ICBC Injury Caps
ICBC settlement payouts after April 1, 2019 have changed. Compensation for pain and suffering is limited to $5,500 for cases of minor injury. Learn right away whether ICBC will label you as a minor injury. The $5,500 cap does not apply to wage loss or case expenses. There are however other payout limits and caps on wage loss and health care expenses. These apply to all auto accidents.
ICBC Settlement Payouts for Minor Injury
There are new limits and caps on ICBC injury cases passed into law in 2018 and 2019. These limits will apply based on the date of your accident, the type injury, and the nature of the treatment. It is critical that you speak to a lawyer to get important information about the limits that could apply to your case.
Waiting longer than 60 days to submit expenses means you lose the right to claim the expense. ICBC new rules are harsh for auto accidents that occur after April 1, 2019. If you don’t see a doctor ICBC will automatically classify your injury as minor. That could mean a limited $5,500 ICBC payout for serious, permanent life long injuries.
Your award will be nothing for trivial injuries (called de minimus). ICBC will often refuse to make any offer of settlement and may even refuse to pay for massage and physiotherapy.
ICBC Payouts for Major Injury
If your injury results in serious impairment for longer than 12 months the injury will not be labelled minor injury. The court will review the following factors to determine the appropriate ICBC payout: age, injury type, severity and duration, disability, emotional suffering, loss or impairment of life, impairment of family, marital and social relationships, impairment of physical and mental abilities, loss of lifestyle, and the claimant’s stoicism.
The maximum payout in Canada for pain and suffering is currently close to $400,000.00. The Supreme Court of Canada set the maximum for catastrophic injuries such as severe brain damage and quadriplegia. Apply the Consumer Price Index when calculating the maximum payout.
Talk to a lawyer for a free consultant to learn more about your entitlement to an ICBC settlement payout. ICBC is now labeling serious injuries as minor. Talk to your local MLA to dispute this unfair law. Tell your story at RoadBC. Your right to dispute the ICBC minor injury label is time sensitive and the law is now in effect.
I was in two cyclists accidents in Vernon, B.C., about one week apart, in June 2019. In the first, the parked driver opened his car door into the bike lane and before I could move out of the way, I impacted the door and was tossed forward. I sustained injuries to my hand, shoulder, and right leg. Road burn as well to my knee. I went to the hospital and all the injuries were recorded. The injury to my hand is still painful and has caused trouble at work (I am a trained arborist). ICBC has found the driver to be %100 at-fault. They already paid for and repaired the damage to his vehicle door.
The second accident, I was crossing an Stop sign controlled intersection along with a pedestrian when a driver failed to yield and drove into me. I rolled down his vehicle and sustained whiplash and sprains to my right arm. I also lossed consciousness. The police took the drivers statements and the ambulance took me to the hospital where I was examined. The doctor determined that I had a Minor Brain Injury (concussion). ICBC has ruled the driver is at-fault %100.
I emailed ICBC my written statements, including pictures of the damage to my bicycle and also scanned images of the Hospital emergency records for both accidents. ICBC adjuster said today she is prepared to make me a settlement offer of $5,000 that would include BOTH accidents. She said this is the highest she is allowed to go with the new cap. She said she could NOT give me the entire capped amount of $5,500. She said that in terms of the new legislation, the accidents are now combined together, meaning ICBC would not pay out 5,500 for the first accident, and then 5,500 for the second accident. She stated it does not matter how many accidents a person is in during a year, the capped amount will never go higher than that, as all injuries are banked together….?
My question is, does this sound fair and correct? Should I take their offer of 5000? Should I pursue other settlement options, such as filing against the drivers basic 3rd party liability? Thank-you for any pearls of advice.
Hi Joshua,
ICBC has considered your injury as minor, which limits the payout for pain and suffering to $5,500.00. Serious impairment, incapacity, and permanent disfigurement are excluded from this definition. Serious impairment can be from work, school or daily activities. The injury must cause serious impairment for at least 12 months after the accident.
The impairment must therefore create substantial inability. Inability to perform employment, schooling, or daily living.
There must be efforts to accommodate the impairment. However, it may not be reasonable for an employer or school to accommodate. Also, efforts must be made to continue employment, schooling or daily living.
The accident has to be the primarily cause of the serious impairment. The impairment has to be ongoing since the accident.
In addition, there can be no expected substantially improvement.
For multiple injuries, here is some of what you need to know:
5 If a claimant sustains more than one injury as a result of an accident,
(a)each injury must be diagnosed separately as to whether the injury is or is not a minor injury,
(b)if there are one or more minor injuries and one or more non-minor injuries, the total amount of damages assessed for non-pecuniary loss for all the injuries is the sum of
(i)the amount of damages assessed for non-pecuniary loss for the minor injuries, and
(ii)the amount of damages assessed for non-pecuniary loss for the non-minor injuries, and
(c)the maximum amount of damages for non-pecuniary loss recoverable by the claimant for all the minor injuries in total must not exceed the minor injury limit.
With the new minor injury regulations ICBC will try to cap both accidents at $5,500 for pain and suffering if the second is only an aggravation of the first. If they are two separate injuries then two separate caps should apply.
I hope this was helpful. For more information about how to dispute ICBC minor injury decisions start with a free legal consultation.
Personal Injury Lawyer Mr. Renn A. Holness. B.A. LL.B.
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