ICBC’s sudden decision to stop negotiating with personal injury lawyers, combined with the trend in lowball offers that the Trial Lawyers Association of BC has noticed, means it’s likely that more cases (not less) will end up in court. This is not going to help ensure that claim settlements are fair and reasonable for injured people. By the same token, stifling negotiated settlements means that injured claimants who receive low ball offers, and a refusal to negotiate by ICBC, will have little choice but to engage in an expensive trial process to get a just result. This is unlikely to produce the cost savings result that ICBC is looking for.