Are you frustrated at how long it takes to get your injury claim resolved? If you are, you’re not alone. Claims can seem to drag on and on, especially when you don’t feel that you are making any progress toward compensation.

The main factor is the amount of time needed for medical recovery. A claim cannot be properly assessed until the medical care providers can provide some certainty as to the nature of the injuries, and the prognosis for recovery. Once the extent of the injuries and related losses can be proven, the claim can be moved quickly toward resolution. In some cases your lawyer can send you to care providers on a private referral, for a fee. This procedure is quicker that the provincial health plan provides for, and the results can be used to assist your family doctor in getting you the specialist referrals and treatments that you need. Many medical experts will make themselves available for paid private referrals, provided that the referral comes from a lawyer rather than from the patient.

At Cardinal Law, we routinely send our personal injury clients for private assessments by chronic pain experts, neuropsychologists, orthopedic surgeons, vocational experts, rehabilitation specialists, and a variety of other medical care providers. This is usually done when the treatment plan provided by the provincial health system fails to result in any significant resolution of symptoms. It isn’t required in every case, but our clients have the comfort of knowing that these options are available to them if necessary. The result can be a faster medical recovery, and therefore a faster financial resolution for your claim as well.

And while your medical recovery is under way, we at Cardinal Law do everything we can to put your legal claim on the fast track as well. Our aim is to time the trial date so that it coincides with your medical recovery, whether it be a full resolution, or a substantial resolution. Your medical future need not be perfect, but predictable. If the medical situation takes an unexpected turn for the worse, we can move the trial date back as needed, to ensure that your medical future can be accurately predicted by your doctors. Most claims resolve without a trial, but a pending trial date provides the bargaining power needed to resolve your claim for the highest possible amount. Without a trial date in the near future, insurers have limited interest in resolving a claim. When the pressure is on, results come more quickly.

One of the ways we can fast-track your claim is by using Rule 66. Under this system, your lawsuit can be set for trial quickly, and can be heard in two days, with a judge alone, often within a year of filing suit. No juries are permitted under this procedure. Trials with juries are time-consuming and the results are unpredictable. Most injured people prefer to use the fast-track system.

Some insurers, particularly ICBC, prefer to use juries. ICBC likes the fact that an injured person will face an unpredictable outcome in a jury trial. ICBC can offset the results of a few unfavourable jury decisions against the thousands of other claims they handle each year. By contrast, an injured person has only one case to deal with, and an unexpectedly low award by a jury can be devastating. Rule 66 allows an injured person to proceed quickly through the lawsuit to have the claim resolved, with a good amount of predictability in the result.

This new rule is designed to help injured people get compensation in a quick and effective way. We at Cardinal Law would be happy to discuss whether this Rule can be used in your claim, even if you already have a lawsuit under way. We believe that knowing how to help is as important as wanting to help.