Trial lawyers are concerned that British Columbia Attorney General David Eby could be working toward implementing complete no-fault auto insurance in the province – despite his comments suggesting otherwise.
No-fault insurance in BC would mean the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia (ICBC) would fully handle insurance claims – both assessing medical costs and determining the payout. This could potentially save money for the financially beleaguered insurer by avoiding drawn-out legal cases.
Without a trial process involved, a no-fault system would also cut into lawyer’s commissions and do away with most “pain and suffering” lawsuits for injuries such as strains, sprains and whiplash.
But lawyers belonging to the Trial Lawyers Association of BC argue that full no-fault auto insurance would deny BC residents the ability to sue for damages if they are injured in a car crash.
“The last thing we should be doing is taking away people’s rights,” Trial Lawyers Association of BC president Ron Nairne said in a statement, CBC News reported.
The association’s stance comes after it challenged the government’s recent amendments to the way auto insurance claims are handled.
In an effort to save the fiscally embattled ICBC, Eby recently introduced three reforms – a $5,500 cap on minor injury payouts, a civil resolution tribunal dedicated to resolving disputes under $50,000 and a limit on the number of medical expert witnesses in injury cases billing between $5,000 and $20,000.
The Trial Lawyers Association challenged all three reforms, and managed to reverse the limits on medical expert reports last month.
Eby has stated that a full no-fault system is not something he has considered for BC, but something similar might be implemented instead.
“There are a number of different measures that we think we could bring in that would reduce rates and would reduce costs, especially legal costs, which is what no-fault systems tend to address,” the attorney general told the press.
Eby warned that if trial lawyers continue to oppose the remaining reforms, the BC government could be forced to take drastic actions.
“If those were to fail in court, it would be catastrophic and we would have to look at absolutely everything, because that’s about $1 billion a year, plus the savings available to us,” he said.
