Vancouver Car Accident Lawyers

Hiring an experienced ICBC injury claims lawyer
is crucial to obtaining a fair settlement

The Insurance Corporation of British Columbia settlement process: How does it work?

The most important goal we have is to try and obtain you a fair settlement for your injuries. When push comes to shove, we will take your case to Court if necessary. However, we recognize that the Court process can be stressful for many of our clients. By using our past experience as ICBC injury lawyers, we can help you obtain a fair settlement. There are various ways in which we do this.

ICBC settlements are based largely on medical evidence. We make sure that you have the best medical evidence possible to support your injuries. We talk to your doctors and those caring for you. We obtain opinions from the doctors treating you. We also set up medical appointments with specialists to assess your injuries and tell ICBC about all the ways you have been injured and limited because of your accident.

Settlements are also based upon evidence from those who know you, such as your employer, your family, friends, and most importantly, you. We talk to all of these people. We get statements from them detailing how the accident has affected you, and we account for your costs and losses. We then present this evidence to ICBC to help you obtain a fair settlement; we make sure you receive what you’re entitled to.

ICBC settlements are also influenced by other witnesses, particularly if you are being blamed for the accident. If this occurs, we make efforts to locate and interview any important witnesses to the accident to make sure ICBC is treating you fairly.

An experienced ICBC injury claims attorney can stop
ICBC Claims adjusters from calling you…

We make sure that ICBC does not call and harass you.
If you don’t retain an experienced Vancouver car accident lawyer, the ICBC claims adjuster will likely call you over and over again. During these conversations, the ICBC adjuster will ask you a lot of questions. You may think the ICBC adjuster is being friendly, however, they are gathering information about your case. This information could be used against you at a later date. If you hire us, the phone calls from ICBC will stop. We will deal with ICBC regarding all issues in your case. You can focus on your recovery, while we prepare your claim for settlement.

An experienced Vancouver car accident lawyer can protect your privacy and personal information.
We can prevent ICBC from accessing your private information. If you do not have an experienced ICBC injury lawyer, ICBC can gain access to your medical records, without any consideration to your privacy. Also, ICBC can talk to your employer and your doctors and ask whatever questions they like. We take steps to make sure that ICBC does not talk to the people who are treating you for your injuries. Also, we make sure that ICBC only has access to relevant information about your case, instead of your entire medical and employment history.

We can make sure you get the treatment you need.
After an accident, you may need to get expensive medical treatment, such as physiotherapy, chiropractic care or massage. If you do not have an injury attorney you are at ICBC’s mercy when it comes to the kind of treatment you can get. If ICBC chooses not to pay for your treatment, you are out of luck. At the Bungay Law Office, we make sure you get the treatment you need to get better. If ICBC refuses to pay, we will sue them and hold them accountable.

An ICBC injury claims lawyer can make sure you receive proper medical assessments and testing.
Many people injured in auto accidents require care from medical specialists. You may also need special testing such as an MRI exam, or an ultrasound. The public medical system has long wait for lines for these important tests, and also long wait times to see medical specialists. These wait times can be months or even years. If you have a serious injury, we can make sure you get the proper testing you need immediately. Also, if you need to see a specialist, we can arrange for you to see a doctor privately to ensure your injuries are properly assessed.

An ICBC injury claims lawyer can help you recover lost wages or income.
Many people involved in auto accidents can no longer work, others can only work part-time; In these cases, we can take steps to make sure you receive income replacement during your time of disability. We can guide you through the process of applying for sickness and/or disability benefits. We can also make sure ICBC pays their fair share of your lost wages, and if they refuse to pay, we will take them to Court and make them pay.

If you deal with the adjuster alone, without the help of an experienced ICBC injury claims attorney, here is what you can expect:

• ICBC adjusters will phone you on an ongoing basis to discuss the case with you
• ICBC adjusters will try and have you settle the case early
• ICBC may interview witnesses without your knowledge or consent, including your doctor, your employer, or witnesses to the accident itself
• ICBC may refuse to pay you any money for your injuries if there is minimal vehicle damage. At that point, ICBC may simply tell you they are closing your file
• If they agree to pay you any money, you will be left to negotiate without any expertise. ICBC knows the real value of your case, but they will not likely disclose that value to you
• You may make mistakes in your recollection of the events surrounding the accident

Here are some of the ways we can help you:

Low Velocity Impact – LVI Accidents

ICBC has a theory that the amount of damage to your vehicle equals the amount of injury. This is known as ICBC’s Low-Velocity Impact policy or LVI accident policy. This theory has been explicitly rejected by the Courts in BC case law.

If the adjuster deems your accident to be an LVI or Low-Velocity Impact, your claim will be rejected. In other words, ICBC will refuse to pay you any compensation for your injury claim. You may get a letter in the mail telling you that your claim has been rejected by the LVI Committee at ICBC, or the adjuster may simply tell you this over the phone.

An experienced ICBC injury claims lawyer can ensure you get compensation, even if ICBC has deemed your case to be an LVI accident. The legal system offers ways around this LVI policy, and we can help you find those ways and ensure you get the compensation you deserve. We can advance case law on your behalf showing that you are deserving of compensation regardless of the amount of vehicle damage to your car.

“We have handled hundreds of LVI claims, and we have obtained money for our clients in all of these claims where ICBC has initially denied paying anything”

Downtown Vancouver ICBC Claims Lawyers (ICBC Injury claims lawyers)
Call us today for a free consultation 604-684-4300

How can we get you a fair settlement?

ICBC pays out money according to established BC case law. This law sets out damages that you can expect to receive based on your injuries. These damages are broken down into categories such as pain and suffering, past income loss and future income loss.

Pain and Suffering

The damage category of pain and suffering is meant to compensate you for all the ways an accident has caused you general pain and discomfort. It is also meant to compensate you for all the ways you can no longer enjoy your life as a result of your accident.

When deciding on the amount of damages for pain and suffering, an experienced ICBC claims lawyer can research and choose case law which best reflects your unique circumstances. In other words, we have the skills to choose cases about individuals with cases similar to your own. We then argue that the ICBC pain and suffering award should match those of past cases similar to yours.

MORE INFORMATION: see our page about ICBC pain and suffering claims

As ICBC injury claims lawyers, we have also been involved in the creation of case law

We have fought ICBC in the courts for many years. We can use our own case law from past clients to obtain a fair pain and suffering award on your behalf.

Past and Future Income Loss

An experienced injury lawyer can ensure that you get back all of your income lost as a result of the accident. This is known as obtaining damages for past income loss.

We can also take steps to make sure that your future losses are covered. Many people involved in accidents suffering from lingering effects for many years, sometimes indefinitely. This may result in a loss of ability to earn income in the future. While this can affect people of all ages, it most acutely impacts younger people involved in accidents, who have their whole working life ahead of them.

We can obtain money from ICBC to ensure that your future losses are fairly compensated. By using the latest case law, we convince ICBC to pay you the income you can no longer earn.