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.
This injury claimant made an offer to settle in the amount of $195,000 about 2 weeks before trial and ICBC responded with an unrealistic and meager $70,000 offer. It only took the jury 6 hours to award $294,500 as damages for the injuries she sustained in a motor vehicle accident. This jury verdict was an incredible 4x…
Finding a good personal injury lawyer is easier for your ICBC claim than ever before as a result of marketing requirements for lawyers. Most young lawyer will not remember but there was a time that the Law Society did not permit lawyers to even state an area of preferred practice. The code of conduct for…
In a short but forceful unanimous three panel decision, the Court of Appeal has rung the death knell for the term “crumbing skull” to describe physical and mental conditions that may deteriorate in the future (Gordon v. Ahn,2017 BCCA 221). Other similar terms used by the court in the past include “psychological thin skull”, “eggshell personality” and “eggshell skull”.…
The Supreme Court of Canada has coined the phrase “mental injury” in a sweeping decision abolishing misguided prejudices over “psychological”, “emotional” or “psychiatric” injury claims in the law of tort. The requirement that an injury claimant suffer a medically recognized psychiatric or psychological illness or condition, as a bar to recover, has been eliminated. The ICBC injury claimant’s award of $100,000…
Our law makes it more difficult to sue local governments than private citizens. Local governments are treated differently from other litigants in BC by requiring injury claimants to give written notice within a very short period following an incident to the local government. Most local citizens are unaware of this requirement and when injured on city…
This car accident claimant with born with spina bifida, scoliosis and kyphosis. When she was three she had her fibula taken from her left leg and fused into her spine. All her life, she has suffered pain, primarily from the kyphosis. However, she has always managed that pain (Cantwell v. Warren, 2017 BCSC 856). The car accident…
The victim of a drunk driving accident settled with ICBC by way of an all-inclusive payment by ICBC in the amount of $212,000. The drunk driver responsible admitted the settlement was reasonable but denied being drunk and refused to repay ICBC the settlement amount paid to his victim, as is required in such cases of insurance…
In complicated civil litigation there may often be multiple orders of the court, some in favour of a litigant and some against. All the while offers to settle are being exchanged privately. What does it mean by the end of a trial to beat an offer to settle and be “substantially successful”? The Court of Appeal…
The lawsuit after a car accident injury usually includes a very general claim for losses such as “injury, loss and damage”. However, the insurance company lawyer can demand more details, what is referred to as “particulars” of your injuries and losses claimed. In today’s article we address whether it is necessary to give ICBC a list…
In this personal injury case a very competent young lawyer was tragically rendered less capable overall from earning income from all types of employment due to a falling injury resulting in brain injury. She was awarded $5.1 for her loss of earning capacity (click here for full case 2010 BCSC 1111). The judge found that it was highly…