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Your initial meeting with ICBC's adjuster.

• If I was a passenger or a driver who was clearly not at fault, how should I prepare for my initial meeting with ICBC?
• An ICBC adjuster will interview you and prepare a statement for you to sign. This is a very important document. ICBC often uses claimants' statements against them at a later date. One reason ICBC might use your statement later is to demonstrate that you are not believable (because your statement is not completely truthful), so be prepared to give a completely accurate statement. This is not the easiest thing to do since our memories are imperfect.

  "What difference did the injury make in your life? " This is a key question in your injury claim. The adjuster will ask you for details about your health, work history, hobbies and sports before the accident.

  Your pre-accident health

  Most people find it difficult to clearly remember details of their health prior to an accident. For example, how many times did you see your chiropractor, physiotherapist or family doctor due to neck or back pain in the two years before the accident? If you had related health concerns before your accident, phone the receptionist of your chiropractor, physiotherapist or other treatment practitioner to find out the dates and number of times you received treatment. You may also be able to get a computer printout of this. Visit your family doctor and bring a notepad. Ask him or her to quickly review with you the clinical notes about your related complaints and the appointment dates when you made the complaints.

  Your pre-accident income

  Your income tax returns and T4's are important documents in proving your earnings history and your loss of income. When you visit an ICBC adjuster, bring photocopies of your tax returns for the two years before the accident. Also bring a copy of your most recent pay stub for the current year—if you have worked the entire year and it shows your year-to-date income. Otherwise, bring copies of each pay stub for the current year. This will enable ICBC to more quickly assist you with your financial loss.

  Your hobbies and sports

  Think about what non-work activities have occupied most of your free time over the past year or two, and make a list in order of importance. Your believability could be placed in doubt if, for example, your statement indicates you cannot ski anymore and you neglected to mention that you had skied only once in the previous 3 years.

  Your injuries

  If you did not mention in your statement a part of your body where you experienced pain or discomfort and it later becomes a long-term problem, you may have difficulty proving that the accident caused this problem. ICBC's standard argument is that people often experience pain when they have not been in a car accident. Your doctor may neglect to note in his records a certain complaint within the first month or so following the accident, even though you told him or her about it. Doctors often do not write down every complaint.

  List your injuries from most severe to least severe and from head to toe so as to not miss anything, and take your list with you to the meeting with the adjuster. Be sure to note if you have dizziness or imbalance. List any psychological problems you are having such as memory, concentration and reading problems, anxiety, fear of driving, irritability, sleeplessness, nightmares, flashbacks or intrusive thoughts of the accident. Do not go into great detail, but think about the severity and pattern of each area of pain such as your neck, low back and left leg. Is your neck pain, for example, mild, mild to moderate, moderate, moderate to severe or severe? For roughly what portion of your waking hours is it at each level of severity?

  Your seatbelt and headrest

  The adjuster will likely ask if you were wearing your seatbelt and how high your headrest was adjusted in relation to the back of your head. The purpose of these questions is for ICBC to determine whether it will be able to reduce your damage claim by a certain percentage due to your failing to take reasonable care.

  The accident itself

  In most accidents, one or more drivers will be found liable for your injuries. If ICBC is the insurer for both drivers, then it doesn't really matter how much responsibility is apportioned to each driver if you were a passenger. As a passenger, however, you should be prepared to answer questions about the accident, including those relating to time and distance.

  If you wish to further prepare for answering questions about the accident, please see the answer to the question below "How should I prepare for my initial meeting with ICBC? (For drivers, cyclists and pedestrians possibly at fault").