ICBC's new 'no fault' model leaves accident victim feeling betrayed
Vancouver cyclist Gary Kalmek suffered a broken leg, a broken arm and three broken ribs when he was hit by a car while riding his bike at Main Street and 15th Avenue in Vancouver in early June.
After undergoing multiple surgeries and spending a week in hospital, the 38-year-old library tech assumed he would be compensated for pain and suffering.
ICBC is paying his medical expenses and lost wages, but under the province’s new “no fault” model, which came into effect on May 1, most accident victims can no longer sue the offending driver and the insurance corporation.
“It definitely feels like there should be compensation,” said Kalmek. “I cycle, I play sports as well. As much as I try to stay optimistic about my healing, if I have a limp for the rest of my life, if I can’t lift my arm above a certain height for the rest of my life, then those things are taken away from me.”
Vancouver personal injury lawyer Manjot Hallen says his firm is getting many calls from accident victims like Kalmek.
“ICBC is going to treat his and other injuries like minor injuries and say, ‘Look, you’re not entitled to any pain and suffering damages,’” Hallen said. “And we as lawyers, while we get these calls and we sympathize with the victims, we can’t do anything to change that. We can’t fight back.”
Removing lawyers from the mix is the main point of moving to a no fault insurance model.
“Legal costs were certainly a factor under the previous insurance system,” said ICBC spokesperson Brent Shearer. “With enhanced care, by largely removing those legal costs, we are able to take that money and put it back into improved care and recovery benefits and lower auto insurance (premiums) for everyone in British Columbia.”
Shearer added that, on average, B.C. drivers are saving more than 20 per cent on their premiums compared to the old model.
But Hallen argues the trade off isn’t worth it.
“People are getting a little bit of a rebate on your insurance, whether its 10 or 20 per cent, but what they’re discovering is when they’re involved in motor vehicle accidents, they’re not going to get any compensation for them,” Hallen said.
While Kalmek won’t be compensated for his injuries, he was told the driver who hit him will have to pay higher insurance premiums.
“That just felt like a betrayal, that ICBC was just was trying to get more from (the accident),” he said.
Kalmek is hoping to one day cycle and play sports again. He’s currently off work and walking with a cane. He has permanent scars on his leg and shoulder, as well as a metal rod, plates and pins inside his body.
“Even if I do heal, those things will be a reminder of what has happened, and will be a reminder of ICBC also just disregarding the scars and the plates and everything else that has happened to me,” Kalmek said. “It just feels terrible.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Honda to get up to $5B in govt help for EV battery, assembly plants
Honda is set to build an electric vehicle battery plant next to its Alliston, Ont., assembly plant, which it is retooling to produce fully electric vehicles, all part of a $15-billion project that is expected to include up to $5 billion in public money.
BREAKING New York appeals court overturns Harvey Weinstein's 2020 rape conviction from landmark #MeToo trial
New York’s highest court on Thursday overturned Harvey Weinstein’s 2020 rape conviction, finding the judge at the landmark #MeToo trial prejudiced the ex-movie mogul with improper rulings, including a decision to let women testify about allegations that weren’t part of the case.
1 arrested in northern Alberta during public shelter order
Residents of John D'Or Prairie, a community on the Little Red River Cree Nation in northern Alberta, were told to take shelter Thursday morning during a police operation.
Secret $70M Lotto Max winners break their silence
During a special winner celebration near their hometown, Doug and Enid shared the story of how they discovered they were holding a Lotto Max ticket worth $70 million and how they kept this huge secret for so long.
Remains from a mother-daughter cold case were found nearly 24 years later, after a deathbed confession from the suspect
A West Virginia father is getting some sense of closure after authorities found the remains of his young daughter and her mother following a deathbed confession from the man believed to have fatally shot them nearly two decades ago.
Monthly earnings rise, payroll employment falls: jobs report
The number of vacant jobs in Canada increased in February, while monthly payroll employment decreased in food services, manufacturing, and retail trade, among other sectors.
First in Canada procedure performed at London, Ont. hospital
A London man has become the first person in Canada to receive a robotic assisted surgery on his spine. Dave Myeh suffered from debilitating, chronic back pain that led to sciatica in his right now and extreme pain in his lower back.
Doctors say capital gains tax changes will jeopardize their retirement. Is that true?
The Canadian Medical Association asserts the Liberals' proposed changes to capital gains taxation will put doctors' retirement savings in jeopardy, but some financial experts insist incorporated professionals are not as doomed as they say they are.
Something in the water? Canadian family latest to spot elusive 'Loch Ness Monster'
For centuries, people have wondered what, if anything, might be lurking beneath the surface of Loch Ness in Scotland. When Canadian couple Parry Malm and Shannon Wiseman visited the Scottish highlands earlier this month with their two children, they didn’t expect to become part of the mystery.