ICBC taking rights away from the injured


The new NDP injury cap legislation degrades chronic psychiatric conditions to “minor injuries” and leaves claimants without a legal advocate. This change tramples on individual rights and its only aim is saving ICBC from elimination. The vulnerable, the innocent that develop chronic illnesses due to car accidents will be offered a maximum one time payment of $5,500 for pain and suffering.
To give a current comparison  showing how perverse this change will be for BC motorists, effective April 1, 2019 Canadian Veterans, with impairments will be able to receive between $6,000 and $18,000 per year, for life for  Pain and Suffering Compensation. The purpose of the Pain and Suffering Compensation  is to recognize and compensate for the pain and suffering experienced as a direct result of disability and the impacts on quality of life and family. If this principle is important also due people innocently injured in vehicle accidents.
British Columbian’s need to stand up for their quality of life and reject this legislative change. Innocent victims injured in car accident deserve their quality of life to be properly valued and not arbitrarily limited to service an insurance corporation.
ICBC has finally showed true colours and  turned on the innocent victims suffering chronic physical and psychological injuries by being party to the drafting this this legislation. ICBC has the benefit of dozen’s of staffed and retained lawyers to defend and defeat claims. However, ICBC would like a system in which claimants have no access to affordable legal advice or legal representation.
If history has taught us anything, allowing private citizens to have access to affordable legal advice or legal representation levels the playing field allowing the most vulnerable in our society, in this case car accident victims, to have a voice.
In ICBC’s new system many injury claimants will be left alone with no legal advocate to speak on their own behalf.  Justice will not be done. We are left with an important decision about corporate government monopolies, but is anybody  listening?
Posted by Mr. Renn Holness, B.A., LL.B.- over 22 years working for the injured, not ICBC or any other insurance company.
 

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