What you need to know:

Assistance with household chores.

  • I was not able to do all the household chores that I did before the collision. I was unable to pay someone to help me. So my husband and children are doing a lot of what I used to do. Are they entitled to be compensated for this?
  • You are entitled to compensation at the end for your loss of homemaking capacity. The law considers this your loss. Your family members do not make this claim.

    It is no longer necessary to establish that you paid someone to do what you were not able to do. You must prove how much time other people spent doing chores that you did before the collision. Each family member and friend who helps you should write down every week the chores that he or she did for you and how much time he or she spent doing each chore.

    This claim applies equally to indoor and outdoor work and to chores that either a man or a woman can no longer do.

    Your claim will be much stronger if you have evidence from a medical person as to the number of hours of assistance you needed over time. Speak to your physician about this every few months. Some physicians will note their opinion as to the number of hours of assistance you need. This will be of little or no value unless your physician bases his or her opinion on a physical examination and rationally breaks down the total hours of assistance you need into various chores. Most physicians will not be very keen on doing this.

    There is another profession whose members provide such opinions for legal purposes on a regular basis. They are "certified work capacity evaluators" who are usually occupational therapists. They will spend several hours testing your physical abilities. Sometimes they will inspect and photograph your garden and the inside of your house so that their opinion on your need for assistance is based on rock solid facts. Your doctor cannot refer you to a certified work capacity evaluator since they are not covered by the B. C. Medical Services Plan. However a lawyer can pay for such an assessment and claim the cost back from ICBC at the end of your case .

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ICBC disability benefits versus other disability benefits | Payment by ICBC for part of the cost of your treatment | Financial assistance with your household chores

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