If you are injured in an auto or motor vehicle accident, the first thing you should do is see your doctor immediately. Your doctor may prescribe medication for you. They may also refer you to physiotherapy, massage therapy, or chiropractic treatment. How are you going to afford all of this treatment? To answer that question, the next thing you should do is consult a lawyer.
If you were involved in an auto or motor vehicle accident in British Columbia that was not your fault, there are several parts to your injury claim. The first of those, and the topic of this posting, is the "Part 7 Claim." We will deal with the other part of your claim in a subsequent posting.
The "Part 7 Claim" is claim for No-Fault benefits such as medical, homemaking, and employment benefits. It is called a "Part 7 Claim" because these benefits are defined in the seventh part of the Insurance (Vehicle) Regulation. Makes sense doesn’t it? However, a lot of information that is obtained by ICBC under the Part 7 claim can be used against you in the other part of your injury claim, and you should be careful.
To be entitled to these benefits, which help pay for a portion (but not all) of the costs of medication and any physiotherapy, massage therapy or chiropractic treatment that your doctor may have prescribed, you must first fall within a specific definition of an "insured" and not be in breach of any terms of the insurance. This is insurance between you and ICBC, and has nothing to do with the other driver. What happened in the accident and who did what in the accident is not relevant to the Part 7 Claim. Remember, these are No-Fault benefits.
The next thing that must happen is that you have to provide specific information within certain time limits to "perfect your claim." The reason for this is that a section of the Insurance (Vehicle) Regulation states that ICBC is not liable to pay these benefits, if you fail to comply with these requirements.
First, you must "promptly" give notice of the auto accident to ICBC. The legislation doesn’t require that you call Dial-A-Claim from the accident scene. The legislation doesn’t require that you report the accident within 24 hours, as people often believe. It just requires that you "promptly" give notice of the accident to ICBC. Reporting the accident on your own may not be the best thing, however. Care must be taken in reporting the accident through Dial-A-Claim, as ICBC will typically want as much information as possible during this initial period, and will perhaps ask you more than is required by the legislation. You are free to provide additional information, but you should be very much aware that this information may be used against you later. Remember, you are calling ICBC to comply with the requirements to get Part 7 benefits, not to tell ICBC about everything that happened in the accident: who did what; who said what; what color the light was; how fast you were going; etc. This is all information that is relevant to another part of your claim, but now is not the time to provide that information. Now is the time to get over the initial shock of the accident, get medical treatment, get medical benefits, and get on the path to recovery. An experienced auto injury lawyer can help you with the reporting of your accident.
Second, "not later than 30 days from the date of the accident," you must provide a written report of the circumstances of the accident and its consequences. This is not a statement, just a written report. Again, all of the small details of what happened in the accident are not required by the legislation. The circumstances of the accident and its consequences are all that is required. You do not have to sign this report. However, any information that you do provide must be true. Again, an experienced auto accident lawyer can assist you in providing the appropriate information.
Thirdly, "within 90 days from the date of the accident," you must provide ICBC with a proof of claim in a specific form. This form is called an "Insurance Claim Application" or CL-22. You do have to sign this application, and in doing so, you acknowledge that the information on it is true and complete, and that you understand that it is an offence to provide false or misleading information. Even small errors can affect your eligibility for these benefits, and can be used against you in another part of your claim. Great care should be taken in filling this form out. An experienced auto or motor vehicle accident lawyer can help to ensure the appropriate information is provided.
All of this can be very intimidating, and it doesn’t help that you are in pain while trying to learn all of this. At Becker Lavin & Wessler, we understand what you are going through, and we can help you through this. Contact Becker Lavin & Wessler to set up a free initial consultation before you speak to ICBC. If you choose to retain us to represent you, we will take care of providing this information for you, and let you concentrate on getting the treatment you need to get better and getting on with your life.
Labels: ICBC, Part 7 benefits
