Interview with Lawyers

Good morning everyone. I’d like to go around the room. My first question is: Of all the areas of law that you could have gone into, you chose personal injury law and I’m just wondering what went into your decision?

After graduating from law school, I was exposed to personal injury litigation in that first year and found that I had a lot of client contact and lots of interaction with a variety of experts. I found it very challenging, interactive, and rewarding.

I would think it’s probably the most or one of the most personally rewarding areas of law.

It can be, but it can also be one of the most difficult, demanding, and challenging. It is definitely one of the most rewarding, in so much as you do have a lot of client contact and you do have many people walking into your office who are broken either physically or spiritually. They need a lot of help and it is wonderful to see those people heal over the course of our representation.

Cathy, can you tell me about yourself.

I articled with a small law firm in Vancouver that practiced exclusively in the area of BC personal injury law. I found it very challenging and rewarding. I enjoyed working with clients and helping people who really were in need. People who, because of the accident, had reached a point in their life where they weren't able to function day-to-day, particularly the catastrophic cases. When you're dealing with families and infants who are injured, it's so rewarding. You feel like you're making a difference in someone's life.

And you, Anthony?

I was always interested in civil litigation. When I was an articling student, I found personal injury law most exciting for me. For a number of years, I did a lot of personal injury work and found myself gravitating to the plaintiff’s side because I did enjoy the personal contact with clients and liked dealing with and working for people.

I like representing people who were the victims in the accidents. I find it much more rewarding when I represent people who’ve had their lives turned upside down. If you’re on the defense side of the lawsuit, you’re dealing with a client who simply treats each case as business. When you’re dealing with the plaintiffs, the victims, it’s their whole life that's been affected. They really do need people to assist them throughout that whole process and I always find it very rewarding.

I would guess this type of law is unique. I mean, I can imagine someone is simply driving to work and all of a sudden ... bang ... now they’ve been in this serious accident. It must be such a surprise and shock to them in so many different ways...

Yes, everybody who’s in an accident, especially the more serious ones can have their lives turned upside down in the blink of an eye! I don’t think anybody can take steps in advance for anything like the devastation that occurs from a serious injury. It’s a very traumatic experience for them, not just the physical pain but the emotional and financial fallout from an accident... so it’s a very challenging and upsetting time for them and these people really do need help and it’s really nice to be able to provide that assistance.

Steve, could you tell me how you happened to get into personal injury law?

I started practicing at a firm that focused on personal injury. I later on branched out to a general litigation practice. Over time I found that I preferred assisting injured people in their claims over any other area of law. It is that area where I met the most diverse and interesting clients. It was much more rewarding because I was making in impact on individual lives. That was when I decided to focus my practice to just representing people injured in car accidents.

When someone has been involved in an accident, what is the first thing they should do?

Well, the first thing they should do is get medical help, see a doctor, go to the hospital. Often because of the adrenalin and the shock of being in an accident, they’re not experiencing immediate symptoms. But it’s important to get fully checked out.

What could someone expect if they suffered a mild brain injury?

Well, if the person has suffered a severe brain injury, he or she might be in a coma or unconscious and the person will need medical attention immediately to save his/her life. If the person's brain injury is milder or mild, the person may not become aware of the deficits until after the intense physical pain subsides. Surprisingly, many people can suffer a brain injury yet not have any objective evidence. By that I mean nothing shows up on the CT Scan (Editor’s Note: Computed Tomography (CT) imaging, also known as "CAT scanning" (Computed Axial Tomography)).

Just because there’s nothing to objectively verify the injury, that doesn't mean they haven’t suffered a brain injury. I think the most important thing is to immediately get medical assistance. After that, they should contact a lawyer right away. There’s enough stress and anxiety right after an accident. Leave it to the experts to take care of the business side of dealing with ICBC.

After they’ve talked to a doctor, why should they then talk to a personal injury lawyer before going to ICBC?

When I’m speaking to a client early on following an accident, I try to make sure that whatever evidence will be required later to prove a case is secured, particularly on the issue of who seat fault for the accident. For example, an individual involved in an accident may think that the issue of liability is clear-cut and that the responsibility lies with the other driver or some other party. However, later on who's at fault is raised by ICBC and if the job isn’t done properly then the client might lose their entire case.

Eyewitnesses to the accident, physical evidence at the scene, that sort of thing... so one of the things I usually do if I suspect there will be a liability issue is to get someone out there, take photographs of the scene, find out who the witnesses were, secure statements from those witnesses and even get an engineer out to the scene, to look at the photographs, look at the scene and assemble an opinion for me early on.

So you’ll arrange that for them?

I've done it frequently. Often it's not clear to the injured party that fault for the accident may be an issue. For this reason alone, it's important to speak to a BC personal injury lawyer. We have a fault based legal system in BC and if you can't prove the other driver's at fault you may get nothing for your personal injury claim.

I guess what you’re saying is no matter how many lawyer shows they’ve seen on TV, please don’t act as your own personal injury or ICBC lawyer. Go to someone who knows what they’re doing.

Well, there’s no risk involved in contacting us.

No risk?

All it takes is a call and it’s cost-free. There's no cost to the client to call us to get at least a quick opinion on the value that an ICBC lawyer can bring to the claim.

So what you're really saying is that if someone were injured in an accident, they certainly would seek medical advice and it just makes sense to talk to a personal injury lawyer before you get into the legal process?

Exactly.

On a very practical level if the injured victim comes to us, it’s free of charge to meet with us and if we are retained, we can take care of all the necessary paperwork so that generally the client doesn’t have to go down to ICBC or deal with them on a one-to-one basis, we can take care of all of that.

That’s so important.

That’s right. If ICBC needs information from our clients, we’ll take care of it and deal with ICBC for them.

That's just a huge advantage of dealing with Simpson Thomas. If someone is injured in an accident, how do you know if your injury is serious enough to actually contact a personal injury Vancouver lawyer?

If you were hurt in an accident, you should talk to a lawyer.  It doesn’t matter how minor or serious your injury is.  There may be some issues in your case that you may not be aware of.  Some of my biggest and more complicated cases originally started out as a minor claim.  If you saw or considered seeing a doctor, you should also see a lawyer.

In the first days or weeks, in the immediate aftermath of an accident, often people don’t know how severe their injuries are going to be. At times people will feel pressured to go back to work. Complications often arise or their personal injuries are more severe than they first thought.

We feel that in virtually every case, people will get a better settlement through us than they ever would on their own. So whether it’s a big settlement or not, they’d do much better with us than on their own and so as Steve says, if it’s enough that you go to a doctor for treatment then it’s certainly enough to come to see a lawyer to get help.

How soon after an accident must it be reported to ICBC?

You should call ICBC’s Dial-a-Claim as soon as possible to make the initial accident report. You should then talk to a lawyer as soon as you can because there may be other reporting requirements, depending on the circumstances. For example, if the vehicle or the driver of the vehicle flees the scene without providing their name and contact information, there are certain things you must do right away or you could lose the right to make a claim.

Or if you have been hit by a defendant vehicle which is owned by a municipality, it is really important that you contact us right away as there are certain notice requirements and shorter limitation periods associated with that circumstance.

I guess the real answer is that they should be contacting Simpson Thomas and you’ll take care of that. People shouldn’t try and figure it out on their own.

I just see this person driving to work. They get in an accident. Then they have the medical issues to deal with, the financial issues to deal with, so obviously, they need a law firm like Simpson Thomas to just help and guide them through it all.

Absolutely. Particularly if a person has private insurance through his/her work that may pay him/her disability benefits. The person may have to pay those benefits back to the disability insurer when you settle with ICBC and there is often some negotiations required. This can be very complicated.

And I guess all of sudden if you need money, then you may be tempted to sign, to get that money in your hands right away.

That does happen and it’s dangerous to do that.  ICBC often tries to settle with unrepresented people early in the process and more often than not, the offers are low.

What if they can’t work because of the injuries?

The person may be entitled to disability benefits from ICBC. We help all our clients apply for and obtain all of the benefits they are entitled to. It’s worth noting that we do not charge our clients for this service and there is no fee for our assistance in helping our clients apply for “No Fault” benefits.

I dealt with a family compensation claim a few years back where the deceased individual was the main income provider for a household and had a life insurance policy no one knew about for almost a quarter million dollars. Through the litigation process, we were able to unearth a policy of insurance for quite a bit of money.

Yes and as this conversation goes on, I just see more and more that people really need someone objective on their side.

When you’re injured, you really need to focus on getting medical attention and treatment. That in itself is huge for the client and many people have trouble coping when they have to deal with all these other issues that arise.

What if they don’t have a doctor?

It is important to have a family doctor. You need to have the continuity of one treating doctor who can see the changes over time and what treatments are beneficial or not. The clinical records and the charts that the doctor keeps form a very important component of the evidence that is needed to support the case.

As people reading this now realize you absolutely have to have a lawyer, Cathy, do people sometimes feel intimidated about contacting a lawyer?

I think people may be concerned before they meet us, but it’s been my experience that most people feel at ease after we give them some advice and once they know everything that we can do for them.

Often clients are relieved that they don’t have to go down to ICBC or deal with an adjuster. Simpson Thomas will take care of all the legal issues and help obtain the medical and disability benefits available. That way they can just focus on getting better.

I think it’s important to understand, as well, that our job is to represent the client… the client still makes the decisions.

So your clients are still in control of their claim?

Definitely. We can’t force them to go to court against their will and we can’t prevent them from going to court if that’s what they choose. Our role is to assist them through the process and fight for their interests.

When a client comes in to see you the first time, can you tell them how much their claim is worth?

That is a common question.  Unless you are fully recovered and you bring your medical records with you, it’s impossible.  The value of the claim depends on the type, severity, and duration of the injuries, and how those injuries impact the person’s life.  At the first meeting nobody knows know how long the injuries will last and how it will impact the person’s future.

Can you give some kind of “ballpark” estimate right at the beginning?

A lot of the claim of the claim depends on the medical evidence and how the injuries develop over time.  Some of my biggest cases originally started off as relatively minor claims.

If a person didn’t have a lawyer who has expertise in personal injury claims in BC, how would he or she know if the offer’s fair or not?

They don’t know. When cases are being handled by people on their own, the biggest problem, I think, is that they don’t understand the process. They don’t understand the value of the claim and they aren’t able to develop or get the evidence that’s needed to make a stronger case. Good cases don’t just happen. Individuals acting on their own really have a difficult time.

If good cases don’t just happen, how can Simpson Thomas help?

It’s very important to retain experts who are credible and who are not only experienced at what they do but who have given evidence in court and whose opinions are respected by the court. When you walk in to trial, you must know the judge who’s going to be sitting at the head of the room will look up and pay attention when your expert is called to give evidence.

Again, this is an area where Simpson Thomas will help the people?

Absolutely. I don’t think we leave any stone unturned in that department.

And Jean-Marc, I think that you mentioned earlier that dealing with Simpson Thomas doesn’t cost the person any money until the claim is settled. Is that correct?

Absolutely. It can cost a lot of money to hire the very best experts. As part of our presentation agreement with our clients, we take on the claim and the costs associated with bringing the claim forward until the settlement.

It’s already difficult enough for the clients to deal with their injuries. Most people don’t have an extra five or ten thousand dollars to throw at all kinds of disbursements (legal costs). So we’ll advance funds to cover the legal disbursements until the settlement.

That would sure put my mind at ease. Now let’s move on to some of the other steps in a claim. Cathy, could you talk about the Examination for Discovery?

Examination for Discovery is a step in the legal process where the ICBC lawyer will be able to ask you questions about your claim. So it can be a very scary and daunting experience, but our job is to prepare our clients for questions that the clients can expect from the ICBC lawyer and we do a very good job.

So you’ll go over the likely questions and you’ll assist them in that area?

Exactly. We’ll never tell a client what to say as he/she just has to be honest and tell the truth. However, how you answer the questions is important. Our clients are well prepared before they go into discovery because everything a client says at the Examination for Discovery can be used against him/her at the trial. The preparation stage is extremely important and that’s where we can make a big difference.

And Anthony, maybe you can explain the Mediation process?

Usually the Mediation is held in a boardroom setting around a table. The mediator is neutral and is not there to give advice but simply to help facilitate the negotiations. We put our client’s best case forward and the ICBC lawyers and adjustors will present the case from their perspective.

The objective for us is to get the best possible settlement. Through the course of the Mediation, we advise our client of the risks and whether it makes more sense to try to resolve the claim at the Mediation or carry on to a trial. The advantage of Mediation is that the client has a direct say in the outcome and makes his or her own decisions. If you go to court, the judge or jury decides who was at fault and the value of your claim.

How important is Mediation in the whole claim process?

Mediation has become an increasingly important way to resolve these disputes without having to go to court. We always prepare a settlement proposal for Mediation, which is a summary of the claim, and attend the mediation with our client to negotiate with the ICBC lawyer.

I think that people are concerned that if their case goes to trial, then any award will be eaten up in lawyer fees and trial costs.

Most people do better than if they acted on their own, even when you take into account lawyer fees.  If we aren’t able to get you anything, we don’t charge any fees or disbursements.  Also, our fees do not increase as the case progresses.  They are the same whether your claim resolves at settlement or through a trial.   This allows our clients to decide whether or not they want to proceed to trial without having to worry about increased lawyer fees. 

Dairn, could you talk about when it might be advisable to go to trial?

Whether or not it’s advisable to go to trial will depend on our assessment of what a judge or jury will likely award our client.

If the ICBC lawyer is not offering a fair settlement, then the best decision may be to go to trial. Each client has his/her own risk tolerance and the ultimate decision is in the hands of our client. Through our years of experience we’ll advise our clients whether the settlement ICBC is offering is fair.

There are a lot of good law firms out there. Why should someone choose Simpson Thomas?

The benefit of choosing Simpson Thomas is that we focus exclusively on personal injury claims from motor vehicle accidents in BC. We have literally years and years of experience in this area. We also don’t bear any allegiance to ICBC in any way. We never “play both sides of the fence” so to speak as we NEVER represent ICBC against people who are injured. As I mentioned earlier, we leave no stone unturned to help our clients.