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Two recent British Columbia Supreme Court rulings favored the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia (ICBC) in a big bucks way. In the first case, two Quesnel men and a Surrey man were ordered to pay damages totaling more than $275,000 to ICBC and its policyholders after they were found responsible for conspiring to commit insurance fraud by staging two vehicle accidents, in Quesnel in 1990 and in Vernon in 1994.
Following an eight-day jury trial in BC Supreme Court, the jury ordered Balwinder Singh Sidhu and Gurmel Braich of Quesnel and Sharanjit Singh Dhaliwal of Surrey to pay special and punitive damages to ICBC. Sidhu alone was ordered to pay $150,000 in punitive damages for his key role in setting up both staged accidents.
The jury heard evidence on the staged collisions and the claims for injuries and damages made by the defendants. Evidence gathered through the SIU investigation showed none of the individuals were even in the vehicles when the accidents were staged. In both incidents, the participants asked that the vehicles be hit a second time to make the damage look worse.
The eight person jury was told the injuries claimed had few “objective” signs they were injuries that depended on a diagnosis by the alleged victim and not on objective medical tests.
The investigation was initiated after an independent witness, who saw the latest accident being set up, came forward. Testimony from others involved in the staged accidents who, after being confronted with the evidence, decided to make statements, also helped break the case.
ICBC investigators noted criminal charges may still be laid as a follow up to this civil case.
In the second case, a whopping $1.3 million was awarded to ICBC in connection with an insurance fraud committed by an organized ring. ICBC has stated intentions to vigorously pursue all of the damages, including use of tools such as seizure of assets and property and garnishing wages, if necessary.
In this case, the total punitive damages awarded to ICBC are$700,000, which is believed to be a Canadian record. This award includes $100,000 against Lin Nguyen, the alleged “capper” or organizer of the fraud ring. Including damage awards for claims paid out to ring members in connection with fraudulent injury and property damage claims, court ordered interest, legal costs and the cost of the investigation, the court awarded ICBC and its policy holders an estimated $1.3 million.
Judge Arkell said Nguyen was directly involved in six staged accidents in the Vancouver area and indirectly involved in six others. All incidents took place between May 1991 and August 1995.
Fifty-eight people were named in the original civil suit filed in October 1996. At a recent hearing to qualify the amount of damages, 45 people were told they owe ICBC between $10,000 and$25,000 each. In some cases, the awards were made “jointly and severally,” meaning ICBC can collect the damages from either one or all of the participants in a particular staged accident. The other 13 cases are at various stages of litigation.
An extensive probe by ICBC’s Bodily Injury Specialist Fraud Unit revealed the circumstances of the staged crashes were virtually identical. The at fault vehicle went through a stop sign, generally in Vancouver’s Knight Street area, at a time when there would be no independent witnesses.
The damage to the vehicles was always the same, as was the type of injuries reported. The capper recruited the others to be involved in making claims and advised them to claim for injuries that have few objective signs things like whiplash, sore backs, headaches, insomnia, loss of appetite anything that depends on a diagnosis by the alleged victim and not on objective medical tests.
In August, the provincial government passed tough new legislation that significantly increases the penalties against those found guilty in criminal court of defrauding the corporation and its policyholders. Individuals face fines of up to $25,000 and two years in jail; second offenses net fines up to $50,000 and longer sentences.
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