Understanding Reasonable Efforts

If you are injured in a hit and run accident, it is your responsibility to take steps to find out the identity of the driver who hit you, to claim your coverage with ICBC. You must take into account all ‘reasonable efforts’ to establish the identity of the unidentified driver that has caused the accident.

I you fail to produce all reasonable efforts to identify the unknown driver, the ICBC law will argue that your claim be dismissed. Under the Insurance Vehicle Act 24(5), for a hit and run accident, a judgment will not be obtained against ICBC until the court is satisfied will all the reasonable efforts produced to make the identity of the driver or the owner.

One of the reporting requirements clearly mentioned in section 24 is that the written notice of the accident to be given to ICBC not later than six months. The court have given the provision to submit within six months is because that you may have suffered injuries, that may prevent you from writing and submitting a notice.

The ICBC adjusters cannot be compelled to advice on what other steps can be taken to identify the driver.

What Are ‘Reasonable Efforts’?

Depending on the condition, one must try to obtain a license plate number at the time of the accident or obtain information about the driver’s identity, personally or through other people’s assistance, if possible. If the applicant is injured, in shock or confused it would not be possible to obtain the required information.

The court considers the following steps to compose ‘reasonable efforts’:

• Notify the police and ICBC about the accident and follow up with the police for the investigation.
• Post signs at the location of the accident or place advertisements in the local newspapers to find witnesses within a practical time after the accident. However this may not work in case of accidents occurring in high speed area or highways or meagerly populated areas.
• If failed to post signs with adequate detail of the accident, this could cause denial of coverage.
• Frequently campaign to regular clients of the businesses, if the applicant’s vehicle has been damaged in the parking space.
• Make a timely report to the police and follow up on available information from the location such as information in the calling of ambulance personnel.
• Obtain information from the driver that hit you, even though it later turns out to be deceitful, which will not close out an applicant’s claim.

Reasonable steps may vary with the circumstances of each case. The ‘reasonable’ has been interpreted as being fair, logical and sensible. It excludes efforts that are absurd, unwarranted and whimsical.

Important Factors concerning ‘Reasonable Efforts’

The court considers two time periods that is applicable under section 24(5) of the Insurance Vehicle Act as regards to unidentified drivers:

(i) The time of the accident
(ii) The days or weeks subsequent the accident

If reasonable efforts could not be made possible at the time of the accident because the applicant was in shock or injured or may be the driver fled from the location before information could be obtained, the court will inspect what steps an applicant can take to identify the careless driver.

An ICBC may deny an applicant for a hit and run claim because of the failure of ‘reasonable steps’, the courts may decide on the basis of per case. The court may have to answer on a cost-benefit analysis which means whether the applicant was practically able to obtain information on driver’s identity.

Make sure that you have a proper analysis of reasonable steps you take; hence, it is important for you to retain an ICBC Claims lawyer to assist you.