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Having a plaintiff ICBC injury lawyer on your side can be extremely beneficial to you if you have been injured in a motor vehicle accident. Your primary concern must be your health, and seeking immediate medical attention if required. Thereafter, it is in your best interests to seek free legal advice from an ICBC injury lawyer before proceeding. By signing a statement with ICBC before consulting with a plaintiff ICBC lawyer, you could be seriously jeopardizing the value of your injury claim. Rest assured that any mistake, vague comment, or omission will later be used against you in an effort to diminish the value of your claim. ICBC has trained adjusters and lawyers to protect their best interests. You need an ICBC injury lawyer to protect yours. There are several benefits to you of having an ICBC injury lawyer represent you in your dealings with ICBC.
- Your ICBC injury lawyer will protect your legal rights
- Your ICBC injury lawyer will explain your legal obligations to you
- Your ICBC injury lawyer will deal with ICBC on your behalf
- Your ICBC injury lawyer will pay all disbursements on your behalf
- Your ICBC injury lawyer will explain to you the various forms of damages you can claim for
- Your ICBC injury lawyer will help maximize the value of your injury claim
Your ICBC injury lawyer will protect your legal rights
Your ICBC injury lawyer will meet all time limits and deadlines on your behalf. Depending on the nature of your ICBC injury claim, there can be several different time limits and deadlines that apply to your specific case, which your plaintiff ICBC lawyer will be able to advise you on. The most important of these is filing a Notice of Civil Claim no later than two years after the date of the accident in order to preserve your legal right to sue. Contrary to common misconception, you are not automatically required to go to trial at the two year mark. However, the Notice of Civil Claim must be filed so that you do not lose your right to make an ICBC injury claim. The Notice of Civil Claim must also be served within one year from the date that it was filed, or your claim can be dismissed. Failing to meet other time limits or deadlines could also result in your ICBC injury claim being dismissed, meaning that you get nothing whatsoever for your injuries. There are also many instances of people who may believe that they do not even have an ICBC injury claim to begin with, when in fact they do. Such situations can include infant claims, being the victim of a hit and run accident, or being struck by an uninsured or underinsured motorist. Your plaintiff ICBC lawyer will be in the best position to protect your legal rights for you.
Your ICBC injury lawyer will explain your legal obligations to you
For example, your plaintiff ICBC lawyer will explain to you that you are under a legal duty to mitigate your damages by taking reasonable and active steps to rehabilitate yourself. With respect to an ICBC injury claim, the onus is on the Defendant to prove that you could have avoided all or a portion of your loss. Your ICBC injury lawyer will also explain to you that if you do not follow a course of medical treatment recommended to you by your doctors, the Defendant must prove two things: (1) that you acted unreasonably in foregoing the recommended treatment, and (2) the extent, if any, that your damages would have been reduced had you acted reasonably. Should you fail to act reasonably, there could be a deduction in the value of your claim for failure to mitigate. Please click here for court cases discussing the concept of mitigation. If you attend regularly to your doctor throughout the course of your ICBC injury claim, and you heed the advice of your doctors with respect to recommended courses of treatment and recovery, then it will be very difficult for ICBC’S lawyers to argue that you failed to mitigate your damages, which will ensure that no partial deduction is made in your overall award of damages.
Your ICBC injury lawyer will deal with ICBC on your behalf
This will take a great deal of stress and inconvenience out of your life. To many people, this is a very important benefit of having an ICBC injury lawyer act on their behalf. Having an ICBC injury lawyer on their side to help them with their ICBC injury claims allows injured claimants to focus on their rehabilitation and recovery, and to restoring their lives to the point they were at when the accident occurred. Many people dislike dealing with ICBC, as they feel harassed by them, and feel pressured into doing things they may not normally do, such as signing a statement as to how the accident occurred, or signing blanket medical and employer authorizations.
Your ICBC injury lawyer will pay all disbursements on your behalf
ICBC claims can be an expensive process. Many unrepresented claimants are simply not in a position to be able to fund their ICBC injury claims. Throughout the conduct of your matter, your plaintiff ICBC lawyer will incur disbursements on your behalf. When settling your ICBC claim, ICBC will ask your plaintiff ICBC lawyer to produce medical documentation in support of your injuries. Some medical reports, particularly specialist reports, can run into the thousands of dollars, and the total amount of disbursements on some files can run into the tens of thousands of dollars. For the most part, unrepresented parties without a plaintiff ICBC lawyer cannot afford such disbursements, and often settle too early, and for far too less money, as a result of not being able to afford to prolong the matter in order to get proper compensation for their injuries. ICBC knows this, and will often play this to their advantage throughout the course of your ICBC injury claim. At Veale Law, we also do not charge you interest on your disbursements, whereas many lawyers do. This can result in increased savings to you with respect to your ICBC injury claim.
Your ICBC injury lawyer will explain to you the various forms of damages you can claim for
Many unrepresented people, without the advice of a plaintiff ICBC lawyer, are simply unaware of many of the components that make up an ICBC injury claim. Quite often, injured people without a plaintiff ICBC injury lawyer will not get fair value for their injury claim, for the simple fact that they do not know the different types of damages that can be claimed for, and to what extent. Most injured claimants believe you can only claim for pain and suffering, as well as income loss, when in fact you can claim for many more heads of damages, as your plaintiff ICBC lawyer will advise you. Such heads of damages include pain and suffering, loss of income and past diminished earning capacity, out of pocket expenses, loss of housekeeping capacity, loss of future housekeeping capacity, past diminished earning capacity, loss of future income or diminished earning capacity, future care, in-trust claims, tax gross up awards, and claims for accelerated depreciation. Having a Plaintiff ICBC lawyer that is aware of all types of damages you can claim can make a tremendous difference in the value of your ICBC injury claim.
Your ICBC injury lawyer will help maximize the value of your injury claim
Unrepresented parties typically receive substantially lower offers from ICBC. This is the reality of the situation. ICBC adjusters and lawyers realize that there are risks of legal and trial costs once an ICBC injury lawyer becomes involved, so they attempt to minimize their risk by making higher offers. Your ICBC injury lawyer will negotiate with the ICBC adjuster or lawyer, and will apply their knowledge, skill, experience, and expertise to the specific facts of your case in order to obtain maximum compensation for you. ICBC has trained adjusters and experienced lawyers representing their interests with respect to your ICBC injury claims. You need a plaintiff ICBC lawyer to represent yours. Don’t be shortchanged. Please feel free to contact us at Veale Law for a free consultation to discuss your ICBC claim, and to be advised of your legal rights and obligations. We look forward to serving all your personal injury needs as your plaintiff ICBC lawyer, and to getting you the justice that you so rightly deserve.