HELP THIS QUEER FILIPINX RECOVER AFTER A CRASH

Kumusta everyone, my name is Chris and I am a Filipinx queer from Davao City, Philipines. In 2008, I immigrated to the Coast Salish lands known as “Vancouver”. Since immigrating, I’ve become passionate about biking and climbing and have dedicated a lot of my time volunteering and working in both. I was fortunate enough to become a program coordinator with UBC’s bike kitchen, running a program that made bikes more accessible to families who wanted to get their children into cycling. I’ve also joined Vancouver queer climbers as a mentor, where I offer my support and training to other queer climbers like me. Unfortunately, since my accident, I haven’t been able to participate in these activities anymore, which has been a great disadvantage to my mental, emotional, and physical state.

 

In July 2021, I was hit by a car making an illegal U turn while riding home from work. At the scene I was knocked unconscious, and woke up in the ER in insufferable amounts of pain. I had multiple injuries of which included a complex right arm fracture, neck fracture, soft tissue damage on my left shoulder and right knee, concussion and a brain bruise. The prognosis they gave me is about 6 months to a year of recovery and physiotherapy.

 

In May of 2021, ICBC introduced a new policy, the “no-fault” policy, that disadvantages cyclists and pedestrians in the event of a multi-vehicle collision. Essentially with this policy, no one is deemed at fault (of course not true), which entitles ICBC to dictate how much care, recovery and compensation injured individuals get. In my case, medical supplies, physiotherapy and a taxi account were immediately provided by them. However, when it came to wage loss compensation, ICBC insisted I apply for medical EI, as ICBC’s wage loss insurance is only a secondary option for income replacement. The federal government only entitles you to 15 weeks of medical EI and at this point I have already used up 15 weeks of this entitlement.

 

I reached out to ICBC requesting them to start my income replacement compensation as I am still not fit to go back to work. For context, EI was paying me $1880 CAD per month which is their minimum entitlement. ICBC has determined that I am only entitled to $1018 CAD per month. My monthly expenses averages to about $1100-1500 per month, which doesn’t include the bi-monthly counselling appointments that I pay out of my pocket.

 

Right now, I am asking for community support to help me live comfortably while I focus on recovering from my injuries. This accident has left me physically unable to work as a bike mechanic, which requires a good amount of strength and dexterity, as well as performing simple daily tasks. If you are unable to donate, please share this with your friends and family. A share is just as helpful to me as a monetary donation.

 

Daghang Salamat!

(Thank you very much!)

 

Chris