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.

Rules of the Road Only Guidelines for Car Accident Cases

Assessing fault after a car accident  involves applying the common law duties of care. This personal injury lawsuit concerned the determination of liability for injuries sustained in a motor vehicle accident at the intersection of Fraser Street and East 12th Avenue in Vancouver (Boyd v. Baldwin,2015 BCSC 887).The claimant was a front seat passenger in a vehicle…

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Rescuer’s Claim Dismissed as Rescue Must be Motivated by Peril

  when negligent driving puts another person in peril, rescuers are given special treatment and are allowed to claim damages for injuries resulting from the rescue. However, the claimant in this personal injury appeal case was not able to prove that there was a true peril and therefore was not considered a rescuer ( Ray v.…

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Neck Injury Award of $75,000 for Permanent Pain and Suffering

After a car accident this ICBC injury Claimant carried on with her day, much as she would have without the accident and only started experiencing symptoms on the following day (Gill v. Bhuller,2015 BCSC 851) . The other driver admitted their fault for the accident and for her injuries from a motor vehicle accident.  In the collision…

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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…

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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…

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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…

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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…

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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…

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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…

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