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.
Damages for pain and suffering, also known as non-pecuniary damages, are awarded to compensate an injured claimant for the pain and suffering, loss of enjoyment of life and loss of amenities caused by a defendant’s negligence. The amount of the award is not determined by the nature or seriousness of the injuries alone. Additional factors…
The Motor Vehicle Act provides guidance on the conduct and responsibilities of drivers and cyclists on roadways. While the Motor Vehicle Act does not define cycles as vehicles, the Court of Appeal in Ormiston v. ICBC 2014 BCCA 276 noted that Section 183(1) of the act “imposes on the operator of a bicycle the same…
As discussed in previous blog articles on assault injuries, in law an assault is the intentional creation of the apprehension of immediate harmful or offensive conduct but without actual touching. On the other hand, battery occurs whenever unlawful force is intentionally inflicted on another person that is either physically harmful or offensive to his reasonable…
In an ICBC claim, the injured claimant must establish on the balance of probabilities that the defendant’s negligence (other driver) caused or materially contributed to an injury. The defendant’s negligence does not need to be the sole cause of the injury so long as it is part part of the cause beyond the range of…
When filing a lawsuit against ICBC for a motor vehicle accident injury claim, an injured claimant can choose to pursue it in an ordinary action or in a Fast Track Action (Rule 15) which shortens the entire litigation process making it more cost effective. There must be a formal election to pursue the action in…
As discussed in several prior blog posts, damages for pain and suffering for ICBC cases, known as non-pecuniary damages, compensate injured claimants for the pain, suffering, loss of enjoyment of life and loss of amenities experienced as a result of the defendant’s negligence to the date of trial and into the future. The amount awarded…
As discussed in prior blog posts, ICBC’s medical experts are hired to provide expert opinions to defend against injury claims. There are a number of strict guidelines which govern experts and their expert reports. One guideline requires all court experts to be impartial, independent and absent of bias. If the expert is found to be…
As we have discussed in prior ICBC duty to mitigate blog posts, injured claimants have a legal duty to mitigate their injuries and losses from motor vehicle accidents. In other words, injured claimants have an obligation and a responsibility to take reasonable steps to minimize their losses such as by following medical advice. If it…
Damages for pain and suffering, known as non-pecuniary damages, compensate injured claimants for the pain, suffering, loss of enjoyment of life and loss of amenities experienced as a result of the defendant’s negligence to the date of trial and into the future. The amount awarded is based on similar and comparable cases that proceeded to…
At some point during your ICBC claim, you may be sent by your lawyer to an independent medical examination (IME) with a specialist doctor such as a physiatrist, psychiatrist, orthopedic surgeon, etc.. At the IME, the specialist doctor will interview you, review your medical records and examine you. Following this, an IME report is prepared…
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