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

“Enough is Enough” Cheering Rioters not Faulted for Stanley Cup Riots

The last game of the 2011 Stanley Cup Hockey series was broadcast on a live television outside the CBC building at Georgia and Hamilton Streets in Vancouver BC.  When the game ended, a riot erupted here and several cars were burned outside the adjacent Canada Post Office building. Numerous vehicles were destroyed here, some of which…

How Much My ICBC Claim is Worth- Updating Factors for Valuation

The factors to be considered when valuing a personal injury claim with ICBC or other insurance companies will change according to the stage of  your case. Some of the factors that may be important early on, such as claim reporting and notification, will give way to symptom documentation and medical diagnosis. Beware of the ICBC…

ICBC Adjuster Loses Video of Left Turn Crash

The personal injury claimant was driving his Porsche Cayenne and entered the intersection of 203rd Street and Logan Avenue in Langley, BC on a yellow light. Another driver turning left failed to see the claimant and turned in front of him causing the accident. A witness videotaped the entire car accident and forwarded the recording to the investigating RCMP…

Failure to Install Fire Alarms Not Cause of Injuries

Injuries caused by fire can often be prevented by the use of fire alarms, commonsense. However, the Court of Appeal does not accept this as commonsense, and dismissed this renter’s injury appeal on the basis that there was no evidence that the use of a fire alarm would have reduced or eliminated the harm. In this injury…

Medical Exam Ordered Despite Questions of Partiality and Objectivity

Innocent car accident victims must now face the prospect of a court ordered medical examination conducted by doctors that are potentially unfair, impartial, not credible and not objective.  In a stunning Masters decision of the Supreme Court requiring an ICBC claimant to attend a medical exam, the Master stated, “Questions of fairness, partiality, credibility, and…

Early Retirement Loss Awarded to 38 Year old with no Lost Income

This case affirms, despite what ICBC says to claimants without lawyers, an award for loss of future earning capacity is available in soft tissue injury cases in which claimants have suffered little or no loss of income: Hu v. Tan,2016 BCSC 908. The Supreme Court was convinced this personal injury claimant would not have considered retiring early had it not…

Elderly Injury Claimant Awarded $50,000 for Pain and Suffering

Age is a factor for compensation for older and retired adults after a motor vehicle injury and is considered in today’s personal injury case: Bardua v. Han, 2016 BCSC 861.  As it relates to compensation for pain and suffering for retired individuals  Judge Griffin  famously stated: [88] The retirement years are special years for they are at a time…

ICBC Required to Pay Lost Wages for Delayed Total Disability

The Court of Appeal has done away with any legal basis for ICBC’s policy of denying disability benefits when total disability arises beyond the first 104 weeks  of a car accident(Symons v. Insurance Corporation of British Columbia,2016 BCCA 207 ). Long term disability benefits for personal injury claims must now be paid for future periods of…