ICBC Accident Benefits Inadequate for Many Claimants

Voluntary payments made by ICBC to victims of personal injury is a signal that the current system is inadequate. Without ICBC advanced payments made on the basis of third party liability coverage many claimants would not be able to survive after an accident related injury. Here are 3 basic accident benefits you can expect if you…

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ICBC Denied Last Minute Medical Examination of Injury Victim

In this personal injury case the ICBC insured could not reasonably claim to be surprised by the subject matter of a functional capacity evaluation report and was denied further medical examination of the claimant (Falbo v. Ryan,2015 BCSC 2452). It is rare that the court will order any further medical examinations after the 84 expert deadline. It…

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ICBC Internal Settlement Documents May have to be Disclosed

Although inconsistent with a recent case refusing disclosure of the ICBC settlement brief,  this case may open the way for claimants to obtain ICBC internal settlement documents for prior car accident claims( Easton v. Chen, 2015 BCSC 2288). However the current state of the law needs to be affirmed by the Supreme Court or Court of Appeal. In this…

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Considerations Before Settling Your Personal Injury Claim With ICBC

Do not do the following when settling with ICBC: (1) Hold back your treatment expenses; (2) Agree to repay your employer’s insurance company after the settlement; (3) Put an inappropriate value on your case; and (4) provide unnecessary and irrelevant documents. You should know that even after settlement the ICBC settlement file will stay with…

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ICBC Punished for Reprehensible Conduct after Settling Case

Baffled, the Court was forced to award special costs after ICBC settled a personal injury case yet refused to pay costs.  Lawyer Jacqueline Small  obtained $2,000 in special costs and costs thrown away due to ICBC failure to response to a simple Bill of Costs. ICBC’s lawyer had failed to respond to the Bill of Costs…

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Family Doctor Blamed but not Named in Car Accident Lawsuit

ICBC insured defendants have lost a bold application to name a family doctor for negligent treatment in this multiple car accident lawsuit (Jack v. Kendrick,2015 BCSC 1872). The claim is for injuries sustained in three separate motor vehicle accidents and the allegation was that the family doctor  prescribed negligently large doses of opiates.  In order for ICBC to obtain…

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Passenger Grabbing Steering Wheel Insured by ICBC

ICBC has lost this important injury insurance law appeal, the court concluding that the word “use” includes the grabbing of a the steering wheel by a passenger(Felix v. Insurance Corporation of British Columbia,2015 BCCA 394). This bold decision by Madam Justice Bennett brings insurance coverage to all British Columbia passengers that take control of a vehicle, when it…

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Making an Offer to Settle in a Personal Injury Case- The Written Offer to ICBC

  In personal injury cases there are four different types of offers that can be made to ICBC and insurers: pre-litigation oral offers; pre-litigation written offers; post-litigation oral offers; and post-litigation written offers. We can break down written offers into informal and formal offers to settle.  This article will briefly explain how an ICBC claimant can…

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ICBC Claims Chart for Personal Injury

Seeking advice about the value of an ICBC claim? As a lawyer I am often asked whether there is list to go to find out how much a particular personal injury is worth. Essentially a list of body parts and corresponding compensation amounts for each area of the body. For example, $25,000 for whiplash to the…

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ICBC Insurance Claim Application Important In Personal Injury Case

In this minor damage car accident case ICBC denied the claim but the claimant sought a large award for personal injury damages. ICBC said that the claimant  responded to ICBC’s denial of her claim by alleging injuries and losses that were not real or were not caused by the collision. The ICBC accident claim form she completed was not…

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