Article content

A judge has ordered ICBC to pay an immigrant couple more than $350,000 after the corporation falsely accused them of insurance fraud.

In a judgment issued Tuesday, Justice Susan Griffin called the prosecution brought against Danica Arsenovski “malicious,” and said the actions by ICBC and special investigator John Gould “brought fear and shame to a vulnerable person.”

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or Judge orders ICBC to pay 'terrified' immigrant couple $350,000 over false fraud accusation Back to video

“What happened to Mrs. Arsenovski was odious,” Griffin wrote in her 80-page decision.

Arsenovski, now 69, and her husband moved to B.C. in September 1999 after leaving the war-torn former Yugoslavia.

In January 2000, the couple was leaving an English language class one evening in Burnaby when they were involved in an accident in the intersection of Nelson Avenue and Imperial Street. The couple was in a crosswalk when Arsenovski’s husband was struck by a car. Arsenovski herself also fell as a result and was injured. It remains unclear as to whether Arsenovski’s fall was a result of being hit by the car or if she was knocked down by her husband being hit.