Family of BC Victim Angered by Lack of Fault Determination in Motor-Vehicle Death Case
Family members say Annie Kong had a dream of bringing together her extended family at her West Vancouver home for Christmas 2022.
“She talked about it all year,” said Nigel Kong, Annie’s son from Denmark. He mentioned that his sister, Joanna Moy, was also planning to join with her family from Chicago for the celebration.
“We were all going to be together at the home we grew up in, where what used to be just the four of us would now be the entire extended family, the whole clan.”
However, Annie Kong never got to fulfill that wish. She was one of two individuals who lost their lives in a tragic accident when a vehicle crashed into a wedding from a shared driveway between two homes in West Vancouver on August 20, 2022, leaving many others severely injured.
The family is devastated, and their pain is compounded by B.C.’s no-fault insurance system. This system not only limited the compensation received by the Kongs in Annie’s death but also restricted their ability to seek further legal action through lawsuits.
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The issue of no-fault insurance is a topic of debate among the major political parties in the upcoming provincial election. The B.C. Conservatives promise exemptions to the rule that limits families from suing for compensation in most cases, while the BC New Democrats credit the change to no-fault for bringing B.C.’s public auto insurer out of deficits and lowering premiums for residents.
No-fault insurance at the Crown-owned Insurance Corporation of B.C. was implemented in May 2021 to reduce rates, decrease debt, minimize legal costs, and enhance care for accident victims.
The NDP government claims this change has been successful, as evidenced by the financial improvement at ICBC resulting in an insurance rebate for drivers and frozen renewal rates until at least March 2026.
While the system provides benefits for catastrophically injured individuals, it also limits the ability of victims to sue the at-fault driver unless criminal charges are involved. This restriction has left many victims and their families feeling helpless.
The Kongs express frustration with the lack of accountability and the meager lump-sum compensation provided by ICBC, which they feel does not adequately address their loss.
The legal system’s handling of cases like Annie Kong’s death has raised concerns among the victims’ families and sparked conversations regarding potential reforms to the no-fault insurance system in British Columbia.
