Since 2010, Holness and Small Law Group has written over 1000 legal blog articles. We believe that staying informed and current with personal injury news and case developments is essential to providing proper legal services to our clients when advocating for their rights.
As was reported in a recent blog post, ICBC in 2019 rolled out its new policy of withdrawing settlement offers and replacing them with unreasonably low settlement offers. The result has been two-fold. First, ICBC is now dragging out claims for as long as possible in hopes that an injured claimant will give up and…
Dedicated bike lanes are now a commonplace in Vancouver. In fact, it has been 10 years since the first dedicated bike lane on Burrard Street Bridge was opened to much controversy after 2 prior unsuccessful attempts. With cycling becoming a more popular form of transportation, there is more potential for accidents to occur with vehicles.…
As discussed in a prior blog post, when a trial judge makes an award for pain and suffering (also referred to as non-pecuniary damages), the law is clear that in determining what is reasonable each case must be assessed individually depending on the nature of the injuries sustained by the injured claimant and on an…
There are various levels of court in British Columbia including the Provincial Small Claims Court, the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeal. For motor vehicle accidents which occurred before April 1, 2019, ICBC claims are heard in either the Provincial Small Claims Court or the Supreme Court. The value of the ICBC claim will…
If an injured plaintiff returns to work after a motor vehicle accident and continues to work despite having injuries that will, at some point in the future, restrict or even prevent him/her from working entirely, is there a claim for loss of future earning capacity? The courts have held in many cases that the answer…
The massive ICBC withdrawal of offers to settle one year ago has sparked financial blunder and moral outrage for innocent injury victims. Supreme Court Judge’s are having to punish ICBC for failing to accept reasonable settlement offers. In 2019 guilty drivers insured by ICBC lost a possible record number of court cases, with claimants winning…
The Supreme Court of Canada in Saadati v. Moorhead 2017 SCC 28 has set a precedent which helps injured claimants access justice more easily against ICBC and other insurance companies for mental injuries such as depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder and somatic symptom disorder. In this case, the injured claimant was injured in a motor…
The Protection of Public Participation Act (“PPPA”) came into force in early 2019 in British Columbia which serves to enhance public participation in speaking out on important public issues. The Act protects the public from being sued in defamation for expressing their views on matters of public interest. These defamation lawsuits are known as strategic…
One type of claim available to a claimant injured in a motor vehicle accident is for past wage loss. Past wage loss refers to lost wages/earnings from the date of the motor vehicle accident until settlement or trial. To have a successful claim for past wage loss, an injured claimant must provide sufficient evidence. First,…
In this personal injury case (Watts v. Lindsay 2019 BCSC 2239), the 30 year-old female injured claimant suffered from soft tissue injuries, headaches, depression, flashbacks and anxiety due to a motor vehicle accident. The motor vehicle accident was particularly traumatic as the injured claimant was trapped in her vehicle after impact causing her difficulty in…