ICBC – Pain and Suffering Claims Lawyers
Downtown Vancouver ICBC Pain & Suffering Claims (lawyers for ICBC injury claims)
Call us today for a free consultation 604-684-4300
*We now have offices in Surrey and Abbotsford
For information about Surrey ICBC claims law
For information about Abbotsford ICBC claims law
ICBC Pain & Suffering Awards:
The most common form of money that ICBC pays out relates to “pain and suffering”. The legal term for this type of “pain and suffering” is non-pecuniary damages. In other words, ICBC is obligated to compensate an injured person for all the ways he or she has been “damaged” by a car accident.
Pain and suffering refer to all the ways you have personally suffered as a result of a car accident. Each case is different, and therefore, each ICBC award for pain and suffering is different. As ICBC claims lawyers, our job is to make ICBC fully aware of all of the ways you have personally suffered as a result of the car accident. If the proper legal evidence is presented to the insurance company, in most cases, we can ensure that our clients are given a fair ICBC pain and suffering award.
What constitutes ICBC pain and suffering?
Pain and suffering are different for each car accident victim. However, many of our clients suffer in similar ways. Pain and suffering include restrictions on your personal life, including the inability to socialize with friends and family, experiencing depressive symptoms, and also the inability to participate in hobbies and sports. Significantly, many people experience problems in their personal or family relationships as a result of their injuries. These are all important considerations that must be taken into account and properly documented, to ensure you get a fair ICBC pain and suffering award.
What evidence is needed to get ICBC pain and suffering?
There are various ways we can obtain evidence of our clients’ pain and suffering. We like to work with our clients and involve them in the process of gathering this evidence. Firstly, we advise our clients to keep a journal from day 1 outlining their symptoms and restrictions. This journal will be important evidence for us when we are attempting to settle an ICBC claim. The journal is also important in the event that the matter goes to Court. Clients often get used to being restricted, and will thus forget all the ways the accident affected them. By keeping a journal, you can refresh your memory at a later date and be able to give clear evidence to ICBC, or to a judge, in order to obtain a fair settlement or judgment.
We also advise our clients to save text messages or emails from friends when they are invited for social and sporting activities but must refuse because of their injuries. This type of evidence can be very powerful when we are making offers to settle and/or going to Court to try and obtain an ICBC pain and suffering award.
Another important form of evidence is obtaining witness statements from friends, co-workers and family members. As ICBC injury lawyers, we have significant experience interviewing witnesses. We know what ICBC is ‘looking for’ when considering how much to give you for pain and suffering. By using our experience as ICBC claims lawyers, we ensure that people in your life give us important and relevant information that will assist us in getting you fair compensation for pain and suffering.
*Note: ICBC can force you to see a doctor. See article here.
ICBC case law – A useful tool for pain and suffering
We often rely upon ICBC case law when pressuring the insurance company to pay fair compensation. Case law refers to past court decisions of other car accident victims. These past court decisions set out a range of amounts for compensation for pain and suffering.
When we are attempting to settle your claim, we research case law. In doing so, we try and find cases where others have injuries similar to your own. While everyone’s pain and suffering are unique, we can generally find cases that are comparable to the injuries and experiences of our clients. We quote these cases when dealing with ICBC, and make them aware of the correct value of your claim. This allows us to ensure that ICBC pays you a fair amount of money for your pain and suffering.
Downtown Vancouver ICBC Pain & Suffering Claims (lawyers for ICBC injury claims)
Call us today for a free consultation 604-684-4300
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