Motor Vehicle Accidents in BC
Five Steps to Take After Being in a Car Accident in British Columbia
This article provides a brief summary of the steps that an injured person should take after being involved in a motor vehicle accident in British Columbia.
British Columbia is under a public scheme for motor vehicle insurance whereby the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia is granted a monopoly under provincial law. ICBC may be a public insurer however it operates in the same way as a private insurer in that it seeks in every claim to keep settlements to a bare minimum. The following are five steps that an injured person should take after being in a car accident in BC to ensure that they are fully compensated by ICBC.
1. Seek Immediate Medical Attention
This first step may be out of your hands if you are in a serious accident that involves you in an ambulance ride, a visit to the emergency room, and an extended stay in hospital. However even in cases where the injuries are not incapacitating you should see a doctor as soon as possible. If your doctor recommends that you go for physiotherapy or any other rehabilitative therapy you should also be diligent in booking and attending all those sessions. In the first instance, following the advice of medical practitioners is the best way to recover from injuries and get on with your life. In the second instance, you or your lawyer will depend on the evidence of these professionals when you are in settlement negotiations with ICBC or at trial. If ICBC can point to a lack of diligence on your part that has led to holes in the medical legal evidence, this will undoubtedly lower your settlement claim.
2. Meet with a Lawyer as Soon as Possible
Before you meet with your claims adjuster you should sit down with a lawyer to discuss your claim. ICBC will not want you to get a lawyer so that they can settle your claim cheaply and quickly. Your lawyer will be able to explain the process to you and will ask you the types of questions that ICBC will put to you when you are giving your statement to them. This will let you get your story straight which is not to imply anything dishonest, however it is easy to paint yourself into a corner in your discussions with ICBC and it is their job to find weaknesses in your account of events. Furthermore the only real hammer that an injured person has with any insurer is the threat of taking the matter to court. Without that leverage any insurer will try to wait the injured person out and keep making low offers.
3. Give Your Statement to ICBC
After the accident you are required to report the incident to ICBC. You will be given a claim number and depending on your condition they will try to set up a meeting with you to meet with one of their claims adjusters. As noted above, you should try to meet with a lawyer first to get acquainted with this process. When giving your statement to ICBC try to keep it as short, simple and to the point as possible. Try not to guess what you think may have happened and if you don’t know the answer to a question, just answer ‘I don’t know’.
4. Keep a Diary
A personal injury file can take a long time to complete. The biggest reason for this is that it is often difficult to get a real prognosis of a person’s injuries until months if not years after the accident. It is important that you or your lawyer has a record of the impact of your injuries on your daily life during this period. This will ensure that when the day comes that a medical legal report can be made with some certainty as to your future you will not be limited in negotiating with ICBC by a lack of documentation. As part of your diary system you should include every time your injury impacts your daily life including your work, recreational activities, sleep patterns, etc. You should also include all receipts for gas, medicine, and other expenses that you incur as a result of dealing with your injuries.
5. Try to be Patient
Insurers rely on the fact that injured people are often in need of money to deal with the costs of their daily life in lieu of their injuries. Insurers also have no problem in waiting extended periods of time before settling. There are some instances where an injured person cannot take the stress of battling with the insurer and will want to settle early to just put the matter to bed, but this is almost always not in their best interests monetarily. Personal injury matters, like all legal matters, do resolve themselves in time but it often requires a lot of time, effort, and patience on behalf of the injured person to ensure that they are properly compensated for their losses.
This article is legal commentary only and should not be taken as legal advice. Consult a lawyer in your area with any particular legal questions that you may have.
