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Lawyer's apology

“A person in your position should become a little better informed before writing such an ignorant article that tries to tarnish a whole industry”.

Those biting words came to me, in reference to last week’s column, from a reader, Dale, who has been in the auto body business since 1979.

To illustrate ‘accelerated depreciation’ (the reduction of a vehicle’s market value arising from a crash requiring repairs of $2,000.00 or more), I shared two personal examples in which the paint on repaired areas of vehicles had faded or peeled over time. 

Anectodes that we experience personally, or hear about from others, can lead to a marketplace fear that repairs do not return a vehicle to 100% of its pre-crash state. This fear results in a depreciation of value.

It had not occurred to me that my column might cause those in the auto body industry to feel maligned. This was short-sighted of me.

Dale told me that he often has to ‘dumb down’ the finish of paint jobs he performs in his auto body business so that the repaired area does not stand out, looking shinier and smother than the substandard original paint. He repainted his own damaged truck 10 years ago, and the repainted area is still indistinguishable from the original.

According to Dale, ending up with a prematurely fading paint job is the result of a ‘poor consumer choice in the decision of which repair shop to trust your vehicle to’. He’s right, of course. As with every industry, there are those who are leaders of quality and service (like Dale) and those who are substandard. The implication in my column painted the entire industry with the same brush (pun intended).

The point was really brought home to me when I read a CBC article: Hall of Shame: ICBC reveals top fraud files of 2015. A handful of egregious examples of fraud are listed, followed by ICBC’s estimate that ‘10 to 20 per cent of auto insurance claims contain an element of fraud or exaggeration’.

I bristle at such articles, and estimates, because of the broad brush impact they have on public perception. 

I live and breathe the struggle to achieve fair, financial compensation on behalf of innocent victims who regularly come to me saying ‘all I really care about is that my actual medical expenses are reimbursed’ after funding for their care has been unfairly cut off.  

Yes, some people milk ICBC claims, just as some people shoplift and cheat on their taxes, but highlighting that small minority has such a damaging and hurtful impact on public perception of the vast majority who are simply struggling to get better and achieve justice.

Unlike my ignorance as to the impact my column might have on public perception of the auto body industry, ICBC is keenly aware of the impact of ‘information releases’, as with the one leading to the CBC article. 

I apologize, sincerely, for the inadvertent impact of my column.

And I ask, rhetorically, "Will you apologize as well, ICBC?"

In closing, perhaps we should ponder the extent to which we might be allowing our perception of refugees, and our willingness to embrace them, to be impacted by media reports of a very small minority of the criminal element amongst them.

This article is written by or on behalf of an outsourced columnist and does not necessarily reflect the views of Castanet.



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About the Author

Lawyer Paul Hergott began writing as a columnist in January 2007. 

Achieving Justice, based on Paul’s personal injury practice at the time, focused on injury claims and road safety.  It was published weekly for 13½ years until July 2020, when his busy legal practice no longer left time for writing.

Paul was able to pick up writing again in January 2024. After transitioning his practice to estate administration and management.

Paul’s intention is to write primarily about end of life and estate related matters, but he is very easily distracted by other topics.

You are encouraged to contact Paul directly at [email protected] with legal questions and issues you would like him to write about.



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The views expressed are strictly those of the author and not necessarily those of Castanet. Castanet does not warrant the contents.

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