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

Offers to Settle Considered after 50% Fault for Car Accident

There were  two offers to settle made by the claimant in this case: one in the amount of $800,000 before trial and the other during the course of trial, in the amount of $1,010,000.  The defendant offered to settle for $55,000.00. At trial the claimant was found 50% at fault for a car accident and…

Failure of Expert to Testify Weakens Personal Injury Claim

Successful ICBC personal injury claims require expert medical opinions, especially  in the Supreme Court of British Columbia.  As we learn in today’s case review, not calling an important medical expert as a witness at trial can led the Court to infer that the evidence of the medical expert would not have assisted the claimant’s  case (Espinoza…

Future Income Loss More Elusive in Personal injury Claims

Determining an amount for future loss of income for ICBC injury claimants just got harder as the Court of Appeal overturns a future loss income award. No new law was created but the Court of Appeal was of the view that there was no evidence of another realistic alternative occupation that would be impaired by the…

Hiring an Experienced Out-of-Town Injury Lawyer Proper Cost says Court

This personal injury case addressed the issue of hiring an out of town personal injury lawyer (Miley v. Abulaban, 2015 BCSC 720 ).  The claimant has the right to chose to hire a lawyer based in Vancouver, or anywhere in the Lower Mainland,  when the claimant is based in the Lower Mainland and the car accident took…

ICBC Settlement Money and Divorce – Does your Spouse get Half?

Settlement money for pain and suffering awards are excluded from family property division in British Columbia so your ex-wife or ex-husband is not entitled to half. However, it is critically important in a family law proceeding to have evidence and demonstrate to the court that the ICBC settlement award is in fact excluded. As a personal injury…

Report Accident to ICBC with a Lawyer VS. Without a Lawyer: Is there a Difference?

When it comes to an ICBC report many people ask,”What’s the difference between an ICBC report with a lawyer and an ICBC report without a lawyer . Some people think that if you have nothing to hide you shouldn’t need a lawyer, while others think ICBC may manipulate what you have said if you do…

Teen Injury Award of $387,000 for Loss of Earning and Housekeeping Capacity Upheld

The claimant in this personal injury appeal(Crimeni v. Chandra,2015 BCCA 131) was injured in two car accidents, the first when she was 17 years old and in her last year of high school.  She suffered soft tissue injuries that left her with chronic pain in her back, neck and right shoulder.  She attended the Karp…

rear-end whiplash injuries

What to do when Rear-Ended: An ICBC Claim Checklist

With 25 years experience as a lawyer working for rear-ended injury Claimants, I have a few suggestions about ICBC injury claims and dealing with ICBC. “I just got rear-ended today should I call ICBC?”- if this sounds like you or someone you know, read on. Rear end collisions are common but different than most other…

$95,000 Pain and Suffering Award for Wrist Injury- Re-open Trial Refused

This personal injury claimant suffered a severe fracture to his right wrist when the vehicle in which he was a front-seat passenger was involved in a car accident, running head-on into a hydro pole. He also sustained some soft tissue injuries to his back and neck which fully healed over the course of about six…