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
This personal injury taxi passenger was accused of failing to wear a seatbelt, resulting in his own injury. The collision occurred while the claimant was a passenger in a taxi at 12th Avenue near Larch Street in Vancouver. The claimant admitted he was not wearing a seatbelt at the time of the car accident, even…
This ICBC injury claimant was rear-ended in 4 motor vehicle accidents within a 2 year period. The first whiplash injury occurred at the intersection of Lougheed Highway and 207th Street in Maple Ridge. She gave evidence that funding requests had been sent to ICBC for treatment but no funding was approved. The second accident occurred…
While driving his motorcycle on Enterprise Way in the city of Kelowna the claimant slammed into a truck. The pick-up truck was in the process of turning left from Hunter Road onto Enterprise Way when the collision occurred. Liability for the collision was denied by the defendants.(Tumback v. King, 2019 BCSC 1561) As a result…
The Insurance Corporation of British Columbia, ICBC, insures all guilty BC drivers. ICBC also insures the injured claimant for purposes of ICBC accident injury benefits. The result is a mandatory state controlled insurance scheme. By law, ICBC has the monopoly on third party liability auto insurance. So it can be difficult to achieve a fair…
Autonomous vehicle service will begin in Scarborough’s Rouge Hill By September, 2020. Bus accident injuries are rare compared to other modes of transportation so expanding bus service could reduce auto accident injuries. Mayor John Tory announced that ambassadors likely transit employees, would be on board assisting the public. The automated shuttle for 8-12 citizens are…
This case is the first reported use of the Protection of Public Participation Act in BC( Galloway v. A.B., 2019 BCSC 1417 ). However, instead of dismissing the defamation lawsuit, or the application, the court ordered extensive disclosure and production. The plaintiff sued for defamation alleging false allegations of rape, sexual assaults and physical assaults…
One of the engineering wonders of self-driving car technology, Anthony Levandowski, has been charged with stealing trade secrets. The former Waymo/Google engineer was key in developing a LIDAR system before taking on employment with Uber. Uber agreed to a settlement of $245,000 million, paying equity to Waymo in a 2017 civil lawsuit. The judge had…
In this medical negligence case the claimant suffered a stroke from an undiagnosed condition which left her with brain damage and paralysis. She sued the pediatric neurologist that started treating her at age 13. She claimed the doctor fell below the standard expected of a reasonably competent Pediatric Neurologist. However, where a specialist physician follows…
This whiplash claimant was awarded $110,000 for pain and suffering despite an ICBC assessment of $5,000. Insurance Corporation of British Columbia, ICBC, was the insurer of the guilty driver. The claimant was a passenger in a car that was rear ended. The defendants’ vehicle sustained no damage. There was minor damage to the claimant’s vehicle.…
A door-to-door self driving service for people with disabilities would be welcomed by many in BC. The NDP left out stable funding for HanyDART in their last budget and have done nothing to support self driving fleet technology. Current taxi service is expensive and only accessible to those with benefits or private funding. Driverless door-to-door…