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Firing Your ICBC Claims Lawyer: The Costs/Benefits Analysis
As discussed last year in the below video, if you hire a lawyer to represent you for a personal injury claim and are not satisfied with their performance you can fire them.  However, there usually is a cost associated with this.
When people are seeking a new lawyer my typical advice is to first have them review their contract and determine how much it will cost them to change counsel. Â From there an informed decision can be made whether the shortcomings in their current lawyer relationship outweigh the costs of moving on. Â Reasons for judgement were released this week by the BC Supreme Court, Vancouver Registry, demonstrating the costs that come with switching lawyers.
In this week’s case (Alafriz v. Mathivanan) the Plaintiff was injured in a motor vehicle collision and hired a lawyer to represent him. Â The Plaintiff eventually changed lawyers. Â A dispute arose over how much was owed to the first lawyer for services rendered. Â The lawyer sent a bill seeking $5,825. Â The client refused to pay this and the Court was asked to settle the issue. Â Ultimately Registrar Sainty held that the first lawyer’s bill was “far too pricey in these circumstances“.
Despite this the Court held that the first lawyer was entitled to a fee for the services rendered and ordered the client to pay $3,000.  This case is worth reviewing in full to see the types of factors the Court considers in addressing the appropriateness of a fee for a personal injury claim where a client changes lawyers prior to settlement or trial.
Tags: Alafriz v. Mathivanan, bc injury law, Firing Your Lawyer, Registrar Sainty
This site is created by MacIsaac & Company, a British Columbia Personal Injury Lawfirm. This website is not affiliated in any way with the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia (ICBC).This web site is made possible through funding provided by the British Columbia law firm MacIsaac and Company. bc-injury-law.com is designed to empower individuals to better understand their ICBC Claim and the process involved in dealing with ICBC. This web site is offered for information only and is not claim-specific legal advice. Use of the site and sending or receiving information through it does not establish a solicitor / client relationship. Links to and from this website do not state or imply a relationship between MacIsaac and Company and the linked entity.
April 25th, 2011 at 9:04 am
[…] As previously discussed, sometimes lawyers and clients have irreparable differences and it’s necessary to move on either by getting a new lawyer or representing yourself.  Reasons for judgement were released this week by the BC Supreme Court, Vernon Registry, discussing the different formal steps that could be taken under the Rules of Court  during an active lawsuit when a client and a lawyer have a parting of ways. […]
May 2nd, 2012 at 12:29 pm
[…] As previously discussed, if you are unhappy with your representation in an ICBC claim and are considering changing lawyers a key consideration to take into account is the amount of legal fees you will need to pay. Â Hiring multiple lawyers typically means paying multiple lawyers. Â This was demonstrated in reasons for judgement released today by the BC Supreme Court, Vancouver Registry. […]