By Pradip Rodrigues
Last week my wife was backing out of an underground parking lot at work when she ran into another vehicle that was possibly going above the posted speed limit. The impact was light and caused what can be considered cosmetic damage to our rear bumper, but it resulted in a small dent in the other vehicle. My wife dutifully exchanged insurance information and telephone
numbers with the other driver and told her she would rather settle outside rather than go through insurance. Fair enough, I thought, but later that evening we get a call from her insurance company wanting to know if my wife was okay after the collision and I was totally blindsided. Collision? In a parking lot? We called up our insurance company who regretfully informed us that in parking lots, the person reversing out of a parking slot is hundred percent at fault for any accident. Although our damage was merely cosmetic, our rear bumper ‘damage’ would have to be fixed since the claim had been made by the other party. If I were to have fixed it myself, it would’ve cost me no more than $500, and I would guestimate damage to the other car at no more than $1000. But because it has gone through insurance, the claim could end up costing the insurance company thousands of dollars. A rental car was delivered to us, followed by a flatbed truck which took away our ‘damaged’ car, it was so minor that we had to point out the area which had lost some paint. How long would it take? At least five days. The same process will play out with the other vehicle owner who opted to go the insurance route to settle this claim. I would’ve been really impressed with such five-star service if it wasn’t for the fact that I’d be paying for it dearly in the years to come.
This to me is beyond outrageous. Following this episode, I talked to an insurance claims adjuster who has seen and dealt with every fraud in the book and he tells me that we should keep our fingers crossed that the other driver doesn’t decide to go on long-term disability, get a lawyer and sue for a million dollars. Sue? Million dollars? I was reeling, how on earth could someone who has a minor dent in her vehicle claim difficulty walking or has a persistent backache that could be traced back to that underground garage collision? Quite simply, it is possible. It has happened and this person could potentially decide to sue within a two year time frame. I understand that the internal effects of some accidents could manifest itself months later. But I have been given to understand there are any number of unscrupulous lawyers who will take up a case, like the one I’ve mentioned and shamelessly file a lawsuit for imagined injuries or even mental trauma that resulted when my wife pulled out of a parking spot and caused her to have palpitations and anxiety attacks that refuse to go away.
It is not that the lawyer or their clients who’ve had minor accidents hope to win a huge settlement windfall. They know they would lose if the case ever went to trial, what they also know is that the chances of insurance companies reaching an out-of-court settlement is extremely high and the lawyer and the client could end up with several thousand dollars. Insurance companies are weary of the time and effort involved in legal wranglings and so claims adjusters are encouraged to settle in this manner and avoid having any case dragged to court.
And here is the thing you will rarely see printed in any mainstream newspaper- a significant number of those suing for frivolous and made-up mental or physical health issues are visible minorities. I repeat visible minorities. There, I said it. And the GTA being the immigrant magnet that it is pays dearly in the form of ever increasing insurance premiums.
But why blame the poor immigrant for this cash-grabbing exercise? Insurance companies are to blame for making it way too easy for unscrupulous elements to take advantage of the system. The tendency to settle frivolous cases out of court is what is fueling this growing menace. I understand that letting a frivolous case go to trial can prove to be expensive for the insurance company because quite often they could lose or even if they win, the costs are not worth it. But that is wrong simply because this is emboldening more and more drivers to sue for ridiculous reason and in the process ruin someone else’s driving record which in turn gives the insurance companies another excuse to increase premiums. This ever increasing level of fraud will eventually lead to unaffordable premiums or government intervention.
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