1. To answer that question, we need to look first at how people usually pay for treatment after a car crash.
2. ICBC does not pay the full cost of treatment up front, even if the car crash was not your fault. ICBC pays a portion of the treatment cost. The balance (the difference between what ICBC pays and the full fee) is called the “user fee”. For example, if the full fee is $90 and ICBC pays $40, the user fee is $50.
3. People who have extended benefits through work will bill the user fees to their extended provider. When their benefits run out, they pay out of their pockets. Those folks not lucky enough to have extended benefits have to pay the user fees themselves.
4. The problem is that many people find themselves in a very bad financial situation following a car crash and they simply don’t have the money to pay the user fees. This usually means that they either have no treatment or much less treatment than they need to get better.
5. IRC has a unique policy whereby it waits until your ICBC files settles before it collects the user fees, even if it takes many years.
6. At the time that your file settles, ICBC must pay you the user fees as an additional part of your settlement. They are called “special damages”. You will collect these special damages at the time of your settlement yourself if you have no lawyer. If you have a lawyer, he or she will collect them on your behalf. It is only after these special damages/user fees are collected from ICBC that IRC will collect its fees in your case. And IRC charges no interest on the user fees, no matter how much time it takes for your ICBC case to settle.
7. Why is it that other clinics do not have this policy ? It is because these other clinics don’t have the financial resources that IRC has and therefore need to have you pay the user fees immediately. IRC, with its resources, can wait to be paid.
8. The no up front policy of IRC allows you to have your treatment now and have the cost paid by ICBC at the time of your settlement. With this unique policy, you have the opportunity to access the complete IRC program and therefore give yourself the best chance to fully recover from your injuries.