Judge not buying crash victim’s story

An orchard worker who was injured four years ago in a automobile crash near Oliver has been awarded damages totalling $92,000 — representing just a fraction of what she sought from a B.C. Supreme Court judge who found she “made up” part of her claim.

Parbjeet Kaur Bahniwal, 61, sued the driver, Kuldeep Johal, in connection with the single-vehicle crash in a vineyard Jan. 28, 2017. The trial took place over four days in Kelowna last month.

Bahniwal, who was seeking upwards of $630,000 in total damages, claimed Johal had just picked her up to go grocery shopping, when the vehicle swerved off the road and into a metal pole.

Bahniwal claimed the crash, which triggered the vehicle’s airbags, resulted in continuous pain in her neck and shoulders, along with anxiety, depression and memory problems, all of which left her a shadow of her former self.

But in his decision issued Feb. 19, Justice Gary Weatherill found the testimony of Bahniwal, along with her son and stepdaughter, didn’t support those claims.

“What I saw in the witness box was not what the plaintiff’s witnesses presented. (Bahniwal) was feisty and sometimes aggressive, often raising her voice and speaking very quickly when trying to make a point or when inconsistencies in her evidence were pointed out to her,” wrote Weatherill.

Weatherill also described Bahniwal as a “selectively poor historian with little recollection of many pertinent details,” except those that benefited her.

For example, Bahniwal testified that she lost 166 hours of work in 2017 while recovering from her injuries.

“She said she recalled it from memory. Interestingly, this is despite other evidence that suggests her memory has been very poor since the accident,” noted Weatherill.

The judge suggested Bahniwal fabricated a claim for $6,200, representing the $200 per month Bahniwal apparently paid her daughter-in-law for housekeeping duties Bahniwal was no longer able to perform after the crash.

“I do not believe that the plaintiff paid (her daughter-in-law) $200 per month – or any amount – and conclude that this claim is made up,” wrote Weatherill.

The largest portion of Bahniwal’s award was $60,000 for lost wages, pain and suffering, but it was reduced by 10% because the judge found Bahniwal hadn’t exerted even “a modicum of effort” to follow medical advice intended to assist her recovery.