You may have been involved in an accident and been to ICBC or heard that your claim is considered LVI.  What is that?

LVI is an abbreviation for Low Velocity Impact.  It is a category that an adjuster at ICBC may put your claim into if the vehicle you were in appears to have only a minor amount of damage.  If your accident meets ICBC’s criteria for being in the LVI program, then ICBC may pay for a limited amount of rehabilitation for you but will not accept your claim for pain and suffering or loss of income.

This policy of ICBC’s is not rooted in science or medicine.  It is a program designed simply to discourage people from making claims.

If ICBC puts your claim in the LVI program and refuse to pay you proper compensation, then usually you have to start a lawsuit to enforce your rights.  In some cases, upon provision of further information, ICBC may take you out of the program and adjust your case “on the merits” with your lawyer.  In other cases, ICBC will force you to take your case all the way to trial.

In the early days, ICBC had a great deal of success with this program in jury trials.  More recently, the great majority of these trials can be done without a jury and usually, the Plaintiffs are successful in receiving compensation from the judge.

If you have an LVI accident and an injury that lasts for a short period of time, you may take your claim to a Small Claims Court without the help of a lawyer and in fact would probably have difficulty finding a lawyer to take that case.  Taylor & Blair LLP does accept LVI cases on a selective basis.  If you call us with questions about one of these cases, we would talk to you on the phone and then in person.   If we think we can help you, we will take your case on.

Kevin Blair &
Graham Taylor

Taylor & Blair LLP
Personal Injury lawyers
1607 – 805 West Broadway
Vancouver, B.C.