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
Getting an award for legal costs in car accident personal injury cases just got easier in British Columbia. At issue in this ICBC out of court settlement case(Christen v. McKenzie,2013 BCSC 1317) was whether the claimant was entitled to the full amount of $6,500 attributed to preparation under Rule 15-1(15)(a) of the Civil Rules ($8,000 total…
British Columbia personal injury claims are different than anywhere else in the world for two mains reasons: 1. The creation of the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia, ICBC, and 2. the limited access to private healthcare. In Canada less than 30% out of the 2.29 million people injured annually go to a hospital emergency room…
Lawyers for ICBC Gain access to Raw Test Data Despite the Directives of the College of Psychologists of BC After suffering a brain injury in a motor vehicle accident, will the Court Order the psychologist to copy records to ICBC? As a Personal Injury Lawyer in British Columbia since 1995 I have had to hire registered psychologist…
In this ground breaking out of court money settlement case(Sable Offshore Energy Inc. v. Ameron International Corp.,2013 SCC 37) the Supreme Court of Canada has established that since a negotiated amount is a key component of successful negotiations, reflecting the admissions, offers, and compromises made in the course of negotiations, it is protected by settlement…
In this pub owner serves excessive alcohol case(Hansen v. Sulyma, 2013 BCCA 349), the injury claimant was left a quadriplegic as the result of a car accident at Blubber Bay Road on Texada Island. She was seated as a passenger in a vehicle stopped on the shoulder of the road when the impaired defendant, having…
After being injured in a car accident or fall and before you sign a statement for ICBC or give the insurance company permission to communicate with medical professionals and employers, consider getting professional advice. About 1200 people a day are injured in British Columbia and over 25 of those are permanently disabled as a result…
If you are fortunate enough to trust someone you know to recommend a personal injury lawyer you probably don’t need to read this article. Thankfully my services are rarely needed as a personal injury lawyer because car accidents in BC do not happen often. The fact that so few require my services means that word of…
The answer is NO a signed statement is not required after a car accident when applying for accident benefits from the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia, ICBC. You are required to give a written report not a signed statement. As a personal injury lawyer in BC since 1995 I refuse to let my clients sign unnecessary…
After the settlement of a car accident injury claim the costs of medical examinations and reports, if the settlement terms allow, can be put in dispute. In this reasonable expenses part of settlement case (White v. Reich, 2013 BCSC 1234) a motor vehicle injury case settled very shortly before trial. In dispute was the cost…
In this car accident offer to settle case(Codling v. Sosnowsky,2013 BCSC 1220) additional legal costs were awarded to the injury claimant after the judge awarded the claimant damages totaling $70,764.71 for injuries she sustained in a motor vehicle accident. Only 6 days before the scheduled trial the claimant had offered to settle the motor vehicle…