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| 1. You are not prepared for your first meeting with an ICBC adjuster. |
 Before you see an ICBC adjuster, contact the office of your doctor, physiotherapist or chiropractor to confirm the dates that you received related treatment before the accident. This will ensure that you do not misstate your previous medical problems in the statement the adjuster will prepare and ask you to sign.
If you think you may be partly at fault for the accident, speak to a lawyer immediately so he or she can prepare you for your interview with the ICBC adjuster. Failure to do this could severely jeopardize your claim.
See: http://icbcinjurylawyers.ca/initialmeeting_ans4.html |
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| 2. Your doctor does not examine you regularly after your accident. |
It is extremely important that your doctor examine you at least once per month during your period of significant pain.
See: http://icbcinjurylawyers.ca/medicalexperts_ans1.html |
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| 3. After your accident, you are examined by a series of doctors in a walk-in clinic. |
| Try to find a family doctor. If you can’t find one, choose one doctor at a walk-in clinic and see only that doctor. Check to see what shifts that doctor works. |
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| 4. When you attend an ICBC-appointed doctor, you do not see your own medical specialist. |
ICBC uses the same medical specialists all the time. The report from such a specialist may well harm your claim. You won’t know this because ICBC will not give it to you. Seek legal advice if ICBC asks you to see its chosen specialist.
See: http://icbcinjurylawyers.ca/doctors_ans1.html |
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| 5. You agree with ICBC to an excessive reduction of your past wage loss claim from gross to net. |
ICBC will often claim a deduction of 30% to arrive at net; however, this deduction is usually much less. Agree to only a small deduction for income tax and EI premiums.
See: http://icbcinjurylawyers.ca/lossincome_ans3.html |
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| 6. You do not get all the treatment you need. |
| ICBC often stops funding treatment even though the doctor thinks this would be beneficial. Consider talking to a lawyer about alternative ways to fund the treatment you need. |
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| 7. ICBC does not reimburse you monthly for your physiotherapist or chiropractor user fees. |
ICBC frequently reimburses user fees monthly. Insist that your adjuster do this for you.
See: http://icbcinjurylawyers.ca/pay_treatment_ans1.html |
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| 8. You do not obtain the household help you need. |
If your doctor documents that you are unable to do most of your household chores, ICBC is required to fund up to $300 per week for household assistance.
If your doctor agrees that you are unable to do some of your household chores, you may claim at settlement or court the assistance you received (even if you didn’t pay for it), but it should be documented.
See: http://icbcinjurylawyers.ca/householdchores.html |
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| 9. You fail to obtain a Work Capacity Evaluation that simulates the demands of your job. |
A Work Capacity Evaluation can prove your limitations regarding your ability to work and perform household chores.
At some point, ICBC will insist that you are able to work full time, or your finances may force you to return to work. In these situations, this assessment can be invaluable. A lawyer will arrange and pay for a Work Capacity Evaluation.
See: http://icbcinjurylawyers.ca/evaluators.html |
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| 10. You do not keep a regular pain journal. |
If you don’t recover quickly from your injury, an ICBC lawyer may eventually ask you questions about your pain over time. If you haven’t kept a regular pain journal, this information will be very difficult for you to provide.
See: http://icbcinjurylawyers.ca/diary.html |
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| 11. You were unable to identify the driver of the vehicle that caused your accident. |
ICBC has very strict requirements for identifying the driver who caused your accident. If these requirements aren’t met, it is likely that your entire claim will be destroyed.
See: http://icbcinjurylawyers.ca/hitrun.html |
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| 12. If a friend or relative caused the accident, you do not want to claim for your injuries. |
| You may be concerned that your friend or relative will lose their safe driving discount if you claim for your injuries. ICBC will reduce the discount anyway, based on the repair cost to the other vehicle. In reality, your claim for damages is with ICBC, under your friend or relative’s insurance. |
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