A: ICBC is required to disclose the video evidence it obtains just 7 days before the date of your trial.

If you start a lawsuit, eventually an ICBC lawyer will ask you questions under oath at an “examination for discovery.” The lawyer will ask you what you were unable to do during various periods since your accident. If your sworn testimony or what you tell various doctors (including the doctor ICBC hires) contradicts what the video shows you doing, it could be harmful to your claim. If the videotape ICBC obtains is consistent with your injuries and what you claim are your limitations, ICBC will likely never disclose that it has video evidence. The evidence on the videotape, however, may cause ICBC to offer you a larger settlement than it might have otherwise offered.

During your mediation, ICBC may show you extracts of video it thinks will harm your case. This is part of its negotiation strategy. You should insist on seeing the entire videotape—not just snippets of it. You may have done a specific activity in an effort to live a normal life and then paid the price a few minutes later.