annie Kong91裸聊视频檚 husband, was at the wedding where his wife died and witnessed the crash.
91裸聊视频淚 held her in my arms,91裸聊视频� he said. 91裸聊视频淪he bled to death while I was holding her.
91裸聊视频淪o, one message that I would like the public to know is, when you get the refund of $100 a year (from ICBC), it is at the expense of the victims and victims91裸聊视频� families,91裸聊视频� he said.
The Kongs said ICBC took almost no input from family members in determining a lump-sum compensation, described by Moy as barely covering what they had to deal with over the loss of a matriarch.
91裸聊视频淲e get placed under this no-fault legislation, which essentially means that there is no accountability for this accident,91裸聊视频� Moy said. 91裸聊视频淎nd with that, we had to sit with an ICBC claims adjuster. They look up my mother91裸聊视频檚 91裸聊视频榣ife91裸聊视频檚 worth91裸聊视频� on a graph on a table, and because she is a homemaker with no financial trappings, no big CEO title to her name, it is then calculated out at a very nominal cost.
91裸聊视频淲e are not seeking millions of dollars. Our story is, the families91裸聊视频� rights and recourse 91裸聊视频� due to this no-fault legislation 91裸聊视频� has been completely stripped away from us. We are at the mercy of the Crown and the laws and ICBC for justice for our mother.91裸聊视频�
West Vancouver police said in August 2023 that 91裸聊视频淐rown counsel made a determination on the appropriate charge given the evidence and circumstances of the incident.91裸聊视频�
The BC Prosecution Service said in a statement that Crown counsel 91裸聊视频渆xercise their professional judgment and prosecutorial discretion91裸聊视频� to determine what offences they can prove, as well as the public91裸聊视频檚 interest in deciding whether a case is processed under the Motor Vehicle Act or as a criminal offence.
Nigel Kong said the explanation doesn91裸聊视频檛 give his family comfort.
91裸聊视频淢y mother was not the only one that died,91裸聊视频� he said. 91裸聊视频淪he and another died. Seven people were injured, some critically. It was at a wedding. And for some reason 91裸聊视频� where I can91裸聊视频檛 even begin to comprehend or equate 91裸聊视频� is that it came down to a charge of careless driving.
91裸聊视频淎gain, two dead, seven critically injured, this mass devastation, hysteria and chaos, and we came to essentially a ticket.91裸聊视频�
B.C. Conservatives Leader John Rustad said in a policy statement in December that 91裸聊视频渧ictims who suffer life-altering injuries in motor vehicle accidents91裸聊视频� should be exempt from the no-fault regime and be allowed to 91裸聊视频減ursue fair and reasonable compensation in the British Columbia court system.91裸聊视频�
In May, the BC New Democrats issued a release criticizing Rustad91裸聊视频檚 stance, noting changes, including no-fault insurance, allowed ICBC to reduce rates by 20 per cent in 2021 and then to freeze them for six years.
91裸聊视频淚magine being against a rate freeze and a rebate for drivers at a time like this, when people need help with costs,91裸聊视频� Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth said in a tweet responding to Rustad on May 8.
Elliott, with the trial lawyers group, said his association is non-partisan but is strongly against the no-fault regime since it was brought in.
He said his group is seeing more cases from people injured in accidents seeking compensation but running into an ICBC system he called 91裸聊视频渋ncredibly complex91裸聊视频� without the help of lawyers.
91裸聊视频淭he experience has been a disaster for any British Columbian injured in a motor vehicle accident in this province,91裸聊视频� Elliott said. 91裸聊视频淥ur organization fields dozens, if not hundreds of calls every month from people who are being mistreated by ICBC, only now under no-fault insurance they have no recourse to find fair justice or fair compensation for their injuries.91裸聊视频�
Liong Kong said his wife91裸聊视频檚 death has drained the colour from his life.
91裸聊视频淲hen I talk to friends or other people who have reached out to me from other countries, they said, 91裸聊视频榃hat country are you living in, to have this kind of law that you have no legal redress, you can91裸聊视频檛 voice out anything at all, and your life is fixed according to a schedule? What kind of law is that?91裸聊视频�91裸聊视频�
