The family of a man who was severely injured in the Lapu Lapu tragedy says bureaucratic red tape is preventing them from getting the help they need.
AJ Sico suffered a traumatic brain injury, along with multiple broken bones and nerve damage to his right eye, when an SUV drove into the crowd at the Filipino festival on April 26, killing 11 people and injuring more than two dozen others.
He also suffered a massive stroke after his brain injury.
His cousin, 27-year-old Jendhel May Sico, was one of the people killed in the incident.
Sico, 30, is now mostly non-verbal and unable to walk.
His family told Global News that income tax technicalities are preventing them from applying for Canada Pension Plan benefits and they say that because he is getting wage replacement benefits from ICBC, he is not eligible for provincial disability benefits.
Social Development and Poverty Reduction Minister Sheila Malcolmson encourages the family to still apply and navigators can assist them.
“If he is eligible because of his physical injury then he’ll still qualify for other kinds of supports: medications, medical equipment. So, it’s very worthwhile for him to apply,” she said.
Sico’s mother, Jhosie, said her son used to help pay for the household and the family and his injury has left so much uncertainty.
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“We don’t know where to get the financial every day, especially for our mortgage, because it’s still part of the house, and we don’t want to lose our house,” she said.
“So the money that we’re getting is not enough, but I still have to pay the rent that he’s supposed to be getting from his income, but he doesn’t have income anymore.”
Jhosie said that ICBC is currently paying Sico $2,000 a month in income replacement.
Vanessa Hill, Sico’s girlfriend, said they did get some help from Filipino BC after the incident happened, but everything has been a struggle.
They also need some modifications done to the family home so that Sico can live at home with them.
They said Sico is still in a facility surrounded by dementia patients and that is stunting his recovery.
In a statement to Global News, ICBC said they have worked closely with Sico’s family and have funded a wide range of treatments, including speech therapy, physiotherapy, acupuncture, occupational therapy, massage therapy, and recreational therapy — all in addition to the care he receives through Vancouver Coastal Health.
“To address accessibility needs at his home, an accessible lift has been approved and ordered, and temporary options were offered while AJ remains at GF Strong Rehabilitation Centre,” the statement reads.
“We will continue supporting the necessary home and transportation modifications as he transitions back to his community. ”
An outdoor stairlift is scheduled to be installed next week, ICBC confirmed. A special bed and mattress have been ordered and they are awaiting quotes to modify a bathroom in the home.
ICBC said Sico will also receive a one-time payment of the maximum permanent benefit of more than $300,000.
As of March 4, ICBC said it has paid more than $3.6 million in total benefits to those impacted in the Lapu Lapu tragedy, including almost $2 million in medical and rehabilitation benefits, about $806,000 in death benefits, nearly $370,000 in permanent impairment benefits, more than $103,000 in funeral costs, and over $21,000 in grief counselling.
“I don’t want to have to be reaching out to the media to be able to get things for AJ to facilitate his healing and like his recovery, but unfortunately, that’s the only way we’ve been able to be heard this whole time,” Hill said.
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