Vancouver BC Personal Injury Lawyers - Stephens and Holman

Thursday, April 24, 2008

Worker Compensation Automobile Accident Claims

 

October 26, 2007
British Columbia Auto Accident Attorneys

Ms. Jane Smith
Surrey, BC
V3W 5N1

Dear Ms. Smith,

Re: Accident Claim – October 23, 2007

Thank you for consulting us about your claim. We understand that your motor vehicle accident injury occurred while you were working. If the driver who caused the accident was working at the time you can only proceed with a claim through Worksafe BC (formerly WCB). On the other hand, if the driver who caused the accident was not working at the time, and you are off work as a result of the injuries caused by the accident, you can elect to claim through Worksafe BC or through ICBC. If you claim through Worksafe BC you will normally end up with greater compensation than if you hire a lawyer and go through ICBC. That’s because Worksafe BC will charge you an administration fee based on a percentage of the amount that they have expended on the case, ie. for disability benefits and medical treatment. The fee is NOT a percentage of the entire recovery. You will receive the remainder of the settlement or judgement. The downside of this route involves control over the claim. Where you elect to claim through Worksafe BC, they control your medical treatment, choosing specialists and deciding what kind of therapy is appropriate. Also they have the right to settle the claim for whatever their lawyer decides is appropriate, even if you do not agree.


Please keep in mind our advice to you concerning the limitation period within which you must commence legal action in order to prevent expiry of your claim. The limitation period for personal injury claims in B.C. is normally 2 years.

Yours truly,

STEPHENS & HOLMAN



Simon J. Holman
pwcb

posted by Unknown at 12:59 PM

British Columbia Accident Advice

 

British Columbia Accident Lawyers
Accident Information


October 20, 2006


Mr. John Smith
Surrey, BC
V3V 7Y7

Dear Mr. Smith,

Re: Accident Claim – October 3, 2006

We were pleased to have had the opportunity of discussing your claim with you. We confirm that we are not yet acting for you, but we hope that the information we gave to you is of assistance.

Although your accident was very recent and it is difficult to predict how long you may continue to suffer from your injuries, we believe that it would be advisable for you to retain a lawyer as soon as possible. As you know, our fees are calculated as a percentage of your claim. Therefore, if you make a speedy recovery from your injuries and have only a nominal claim, our fees will be nominal as well. On the other hand, if you have problems for a prolonged period, we will be there to assist you from the outset. Our fees are calculated no differently whether we are hired one day or one year after your accident. We can normally do a better job for you if we are hired early on.

There are several advantages in hiring a lawyer to help you. First, the amount of your claim will be maximized. Second, you no longer have to deal directly with the ICBC adjuster on your own. Also, thanks to your lawyer's advice, you will have some certainty as to what your claim is worth.

We suggest that in choosing a lawyer you make sure that you obtain a firm that does not act for ICBC or other insurance companies.

Our firm practices exclusively in the personal injury field and all members of our firm are highly skilled in this particular branch of law.

posted by Unknown at 12:38 PM

Information regarding "Low Velocity Impact Claims"


British Columbia Auto Accidents


January 22, 2008

Ms. Jane Smith
Maple Ridge, BC
V2X 6B8


Dear Ms. Smith,


Re: Accident Claim – 2008


Thank you for consulting us about your claim. We confirm we are not acting for you, but we hope our advice helps you better understand your rights.

We understand ICBC may be taking the position that your claim is subject to their “low velocity impact” claim policy. The theory behind this policy is that the forces of impact between the vehicles in your accident were so slight as to be impossible to injure you. This policy is designed to save ICBC money, but very often works unfairly against people with valid injury claims.

As you know, ICBC fights these claims vigorously, refusing to pay any claim against the at fault driver (wage loss, out-of-pocket expenses and pain and suffering) even if your own doctors confirm you have been injured. This policy means you will not be compensated for your injuries unless you start a court action and the court awards you compensation.

If you wish to start a court action, you have a choice of two different courts: the Supreme Court of BC; or the Provincial Court of BC – Small Claims Division (commonly called Small Claims Court). If you choose the Supreme Court, ICBC may request and get a jury trial. They will present evidence suggesting that you have not been hurt and the jury may decide to deny your claim. ICBC is often successful against claimants using this defence with a jury. If they are successful, you could be responsible to ICBC for their legal costs, which could amount to many thousands of dollars.

Choosing to proceed in Small Claims Court involves much less risk. First, jury trials are not available in Small Claims Court, so your case would be heard by a Judge. Judges do not think much of evidence that attempts to relate the degree of vehicle damage to the existence of injuries. A Judge is likely to accept your claim if you have a doctor who will agree that you have been injured. Even if you are unsuccessful, you can only he held responsible to ICBC for a fraction of the amount for which you could be held responsible following a loss in Supreme Court.

Small Claims Court is designed so individuals can access the court systems without requiring a lawyer’s help. The Court Registry should be pleased to answer any procedural questions you may have and there are also written materials available to assist you, some of which are available at the Registry. You must ensure you have a written medical-legal report (s) from your doctor (s) as well as written documentation concerning any wage loss or out of pocket expenses. The downside of Small Claims Court is that your total recovery is limited to $25,000 per accident. (Provided that each accident, if there was more than one, is the subject of a separate court action.)

Your best approach, however, is to first attempt to get ICBC to change its mind about the classification of your claim. If you are successful, we would then be able to assist you and process your claim in the normal fashion.

To this end, you should be aware that ICBC recognizes some exceptions to its policy. First, if you have previously suffered an injury to the same area of the body as your present injury, your claim should be exempt from the policy. Second, your doctors can sometimes find objective signs of an injury with the use of X-rays or other diagnostic tools; this too could remove the claim from the minimal damage classification. Also, ICBC is supposed to look at the total damage to all vehicles involved in the accident, not just your vehicle damage. You can request that ICBC re-examine its decision to treat your claim as a low velocity impact claim on any of these bases.

If you intend to continue with your claim, please be aware that you must start a court case within two years of the date of the accident. Failure to start a court case within two years causes the claim to expire.

Yours truly,

STEPHENS & HOLMAN



Simon J. Holman
pmin/rc

posted by Unknown at 12:22 PM

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