On November 9, 2018 the NDP Coalition government released their ICBC Minor Injury Claim laws to take effect April 1, 2019. These laws pre-set compensation for pain and suffering to an injury cap maximum of $5,500 for all accident’s injuries after April 1, 2019 unless proof of serious impairment is presented. Given the complexity of the new legislation, without a legal advocate most claimants will be automatically denied proper compensation.
Individuals that have the benefits of private insurance before a car accident are punished by these new laws. All the private benefits paid for by a claimant are deducted from the claim against the negligent ICBC drivers. At fault drivers are further protected in the NDP/ICBC law allowing negligent drivers to potentially walk away from a claim by simply paying the injury cap of $5,500.00.
ICBC Claimants will not be allowed to use their own family doctors after a car accident. The NDP requires all claimants to be seen by ICBC approved “registered care advisor”. These “registered care advisors” are restricted by ICBC in what they can do and the NDP drafted the laws to ensure the government run insurance company gets to pick the claimant’s care team.
The new NDP/ICBC Social Plan eliminates personal rights transferring these rights to ICBC. Every injury suffered in an auto accident after April 1, 2019 will be considered minor, unless the claimants can prove otherwise.
As ICBC hires new lawyers to deny injury claims, the Canadian Bar Association pleads for more legal aid funding to address what is expected to be a financial crisis for auto injury victims.
British Columbians injured in auto accident have had their rights reduced progressively since ICBC was created in 1972.With the introduction of the NDP Minor Injuries for all car accidents, ICBC is at liberty to deny an injury claim without notifying the claimant.
The ICBC was created in 1972, in part, to address the cost of insurance in remote areas. These laws have however been perverted by ICBC to justify long and expensive claim denials. These NDP laws are the evolution of a government monopoly allowed to grow beyond the original mandate. The ICBC minor injury caps protect the ICBC system at the expense of the injured.
Auto injury claimants are entering a very dark period in British Columbia. ICBC has created a financial crisis for themselves and expects future innocent injury victims to pay the losses. Ending ICBC, the Liberals new mandate, appears to be the only way to stop the expanding monopoly of ICBC.
ICBC Definition of Minor Injury