Failure to follow medical advice could cost you

The recent decision of Pond v. Bucsis, 2013 BCSC 2001 provides an example of the consequences of not following your doctor’s recommendations.

Ms. Bu backed her camper van into Ms. Pond’s sedan in the parking lot of a recycling depot in Vernon, BC.  The Court found that Ms. Pond had indeed suffered various injuries in the collision, but reduced the “pain and suffering” component of the judgment by 30% for Ms. Pond’s failure to follow medical advice.

In particular, Ms. Pond:

a)              did not regularly attend her GP’s office, despite being requested to do so;

b)             stopped taking her prescription medication against the advice of her doctor;

c)              did not follow through with a recommended course of physiotherapy; and

d)             did not pursue an exercise and stretching program that had been recommended to her.

The cost to Ms. Pond was $9,000.

This exemplifies the potential consequences of not following your doctor’s advice, and the importance of aggressively pursuing medical treatment.