It's Over, kinda
Yesterday was the mediation with ICBC. I got to my lawyer's office at 9:00 and we sat down with the ICBC adjustor and their lawyer at 9:45. A third lawyer was there to act as mediator (think guy in striped shirt, but more polite and with a larger vocabulary).
We started with an introduction by my lawyer (not all that necessary except for me, as everyone else in the room had been working together or on opposite sides of the bench for years) and then I had a few minutes to talk about all that I had endured in the four years, eight months and 21 days since that car ran over me. All the things, that is, that did not show up in doctors' reports or X-rays. I hardly knew where to begin, or end. Anyone who wants to read what I wrote while going through it all (though I know most of you have) can see it at here and work backwards. It was interesting to see that the adjustor had actually searched out my webpage and downloaded all of it - I saw my psycho-face headline graphic for the page staring out at me from among her papers. But I didn't mention it (neither did they mention my cane).
Then we started to talk numbers. My lawyer presented our claims under several categories (e.g. non-pecuniary or "pain and suffering", loss of future capacity, etc.). Then we left the room while the ICBC people conferred, and a bit later went back in to hear their counter-offer. And so it went for most of the day, with a fair bit of arguing about relative percentages of responsibility for the accident - kind of ritualistic on ICBC's part, I suppose I should have paused to throw a highway flare into the road and sounded an air horn three times before waiting for dawn to cross the road for them to be satisfied.
Anyway, after a few rounds we went to what they call global numbers which dispensed with haggling over individual categories or percentages of responsibility. By 2:30 it was done, we all signed a paper, and that's it. It was all very civilised and everyone congratulated one another on what a fine thing mediation is instead of court battles, and I am inclined to agree. The ICBC people expressed their relief (as did my lawyer) on how nice it was to deal with a case like mine and how reasonable I was - I guess they have to deal with some dillies exhibiting some pretty subjective injuries. There certainly was no denying the severity of mine. The adjustor also noticed the relatively small number of claims for pain medication I had made - I guess some people out there just stuff themselves with Dilaudid and Percocet every chance they get, or perhaps I just have a much higher capacity for suffering.
I felt odd for the rest of the day, and still feel a little weird. I feel kind of empty and deflated, and like there's a hole in my mind that will fill in later - very similar to the feeling I used to get after a big exam. I suppose it's a reaction to the very rapid conclusion of almost five years of trouble and wrangling and paperwork in a few hours, and a realization that ICBC is no longer even a theoretical Enemy - it's just me and my leg from now on. Ever and always.
And no, I will not tell you what $ I got out of this. Let's just say it is a lot less than you think it is, because in Canada they have very stringent limits on what can be paid out for pain-and-suffering claims. This is not the US where someone can make millions by spilling coffee on her lap. My lawyer was more than pleased with the way things went, they went more our way than their way and just about exactly according to his expectations.
But I would trade it all for a visit from the Magical Happy Tibia Fairy.
We started with an introduction by my lawyer (not all that necessary except for me, as everyone else in the room had been working together or on opposite sides of the bench for years) and then I had a few minutes to talk about all that I had endured in the four years, eight months and 21 days since that car ran over me. All the things, that is, that did not show up in doctors' reports or X-rays. I hardly knew where to begin, or end. Anyone who wants to read what I wrote while going through it all (though I know most of you have) can see it at here and work backwards. It was interesting to see that the adjustor had actually searched out my webpage and downloaded all of it - I saw my psycho-face headline graphic for the page staring out at me from among her papers. But I didn't mention it (neither did they mention my cane).
Then we started to talk numbers. My lawyer presented our claims under several categories (e.g. non-pecuniary or "pain and suffering", loss of future capacity, etc.). Then we left the room while the ICBC people conferred, and a bit later went back in to hear their counter-offer. And so it went for most of the day, with a fair bit of arguing about relative percentages of responsibility for the accident - kind of ritualistic on ICBC's part, I suppose I should have paused to throw a highway flare into the road and sounded an air horn three times before waiting for dawn to cross the road for them to be satisfied.
Anyway, after a few rounds we went to what they call global numbers which dispensed with haggling over individual categories or percentages of responsibility. By 2:30 it was done, we all signed a paper, and that's it. It was all very civilised and everyone congratulated one another on what a fine thing mediation is instead of court battles, and I am inclined to agree. The ICBC people expressed their relief (as did my lawyer) on how nice it was to deal with a case like mine and how reasonable I was - I guess they have to deal with some dillies exhibiting some pretty subjective injuries. There certainly was no denying the severity of mine. The adjustor also noticed the relatively small number of claims for pain medication I had made - I guess some people out there just stuff themselves with Dilaudid and Percocet every chance they get, or perhaps I just have a much higher capacity for suffering.
I felt odd for the rest of the day, and still feel a little weird. I feel kind of empty and deflated, and like there's a hole in my mind that will fill in later - very similar to the feeling I used to get after a big exam. I suppose it's a reaction to the very rapid conclusion of almost five years of trouble and wrangling and paperwork in a few hours, and a realization that ICBC is no longer even a theoretical Enemy - it's just me and my leg from now on. Ever and always.
And no, I will not tell you what $ I got out of this. Let's just say it is a lot less than you think it is, because in Canada they have very stringent limits on what can be paid out for pain-and-suffering claims. This is not the US where someone can make millions by spilling coffee on her lap. My lawyer was more than pleased with the way things went, they went more our way than their way and just about exactly according to his expectations.
But I would trade it all for a visit from the Magical Happy Tibia Fairy.