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.
As a personal injury lawyer in BC since 1995 I’m often asked how to settle whiplash back injury and soft tissue injury claims with ICBC and how much a case is really worth. Rear end car accidents tend to be the number one culprit and ICBC has standard procedures for insurance adjusters to follow before payments…
A $3.2 million personal injury award has been restored by our top court,the Supreme Court of Canada, helping to reinforce our modern approach to legal causation in medical malpractice cases(Ediger v. Johnston, 2013 SCC 18) and personal injury cases generally. Personal injury lawyers assisting the injured will applaud the clarity and brevity of this decision. This…
As of April 1, 2013 HST no longer applies to legal fees and legal services in BC. In personal injury cases no income tax is payable on lawyer negotiated settlements for pain and suffering compensation with the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia, ICBC, and other insurance companies. The Provincial change back to the PST and GST…
This side of the road car accident injury case(Ruchelski v. Moore, 2013 BCSC 492) applies the rarely used Presumption of Negligence principle set out in the seminal Supreme Court of Canada case of Fontaine. Experienced personal injury lawyers in Canada have been aware for some time that Fontaine completely did away with the rebuttable presumption of Res ipsa loquitur(the…
In Canada most believe that innocent victims injured in car accidents should obtain some amount of compensation, however minimal, for pain and suffering and other losses without an attack on the victims credibility- In British Columbia this money usually comes from the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia, ICBC, on behalf of the at fault driver- However in two personal injury appeal…
Yes, notifying ICBC is a requirement if you are in a car accident anywhere in Canada and the United States, including Alaska and Hawaii, and intend to claim accident injury benefits. The Insurance Corporation of British Columbia, ICBC, provides medical and disability benefits to insured following motor vehicle accident related injuries. Find out more and…
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As a personal injury lawyer in Vancouver I have the good fortune of having a Brain Surgeon as a father. In this exclusive video, Dr. R.O. Holness, Neurosurgeon since 1975, touches on the symptoms of brain injury after car accidents. Family members are often the first to contact my personal injury law firm for help after…
As a personal injury lawyer I have the good fortune of having a Neurosurgeon as a father. Head of Neurosurgery for over a dozen years Dr. R.O. Holness explains in this exclusive video the complications from spinal cord injury due to motor vehicle accidents. People with significant spinal cord injuries definitely have a shortened life span. It may not…
There may be many reasons why you need to get a personal injury lawyer after a car accident and the lack of legal understanding is the number one destroyer of good cases. In this personal injury case the claimant did not have a lawyer and her case was a failure(Kapelus v. Hu, 2013 BCCA 86) due to…