Renn A. Holness is a gifted lawyer and author to over 1000 legal blog articles. Married father of two daughters, son of a neurosurgeon and founder of Holness and Small Law Group
The court concluded that prior to the car accident the claimant had a number of “quiescent but present conditions” in his hands and wrists that would likely have become increasingly symptomatic over time even if the accident had never occurred. This included arthritis of the wrist and thumb. However, the fact that the defendants’ conduct triggered the…
This personal injury case arose from a car accident which occurred at the intersection of 140th Street and 74th Avenue in Surrey when the other vehicle turned left into the path of the claimant’s vehicle. She was 58 year old at the time of the accident and sought compensation for pain and suffering, past income loss, future income loss,…
In a stunning personal injury decision the Supreme Court has reduced a damage award for a brain injured 27 year old claimant. The court has taken judicial notice that cocaine is highly addictive, with heavy users facing a significant long-term and possibly life-long risk of relapse.(Kirilenko v. Bowie,2017 BCSC 2048) There was no real issue that…
The deceased was shot and killed accidentally by a guide near Burns Lake, British Columbia while participating in a grizzly bear hunt. This is the wrongful death claim of the widow. At issue was a release of liability sign by the deceased for the hunting season the year before the hunt in which he was killed.(Cooper v. Blackwell,2017…
This personal injury case the claimant was awarded a total of $404,282.20. However the defendants made a formal offer to settle before trial for $474,456.00 new money, plus advances of $15,669.40 for a total of $490,125.45, making it $101,475.74 higher than recovered.(Layes v. Stevens,2017 BCSC 2011) The claimant was injured in the motor vehicle accident. It came…
This personal injury claimant did not accept a reasonable offer to settle and the award at trial was significantly less than the offer. The claimant was offered more than $400,000 to settle his personal injury case before court but he refused. The jury awarded him under $200,000.(Luckett v. Chahal,2017 BCSC 1983) The court found the…
In a surprise winning decision this personal injury claimant succeeds in his appeal against the dismissal of his injury claim. Failing to file a medical-legal report is not a grounds for dismissal and the claimant was not provided with adequate notice. However, given the scant evidence he was only awarded $100.00. for his personal injury…
In today’s case the claimant is found 50% at fault for making a left hand turn, on a late yellow, causing the car accident which is the subject of this personal injury case. The assessment of damages was bifurcated from liability so this decision only addresses fault for the car accident. (Elima v. Dhaliwal,2017 BCSC…
This injury claimant was a front seat passenger travelling northbound on Highway 6, between the towns of New Denver and Playmor Junction in the Kootenay region of B.C. when the car went out of control nearing a corner, crossed the highway and came to rest in a ditch. There were no other vehicles involved in…
ICBC arguments on the failure to attend recommended treatment, mitigation, are often narrow and focused, as displayed in the following $150,000 pain and suffering injury case. ICBC argued that prior substance abuse should result in a low award but the BC Supreme Court decided this ICBC case was worth over $720,000. The car accident was a head-on collision on…