Does Your Lawyer Act for ICBC? Ask, You May Be Surprised By The Answer…
You’ve been injured in an accident. You don’t feel comfortable with how things have progressed with ICBC in your settlement negotiations so you decide to hire a lawyer. You find a qualified ICBC claims lawyer and off you go. You assume, reasobly so, that the lawyer is acting for you and not ICBC, right? Not always…
Lawyers typically have many clients. Many ICBC claims lawyers work both sides of the fence, that is, they represent injured people in advancing ICBC claims on some files and on other files they represent ICBC in defending against ICBC injury claims. Other lawyers restrict their practice to one side or the other.
Many people see lawyers working both sides of the fence as an inherent conflict of interest. They want their lawyer to represent injured people only, not insurance companies. Others like the idea that their lawyer also represents ICBC sometimes because perhaps such a lawyer has better insight into the defence tactics used by ICBC.
The problem, and the reason why I write this post, is that sometimes the potential conflict of interest is much worse than simply having a lawyer who works both sides of the fence. It is a problem of a lack of informed consent.
ICBC has contracted with many law-firms in BC for services in the defence of motor vehicle accident claims. ICBC requires some of these firms to sign an agreement called the Strategic Alliance Agreement (SAA).
Under the SAA, law firms whose lawyers are retained to act for ICBC are not permitted, when representing a plaintiff on another file, to sue ICBC for bad faith or to seek punative, aggravated or exemplary damages against ICBC.
Specifically, the SAA states that “ICBC may impose penatlies against the firm…..(where) the firm, or any member of the legal team, in the performance of the legal services, fails to act in the best interests of ICBC or ICBC’s insureds…”
Also, that “members of the legal firms team will not directly or inderectly: commence or participate in claims or actions, or counsel or assist others in bringing claims or actions against ICBC which include allegations of bad faith, or claims for punitive, aggravated or exemplary damages.”
What a conflict of interest!
The Law Society of BC (the institution that governs lawyers in BC) has held that it is ok for a lawyer who represents ICBC and who is bound by the terms of the SAA to also act against ICBC in another claim. HOWEVER, clients need to be advised about this potential conflict of interest. Sepcifcially, “A lawyer (bound by the SAA) may properly act against ICBC for clients whose cases fall outside of the restrictions. However, a lawyer acting in these circumstances MUST ADVISE THESE CLIENTS OF THE LAWYER’S RELATIONSHIP WITH ICBC AND THE IMLICATIONS OF THE RESTRICTIONS THE LAWYER IS UNDER.
It is all about informed consent. There is nothing wrong in hiring a lawyer to represent you who has signed the SAA but you are entitled to know about these restrictions. If you know about these restricitons you may not want to hire such a lawyer and instead retain an icbc claims lawyer who is not bound by any contractual restrictions with ICBC. Ask your lawyer if he signed the SAA, you may be surprised by the answer.
If your lawyer signed the SAA and did not tell you this up front, you were deprived of an opprotunity to make an informed decision. If this occurred you may want to ask yourself why your lawyer kept this information from you…?
Do you need to speak with an ICBC Claims Lawyer? Contact Erik Magraken for a free consulation.
conflict of interest, icbc, icbc claim settlement, icbc claims lawyer, settlement negotiations
Wayne Tompkins
Hello Erik…..I have been using your website for to help me being informed in my pending Civil Trial in the Supreme Court. I have found this very informative, and would like to comment on the SAA. Is it not true that most Lawyer’s, in pursuit of settlement, talk with and exchange information with ICBC on a continuous basis to try and have their clients “settle out of court”, to save the courts time and Lawyers monies? I do feel this is still a break in “fiduciary trust”, but happens all the time.
On a seperate manner, if I may, I would like to coment on your Financial Statement from ICBC, and would say that it would be obvious that when these Doctor’s are hired by ICBC to give un-biased Expert Reports for the Court’s, really if you see the amounts they are being paid would indicate unjust bias are they would be without a large compensation award,True or False. This is why ICBC will use these same Doctors over and over again.
Wayne Tompkins
Hello Erik…..I have been using your website for to help me being informed in my pending Civil Trial in the Supreme Court. I have found this very informative, and would like to comment on the SAA. Is it not true that most Lawyer’s, in pursuit of settlement, talk with and exchange information with ICBC on a continuous basis to try and have their clients “settle out of court”, to save the courts time and Lawyers monies? I do feel this is still a break in “fiduciary trust”, but happens all the time.
On a seperate manner, if I may, I would like to coment on your Financial Statement from ICBC, and would say that it would be obvious that when these Doctor’s are hired by ICBC to give un-biased Expert Reports for the Court’s, really if you see the amounts they are being paid would indicate unjust bias are they would be without a large compensation award,True or False. This is why ICBC will use these same Doctors over and over again.
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