Surrey woman receives $4M ICBC settlement, including $100K for surrogacy fees

Mikaela Wilhelmson is rebuilding her life, one step at a time.

“Every day is still a struggle,” she said. “I still have my ups and downs. I’ll never be physically or mentally the same.”

Wilhelmson, 27, was riding in a car with her fiancé and another friend when they were struck by a vehicle speeding the wrong way down the road in August 2011.

Toxicology tests later revealed that the driver had cocaine in his system.

Wilhelmson was the only survivor of the crash, but her injuries left her unable to bear a child.

“All my organs were found up in my chest cavity,” she said. “I’ve been put back together. I broke my spine so if I became pregnant all the pressure of the pain that I’m already experiencing would double or triple.”

Wilhelmson was awarded nearly $4 million from the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia (ICBC) in a recent B.C. Supreme Court decision.

It included $100,000 for surrogacy costs, a ruling her lawyer said is a first in Canada.

“It’s my view that the injured person should have the option to go to the United States and hire a surrogate at the expense of the person or the insurer of the person who caused the damage,” lawyer Conrad Margolis said.

Wilhelmson said she can now dream of having her own biological child.

“I never thought that I would be able to get a surrogate and now that I do have the funds to be able to have a surrogate, it means a lot,” she said. “It means the world.”

Wilhelmson hopes that the decision will benefit women facing similar circumstances.

“I just want to keep getting stronger and help people and just stay positive,” she said.

— With files from Tanya Beja