Recovering Health Care Costs in Personal Injury Claims

The new Health Care Costs Recovery Act comes into force in British Columbia as of April 1, 2009.  The Act sets out detailed rights and obligations regarding the recovery of health care costs incurred as a result of personal injuries or death.  Under the Act, plaintiffs are required to include, in an action they commence, a claim to recover the cost of health care incurred as a result of their injuries. 

The Act does not apply to a plaintiff whose injuries arise as the result of a motor vehicle accident where the wrongdoer has coverage under the Insurance (Vehicle) Act.  Similarly, the Act does not apply to injuries where compensation is paid or payable out of the accident fund under the Workers Compensation Act. However, the Act applies to all other injuries that occurred either before or after April 1, 2009. 

A plaintiff must notify the Government of a claim to recover health care costs within 21 days after commencing the legal proceedings. It will be very important for plaintiffs and their counsel to be aware of the obligations imposed on them under the Act and to claim to recover those damages accordingly.

The full-text of the Act is available online at: http://www.leg.bc.ca/38th4th/3rd_read/gov22-3.htm