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.
The law creating the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia, ICBC, essentially prohibits an owner, driver or passenger from entering into a contract to exclude liability while in use and operation of a motor vehicle. The majority of our Court of Appeal have determined that such a waiver or release is contrary to the nature of…
The settlement of personal injury cases in Canada just got more complex. The Supreme Court of Canada has eked out a new place for mediation contracts, in our legal arsenal of settlement tools, that contain absolute confidentiality clauses preventing parties from proving the terms of a settlement (Union Carbide Canada Inc. v. Bombardier Inc., 2014 SCC 35).…
The best news in 33 years for ICBC claims and personal injury cases involving claims for future loss of earnings and costs of future care! The decrease in the discount rate for future loss announced April 30, 2014 means claimants can expect more money for awards and settlements for future losses. This better reflects the decrease in…
This personal injury case involved in a motor vehicle collision that occurred on Highway 97 North near Summit Lake, BC. when the claimant hit into a parked vehicle that had lost control earlier(Hart v. Jacobsen, 2014 BCSC 704 ). Despite the ice and snow the claimant told the ICBC adjuster he was driving at 80 to…
As a Vancouver car accident lawyer assisting people with ICBC claims since 1995 I have three important tips for ICBC claimants and for those seeking legal advice after a car accident: 1. ICBC Claims Lawyer- Specialization Help with free ICBC advice is as easy as making a phone call. Most lawyers with experience in ICBC…
In this continuing personal injury saga the claimant’s left foot and ankle were struck by a rolling mounted truck tire from an unidentified vehicle, while he was riding a motorcycle on Highway 1 near Chilliwack, British Columbia(Walker v. Doe, 2014 BCSC 746). The Insurance Corporation of British Columbia, ICBC, was a nominal defendant in this lawsuit,…
In this offer to settle a personal injury case Judge Funt has done away with the old rule against all-inclusive offers to settle. That is to say the Judge entertained an $250,000 all-inclusive pre-trial offer of the defendant when awarding double costs to the defendant, changing the law and overturning our Court of Appeal in Helm v. Pattie(1998),…
ICBC’s offer to settle this personal injury case for $125,000.00 was just above the $121,600 awarded by the court. As a result the judge denied the claimant his costs after the date of the ICBC offer for the first accident and, having found the second car accident caused no injury, awarded costs to the other successful…
After suffering injury in three car accidents the claimant was awarded over $450,000 for pain suffering, past loss of earning capacity, impairment of future earning capacity, cost of future care, costs associated with vocational assessment, rehabilitation treatments, special damages and loss of housekeeping services (Parhar v. Dawe,2014 BCSC 580). Liability was not an issue but…
Quick Answer: “A Case Settles for what it is Worth” As a young lawyer I was told by my mentor Thomas O. Griffiths a case settles for what is it worth and was quickly put to work researching caselaw. I had a hard time understanding what he meant because you never know how much the…