Lawyer James Murphy responds to "ICBC, Chiros fight over whiplash claims" Canadian Press, Vancouver
March 12, 2000
VIA FAX NO. 729-4288
Daily News B1-2575 McCullough Road
Nanaimo, BC V9S 5W5
Attention: Editor
Dear Sir:
RE: March 1, 2000 Edition (Opinion)
As a lawyer who has practiced in the field of personal injury law for more than twenty years, I read with some dismay ICBC's PR response to your February 12th article ("ICBC, Chiros fight over whiplash claims" Canadian Press, Vancouver).
Firstly, you must understand where ICBC is coming from. No one, anywhere, can write anything negative about ICBC or it's practices without the public relations department responding. That's not what I pay insurance for. Beyond that, your readers should understand the policy change that occurred during the battle over no-fault insurance [remember, your rates were going up 43% if we didn't let Andrew Petter and his friends take care of us as soon as possible. Then whoops, 140,000 British Columbians were right, and by the way, there is $600 million which we elected not to bring into income and gosh, we just plain forgot to tell anyone about it, or put it in our financial statements. If only declaring part of your income seems reasonable, try it this spring with the income tax department and let me know how it works out.] In a Corporate policy directive ICBC switched from simply responding to attacking (they call it marginalizing) whoever dares criticize them.
The "unsupported allegations" made by BC's chiropractors that ICBC terminates treatment without cause is true. I see it in my practice regularly. So does every chiropractor. ICBC's statement that we cannot terminate treatment without medical documentation supporting that decision from a qualified medical practitioner is nonsense. They shouldn't be able to do that to any injured victim who takes treatment for the simple reason that it helps. But they do it all the time. I would estimate that in the last five years, approximately one-quarter of the people who retain me do so because ICBC has either interfered with, terminated, or tried to direct their treatment.
I'll believe that ICBC should "establish medical treatment protocols" (which means they'll decide when you're hurt, how hurt you are, what hurts and when you're fixed), as soon as this paper comes out with the headline NRGH EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT CRISES ENDS - ICBC'S CURED THEM ALL.
The men and women who practice chiropractic medicine speak out because of concern for their patients. Unlike ICBC's PR department, no one pays them to do it. The PR hack whines "BC's chiropractors should stop sniping from the sidelines and join us". Injury and recovery isn't a game with sidelines except for fools. We should all be thankful when any professional health group speaks out on our behalf.