ICBC full no-fault insurance, soon to be law, gives absolute powers to the auto insurance monopoly ICBC. The government, starting May, 2021, will allow ICBC to value human suffering at zero ($0.00), giving no compensation to the injured. The BC NDP will be taking money that should be used to compensate innocent victims and giving it back to drivers. The expected short term cheap auto insurance is an obvious attempt to buy votes in the next provincial election. Quality of life for innocent victims of car accidents will be consequently worth nothing.
As a result the BC NDP will be fostering a community in which no value will be given to loss of enjoyment of life. That includes innocent victims of personal injury that are not at fault for their injuries. This profound change will likely change forever the quality of life for the weak and vulnerable in BC.
The NDP No-fault auto insurance eliminates legal rights to the injured and discourages lawyers from helping these victims. As a personal injury lawyer I have been hearing the horror stories from individuals now caught by the ICBC Minor Injury Cap.
Innocent injury victims are losing life, liberty and security. Example: One individual that contacted my law office was rear-ended in a car accident on August 9, 2019 and suffered severe injuries. He had to take 6 months off work and now suffers chronic pain syndrome. He used up $12,000 of his work disability. ICBC now tells him after many months of treatment and disability that his injury is Minor. ICBC will only pay him $4,500.00 for his suffering and nothing for his income loss. He has been diagnosed with cancer and now has no work benefits to cover his time off due to his cancer. This is how the Minor Injury Caps system works. After May, 2021 ICBC will not even have to pay this claimant anything for his suffering. In the new no-fault system this innocent victim will receive no compensation for his losses.Some victims may get accident benefits but only if they have no insurance from any other source.
As American’s celebrate the 30th Anniversary of the Americans With Disabilities Act (July 26), here is British Columbia we celebrate the loss of important rights for our most vulnerable. Car accident victims have been demonized by our government. The BC NDP have turned these victims into “claim exposures” instead of real human beings.
As the BC NDP gets ready to send ICBC rebate cheques to BC drivers, buying votes, remember where that money came from. Remember the timing of these payments. As private insurance companies across the Country have already returned millions of dollars to Canadians during the Pandemic, ICBC has returned nothing.
As the BC NDP decide on the best timing to send out the ICBC blood money to drivers that have pre-paid for insurance, innocent victims of car accidents should expect nothing, except the pain, suffering and loss of enjoyment of life resulting from their injuries.