ICBC wastes time and money. A typical example: our client was injured in a rear-end accident. He was stopped at a red light when a negligent motorist hit him from behind. ICBC, on behalf of the driver who caused that accident, denied liability (or fault).
The case was set down for discovery. If ICBC denies liability, it means we need to ask the defendant driver questions about what happened so we can properly determine who’s at fault for the accident. In cases where it’s obvious who’s at fault, like in rear-end accidents, ICBC should admit liability from the get-go and eliminate the need to bring the defendant in for discovery to tell us what we already know.
In this particular case, both ICBC’s defence counsel and the defendant live out of town. We tried many times to get ICBC to admit liability to save such a waste of time and money. But no. ICBC insisted on going ahead with discovery. We made a reasonable offer of settlement but ICBC ignored us. Instead, they chose to run up the needless cost of bringing in their lawyer and defendant driver.
In addition to the expenses incurred on travel alone, ICBC now had to pay for the lawyer’s time, not only to sit in the discovery but for his extra time in preparing for it. Also, when the matter is finally
resolved, ICBC will face extra Costs, which will be payable to our client pursuant to the Supreme Court Rules. Unnecessary waste of time and money? You bet it is!
The defendant agreed that she hit the back of our client’s car because she wasn’t paying attention. We all knew this would be the outcome and we still can’t figure out why ICBC denied liability. This cost ICBC thousands of dollars for absolutely no reason. And our case is not unique.
Attorney General, David Eby, who oversees ICBC, has blamed lawyers and Judges for ICBC’s financial troubles, not ICBC itself. Yet ICBC continues to make irresponsible decisions that wastes massive amounts of money. This lack of accountability is shocking and clearly contributes to its own financial losses. Every British Columbia driver pays mightily for ICBC’s mismanagement. No wonder our insurance premiums are skyrocketing, with no end in sight.
To learn more, check out our article: Eby Unfairly Blames Plaintiff Injury Lawyers for ICBC’s Losses
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