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.

Making An ICBC Injury Claim- A Case Study into What Not to Do

The following personal injury case will be used as a case study into what not to do as a personal injury claimant. Almost everything a personal injury claimant should not do after a car accident, is contained in this injury case (T. v. ICBC, 2015 BCSC 359). The trial judge should be commended, if not compensated…

Read more

No Car Damage but Judge Wrong to Ignore Medical Evidence of Injury

A new trial has been ordered for this personal injury claimant after the trial judge dismissed the case without any justifiable reason. This personal injury cases gives some assurance that claimant’s can stand up to judges that inject their own opinions in place of medical experts. This case is also a warning to trial judges…

Read more

Principle Operator in ICBC Claim Wins Coverage

It can be confusing to determine the principle operator under ICBC auto insurance when reporting a car accident claim to the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia.  The issue in this case: who drove the automobile the majority of the time? must be established in the evidence ( Schaffner v. Insurance Corporation of British Columbia, 2015 BCSC 314) .…

Read more

ICBC Claimant with Uncertain Grasp of the Law Loses Appeal

Personal injury claimants without lawyers should avoid long and unclear court submissions, a lesson from the following ICBC injury claim. This was an appeal from the dismissal of a lawsuit against ICBC for disability benefits related to a car accident which occurred in British Columbia. The Appellant went to court without a lawyer against ICBC…

Read more

Teen awarded $8,500 for Cuts, Scrapes, Bruises and Scar

  The 15 year old Claimant in this personal injury case was one of nine teenage passengers in a vehicle travelling at a high rate of speed, planning to throw eggs at people. She had drunk from a shared 2‑litre bottle of alcohol cider and sat in the vehicle wearing no seatbelt. Before the accident…

Read more

$160,000 Pain and Suffering for Mild Complicated Brain Injury

  Mild traumatic brain injury, MTBI, is often difficult to diagnose and as a result insurance companies like ICBC often refuse to pay proper compensation for this injury without judicial determination. In the following personal injury claim the Court acknowledges that patients who sustain complicated MTBIs generally exhibit long term or residual symptoms that often affect…

Read more

Settling your Injury Claim Under Duress Without a Lawyer

As a personal injury lawyer since 1995 I have had many personal injury claimants call and regret settling their ICBC injury claims without a lawyer. It is very difficult to re-open a case after a settlement agreement release has been signed by the claimant. If the injury claimant has sought the advice of a lawyer…

Read more

Factors for Valuing a Personal Injury Case

Understanding how to put a proper value on a personal injury case requires understanding the essential basics of estimating and assessing in personal injury law. Accidents after April 1, 2019 are subject the the ICBC Minor Injury Caps.First, the purpose for civil damages is to put a victim back in the position they were before…

Read more

$150,000 Awarded for Somatic Symptom Disorder DSM-5

Determining the appropriate amount of money in a personal injury case for pain and suffering is and assessment and not a calculation. This assessment was made difficult in the following personal injury case when the court was forced to consider the opinion of an argumentative ICBC paid doctor (Redmond v. Krider, 2015 BCSC 178). Mindful of the…

Read more