By Gideon Scanlon
Vancouver, B.C. — February 5, 2018 — When the provincial government elected to place a cap on payouts for victims of minor injuries, it might have predicted where the most vocal opposion to the plan would come from. A group of B.C. trial lawyers have banded together to form Rights Over Arbitrary Decisions for British Columbians (ROADBC), which hopes to shift public opinion against move.
Describing itself as a “coalition of British Columbians who are committed to protecting the rights of anyone who becomes injured on our roads,” ROADBC claims that a cap would “turn real people into a statistic,” and infrindge upon “inalienable rights.”
The province’s opinion on the matter is comparatively muted, making it after auditors PriceWaterhouse Cooper released a report suggesting that such a cap would save the Insurance Company of B.C. tens-of-millions of dollars in the next decade.
While cynics might suggest that ROADBC’s founders have a personal interest in keeping caps – and the accompanying legal fees – high, the group also has the support of a more than 50 businesses and foundations. Among the named groups are Back in Motion, Coast Life Chiropractic, Fit Body Rehab, Get Well Physio, Trial Lawyers of B.C., the Association of Injured Motorcyclists and, somewhat oddly, Harvey Gill Real Estate.
While the legal, chiropractic, massage therapy and rehabilitation sectors may be largely against the implementation of such a cap, bodyshops are, largely, behind the move. By taking steps to reduce the amount of money spent on minor injuries, the province signaled that it believed the key to resolving the financial crisis at the ICBC lay with reducing injury claim costs rather than the cost of repairs.
For more information on ROADBC, visit: roadbc.ca
