ICBC Injury Claim
 

Long story short, I was hit when a car collided with a suv and bounced onto my car while I was stopped.

My leftside has been sore and lower back is in pain. I met with icbc and they said all the medical bills will direct to them and I will get some sort of "pain and suffering" compensation.

Now I just started a new job and can't afford to take time off. I know icbc will pay for lost wages but it's a co-op term and I want to score a perm position.

Anyone have injury claims experience? What is this "pain and suffering" payout?
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In regards to the medical bills, icbc will pay 100% (or whatever liability you are for the accident) of the medical bills, up to a certain amount, i believe TWELVE visits to chiro/masseuse/doctor etc. So I'd go to those since those are provided to you "free of cost".


Pain and suffering payout is essentially a compensation settlement to you, simply put, they're paying you because you got in an accident, that's why you got insurance. I would consult a personal injury lawyer in order to MAXIMIZE your pain and suffering payout. The icbc adjuster assigned to you will give you a offer ($2000 is the lowest) and pester you until you accept it, they may increase this payout depending on the severity of your accident. Keep in mind though, the icbc adjuster is not necessarily there to help you as they have performance reviews and basically the less payouts they give to customers (like you), the better they do.

Best thing I did for mine, get a lawyer, free consultation, and he'll do all the work for you. He increased my payout FIVE FOLD, all i did was go for a consultation and sign some papers. Let me know if you want his contact, I had a great experience with him.

Off topic but just wondering, if Car A and Car B collided and Car A bounced off from the collision into OP's car, would Car A be liable? Does it matter if Car A or Car B was at fault?

Depending on how severe your injuries were ICBC will lowball the crap out of you when you actually deal $$$. This is my friends experience when a semi side swiped his little car and messed his leg up. he went into the office and..
adjuster: we can only offer you 3,000
him: No, that isn't fair.
adjuster: okay, then what is fair?
him: 25k
adjuster: you know we can't do that right?
him: no I know you don't want to but you definitely can.
adjuster ok we'll do 10
him: 17.5
adjuster: done.
So he earned himself that much more money in a matter of 4 minutes...
It's basically how good you are at haggling lol, if you don't get the kind of money that's fair for your injury just tell them you're gonna go get a lawyer.

Get a Lawyer

Please do send me his contacts, what are the fees involved and what steps did you have to take if you didn't have him assist you?

How was his leg messed up? It's my third day into the accident and my lower back seems like it's "stuck". I doubt there are any broken bones because that's my spine and I would be paralyzed instead.

It's only the third day into the accident, I should get a lawyer involved already?

The longer you hold out and have proof of doctor visits and chiro, etc, the bigger your payout.

But remember if you get too greedy, you CAN go through a discovery and eventually trial. Ofcourse this is all CANS and IF's, but your lawyer will discuss all. I think lawyer charges around 30% of your claim.
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He's based on contingency, basically he makes money only if you win, so he will NOT take your case if he sees that your case won't win any money. Average contingency fee is 25-30 %. His is 33% because he specializes in ICBC claims along with personal injury and a few others.

I waited for almost 2 years (near the end of the settlement period with icbc) before retaining a lawyer. I kept a pain diary from day 1 of the injury for 6 months writing down any pains i felt, where, and the severity of it. Went in for a free consultation, talked about the case with all my documentation. 4 weeks later, he called me and filled me in regarding how he five fold increased my payout, I accepted the offer from ICBC, just need to walk into his office tomorrow to pick up my cheque.

I'll PM you his information. If you don't go through a lawyer, you have to haggle with the adjuster yourself, just keep in mind adjusters do this negotiating for a living so just an average joe like us will have a harder time arguing with concrete arguments and experience.

I am a little new to this, but I always though icbc is just responsible for all medical expenses and that's the end of story.

It seems very hard to tag a dollar value to the "pain and suffering" that I experience through the recovery process, and I do hope I fully recover. According to your information, I would assume the frequency of doctor and specialist visits will substantially increase the payout amount? I'd much prefer not wasting my time waiting for my family doctor who takes her sweet ass time and make me wait for 1.5 hours for a 5 minute check up. My physio is a pain in the ass too, I am in his office for 2 hours each trip.

Good idea in making a diary of the pain I experience. I will start doing that becasue the adjuster said today she will call me sometime next month to follow up on my injuries and this "pain and suffering" payout will be negotiated half a year later.

ICBC takes care of your medical bills because they "represent" you. At the same time, they represent the third party involved as well as the business itself. So basically they have underlying objectives that may not favour you in particular.

In terms of visiting the doctor for check ups regularly, which I regret not doing since this would be the most solid form of documenting my ongoing injuries, as well as your chiro is HIGHLY recommended to ensure you maximize your payout.

I wouldn't rush the payout because injuries tend to pop up later on after your accident, as cliche as it sounds. I've experienced it first hand, i was fine for the first 2-3 weeks after my accident, then i started getting pains in my legs/knees/hips because the orientation of my pelvis had been tilted which took a few weeks for my body to feel the pain. If i had settled sooner, I wouldn't have been able to take into account the actual damages to my body. I'd suggest waiting it out to at least a year, keep in mind, it's not only the monetary compensation you're looking for, but most important is your health, there is no real price tag you can place on it. Hope you got my PM TRDood

If you're in genuine pain.. then see your doctor regularly (like, once a week.. or as they suggest..). Don't go too long between visits. Keep a journal for EVERY DAY and how you feel, changes, medication log, etc.

Make sure you get proper treatment - physio, chiro, whatever.. I know a great doctor for neck & back pain, but they're in North Van... and you'd need a referral. And do what they tell you.. do the exercises religiously.. or you may NEVER recover fully.

Don't even THINK about "settlement" until you and your doctor agree your condition has "plateaued" and you can live life normally again.

(I screwed up on pretty much all of those.. ICBC gave me $25k but I still live in daily pain. Ain't worth it now..)

But if you're "ok" and just in this for the money.. suck it up ;)

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That 3b in reserve is actually legally required for them to have, it may not have been 3b exactly but an amount close to that to hold as reserves.

Totally consult a lawyer. Do not deal with ICBC on your own.

To Clarify, consult != hire. I think for a student and for pain, it is not worth hiring lawyer, because they get at least 1/3 of your payout. I really doubt you would get that much more in settlement unless you are in a professional program like Medicine or Law.

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And here's the response from ICBC:

http://www.vancouversun.com/ICBC+hea...394/story.html

Apparently, the 2.4% is applicable to basic, while optional has had decreases for the past 5 years. So saying that rates have not decreased is not true.

while i don't generally have anything against ICBC, if you are really injured and not just faking to get a payout from icbc, then my opinion is +1 in getting a lawyer.

icbc does NOT want to go to trial over claims. when push comes to shove, the judge will usually side with the plaintiff (you). each claim is assessed a particular risk value per se (can't remember the term they use right now). that's how much they assess your claim to be worth. So they'll over you increasing larger amounts of money up until that amount (or so), before they'll agree to go to trial.

usually mediation will settle things. both sides get together with a mediator and discuss the claim face to face. both sides will point out each other's weaknesses and then the number games start.

in any case, be patient. keep records. make sure your doctor and your chiros keep records.

the one downside that you'll face, especially if your lawyer tries to get you to make a wage loss claim, is that if you keep working, ICBC will use that against you to say that you aren't as injured as you claim and will lower their offer.

Thanks for the input guys! I don't really care how much my payout is because the larger the amount = the bigger shit I get into with my health.

I am documenting all my pains and medical visits. This is truly a waste of time as I took 2 hours off my work day just to go see my doctor for 10-15 minutes.

I would assume getting a lawyer would be an option further down the road if things don't get better...

Today, the doctor expect me to fully recover in about 3 months. But that's pure speculation and let's not keep my hopes up.

How does professional programs mean more money? Probably wages lost if you lost your vision or hearing...

I think having a sore back means the same thing for a Langara kid and a PhD student.

If what you said was true, then this will be my advantage as I am doing graduate studies.

but if you continue to work on your co-op term, you might 'jeopardize' your future wage loss claim. i think. again, something to seek more professional advice about.

I'm going through an injury claim right now. Been just over a year and my lower back and left shoulder aren't getting any better. I don't think my doctor is making the right diagnosis. Is it okay to see another doctor for a second opinion or does ICBC not like that? I'm seeing my family doctor, same doctor I've been seeing 25 years but in recent years, it seems she's lost her passion for the job and I have a feeling it's affecting my recovery.

It is your right to get second opinion.. However even if your doctor is at fault, the problem won't be with ICBC but with BCMA and their malpractice board..

ICBC didn't pick the doctor, you did.

No, professional programs like Law and Med mean the wages are standardized and published vs salaried. That's how you can get more money.

Just take the example of the local new associate who got drunk at company's party to celebrate her passing of the bar and hit her head.. she got multimillion settlement because the judge can see her future salary calculated by her billable hours x company rate. It was in the Sun over the summer.

In an ideal world a kid with a Certificate of Fine Arts will be treated the same as a MD PhD LLB.. but in reality most negotiated wages are just between employers and employees and they vary base on responsibility and personality. It is hard for judge to measure or quantify anything that might happen in the future.

You won't be able to win any damages if the company doesn't hire you on the permanent position. It doesn't mean you can't try to claim, but chances of winning is close to nil, with or without a lawyer. It sucks, but in your situation you just have to suck it up and work as if you are normal (if not over the top) to get your permanent position.