A North Vancouver man says he’s finding fault with ICBC‘s new no-fault system.
On May 10, Scott Shepherd was struck when an impaired driver’s vehicle jumped the curb and slammed into him as he walked down the sidewalk. He suffered a concussion and other injuries.
Shepherd would become one of the first claimants under ICBC’s new claims system, which went into effect on May 1, that takes high-priced lawsuits out of the equation.
He says under the new system, ICBC will cover his medical bills and loss of income indefinitely, but he says he’s discovered he might be out of pocket for some costs that he can’t recover since he can’t sue.
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“This is not care-based,” he said. “It feels like it’s going to be a full-time job navigating this new system and constantly having to justify and explain myself.”
Shepherd says he has struggled to find out what is and isn’t covered in enhanced health care.
“There’s a lot of trickle down-expenses, secondary expenses that are going to come as a direct result of this incident,” he said, citing the trauma his young son is going through after seeing his dad in such rough shape or a myriad of expenses that don’t technically fall under health care.
He also says he has to deal with the frustration of staring at a computer screen trying to file documents that for whatever reason won’t send.
“Then it gets erased and you have to keep doing it 10, 12 times while the room is spinning, and you can barely focus your eyes on it,” he said.
“I’m supposed to be the one that’s resting and recovering. It’s overwhelming the paperwork that I’ve already seen that I have to start doing and submitting.”
ICBC has said that the no-fault system will lead to lower insurance premiums and better care.
The public insurer says it can’t comment on specific cases unless approved by the victim.
It does say ICBC will pay any and all expenses led by the health-care providers of the claimant’s choice and will do so as long as it takes to get an injured victim back to their level of health prior to the injury.
So far, they say they’ve received one invoice and it is being paid.