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 personal injury award following a 25 day trial in this ICBC gets double costs case(Minhas v. Sartor,2014 BCSC 47) was $76,653.00, much less than the $3 million sought by the claimant and the $275,000 offered by ICBC before trial. The judge, in one of the first times in BC legal history, has awarded ICBC…
Following a car accident or other personal injury in which a person has hit their head, been rendered unconscious, or has experienced an altered state of consciousness, Magnetic Resonance Imaging ( MRI) may be ordered to rule out serious brain injury. Most personal injury lawyers want to understand however whether having a normal MRI means…
In this failure to mitigate personal injury case(Maltese v. Pratap,2014 BCSC 18) the car accident occurred on Hastings Street in Burnaby after the claimant was driving home from a Vancouver Canucks hockey game. Another vehicle failed to stop and struck the passenger side of the claimant’s vehicle in a T-bone fashion. The Claimant suffered neck and lower…
In this first reported personal injury case of 2014 the judge awarded the claimant $100,000.00 for pain and suffering and reduced it by 40% to $60,000.00 reflecting that only 60% of her ongoing complaints and symptoms were caused by the car accident, with the balance attributable to her pre-existing condition.(Raikou v. Spencer,2014 BCSC 1). The judge…
In this loss of business personal injury case (Harshenin v. MacLeod,2013 BCSC 2219) the injury claimant was injured in a rear-end collision at the intersection on Highway 3A near Castlegar, British Columbia. The injury claimant was asking for pain and suffering compensation of $100,000, past wage loss of $200,000, future loss of wages of $120,000, out of…
Experienced personal injury lawyers should know that Diffuse Axonal Brain Injury (DAI) refers to damage at an almost microscopic level to the connections of the brain. “Diffuse” means generalized in the brain. “Axonal” refers to the connections. After a car crash or other accident one may suffer a concussion, however, DAI is beyond a simply…
Mr. Renn Holness has been a trusted personal injury lawyer in Vancouver since 1995 and the following is his own list of the top cases for personal injury lawyers. THE BIG LIST For all you legal beagles out there, lawyers, law students, even law professors that enjoy reading personal injury law and related topics I’ve…
In this bus accident injury settlement, (Zhang v. Heikkila,2013 BCSC 2275) following the examinations for discovery and after three medical reports had been obtained the matter settled for $11,000.00 plus costs and disbursements. ICBC refused however to pay the cost of three medical legal reports but in this application was forced by the court to…
This stunning and important Court of Appeal decision increased a loss of future earning capacity award making it easier to predict court awards in personal injury cases(Jurczak v. Mauro,2013 BCCA 507). Changing the tide following Perren v. Lalari, 2010 BCCA 140 the Court of Appeal appears to be embracing a more practical, mathematical and predictable approach…
Need for a Personal Injury Lawyer- Luxury or Necessity? Why hire a personal injury lawyer when ICBC has agreed to pay accident benefits? My answer to this question may surprise even my legal colleagues out there. I have been a personal injury lawyer in Vancouver since 1995 and when is comes to ICBC claims I have noticed…