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As discussed in our previous posts, the Civil Resolutions Tribunal (or CRT) is an administrative tribunal originally established by the BC government in 2012 to handle disputes between strata councils and property owners. In 2019, the jurisdiction of the CRT was significantly expanded by the BC NDP government to include determining when a person is entitled to ICBC no-fault benefits, also known as “Part 7” benefits.
Part 7 benefits are generally available to all British Columbia motorists involved in an accident regardless of whether they are at fault or not. These benefits primarily cover treatment expenses and disability benefits. In 2019, the government also made substantial changes to Part 7 benefits. Principally, they expanded the type of treatments which would be paid for and increased the amount paid for each benefit.
While a person’s entitlement to Part 7 benefits doesn’t depend on whether they were at-fault or not, a person can be denied Part 7 benefits for a host of reasons. For instance, if a driver is found to be in violation of a condition of their driver’s license they are not entitled to Part 7 benefits. This scenario was recently confirmed in Khanna v. Okamoto, 2020 BCCRT 1181.
In that case, Ms. Khanna was injured in an accident. At the time, she had a learner’s license, which required her to be supervised by a licensed adult while driving. Unfortunately, she wasn’t being so supervised when she got into the accident. This was in violation of both her license and the Motor Vehicle Act Regulations. Due to this violation, the CRT found that Ms. Khanna was not authorized or qualified by law to operate the vehicle and was therefore in breach of the Insurance (Vehicle) Regulations.
As a result, the CRT determined that Ms. Khanna was not entitled to Part 7 benefits from ICBC. Due to the fact that all the treatment Ms. Khanna was requesting would have been covered under Part 7 benefits, the CRT dismissed her entire claim for treatment coverage.
