In a personal injury action, is the claimant entitled to costs from the respondent?

In this case, the claimant was the successful party at trial and would normally be entitled to costs. There was evidence at trial that the financial circumstances of both parties were strained. However, while financial hardship is a factor to consider in awarding costs, it is insufficient on its own to warrant a departure from the default rule that costs follow the event: Pigdon v. Brackenridge, 2013 BCSC 1778 at para. 19. Since I received no submissions on costs from the respondent, I find she has not discharged her burden to persuade me that the general rule that costs be awarded to the successful party should not apply. In my view, there is no reason in this case to depart from the default costs rule. The claimant is entitled to costs.