ICBC officials, not lawyers, responsible for financial mess

I recently settled an injury claim with ICBC. I read with concern Attorney General David Eby’s suggestion that lawyers are driving up costs. In my experience, ICBC mishandled my claim and drove up costs.

Through no fault of my own, I was injured in a motor-vehicle accident in 2013. I was off work for about six weeks. When I returned, I struggled with physical pain, debilitating headaches and dealing with the emotional effect of the accident.

I dealt with ICBC on my own for over a year, at times feeling pressured to settle, which I declined to do because I was still in so much pain. I finally sought the help of a lawyer in March 2014.

When my condition stabilized, we made a settlement proposal in August 2016. Without explanation, ICBC responded with an offer that was 15 cents on the dollar.

Fast forward to Nov. 22, 2018, two business days before my trial was set to start. My case settled for the very offer we made over two years earlier.

In the meantime, we were forced to incur additional expert witness expenses in preparation for trial, including costly cancellation fees, all of which ICBC ultimately had to pay. ICBC also had to pay additional legal expense to their lawyers and expert witnesses.

It is unfortunate that ICBC did not treat me fairly from the start. It would have saved itself tens of thousands of dollars.